MINUTES OF EVIDENCE. 



179 



20 August, 1919.] 



MR. L. N. GOODING. 



[Continued. 



Chamber of Agriculture and also by the Farmers' 

 Federation, Limited, to appear and give evidence on 

 behalf of those bodies before this Royal Commission. 



4687. (3) In the first place, I would wish to point out 

 very strongly that owing to the increased rate of wages 

 and the cost of all other farm commodities having been 

 so recently increased, and having regard also to the 

 abnormal conditions of farming for the past five years, 

 it is impossible to produce any accurate or compre- 

 hensive figures with respect to the cost of producing 

 any specific crop in the immediate future. 



4688. (4) I would also wish strongly to point out that 

 owing to 



(1) the break of the four-course shift as practised 



in the county of Norfolk, 



(2) the frequent successions of corn following a 



corn crop, 



(3) scarcity of fertilizers, 



(4) reduced number of bullocks grazed and con- 



sequent shortage of farmyard muck, 



(5) the scarcity of sheep, 



(6) the scarcity of labour, 



the fertility of the land is of necessity greatly 

 deteriorated, and no figures I can give can be regarded 

 in any way normal. 



4689. (5) I would also wish to point out that the Nor- 

 folk Chamber of Agriculture only received permission 

 for them to give evidence on the 9th August, and that 

 a copy of this evidence-in-chief, together with any 

 figures or suggestions, had to be put in by Friday, the 

 15th instant, and my attendance was required on 

 August 20th. It will therefore be seen that owing 

 to all these foregoing reasons I am placed in a matter 

 of considerable difficulty in giving my evidence. 



COST OF PRODUCTION. 



To arrive at the cost of production of Agricultural 

 Produce it is necessary first to estimate the cost of the 

 various cultivations required to produce any given 

 crop. 



We can divide under the following heads: 



1. The cost of keeping farm horses. 



2. The manual labour required and the value of 



game for each operation. 



3. The cost of ploughing and other cultivations 



with horses 



4. The cost of working farm tractors and to what 



extent these can substitute the horse labour 

 on the farm. 



A. Thf Cost of llnrte Labour. 



The value of the average amount of food consumed 

 by the ordinary farm horse each week at present 

 market prices based on returns received from holdings 

 totalling 5,911 acres in Norfolk and employing 130 

 working horses is as under: 



Average cost of food consumed by each farm horte 

 every week. 



In 



Corn, 5J stone at 2s. 4d. ... 

 Hay, 9 3/10 stone at lljd. 



Straw for fodder 



Roots, bran, &c. 



Value of grazing on meadows 



Lucerne, Ac., cut green 



165 16 9 



Srhedule " A." Table A (1), Appendix VII.) 



The value of straw used for litter has not been taken 

 into acount, as it is considered this is returned in the 

 manure. 



The average number of weeks a horse is in the stable 

 or yard at night is found to be 33 and the number of 

 weeks turned out to grass 19. 



Horses are not always at work each day in the year, 

 having to stand idle in the stable in bad weather 

 (especially upon heavy land during the winter), so it 

 is necessary to work out the annual cost of each horse 

 before we can arrive at the cost of each day's work on 

 the farm. 



Annual cost of keeping one farm horse. 



B. d. 

 33 weeks in the stable at 26s. od. per 



week 43 11 9 



19 weeks at grass at 16s. 9d. per week 15 18 3 



Shoeing at Is. 9d. per week 4 11 



Veterinary at 9d. per week 1 19 



Repairs to harness and renewals at 



Is. 3d. per week 350 



Depreciation at 4s. per week 10 8 



Total outlay for one horse per 



annum 79 13 



Taking the returns received from 10 holdings work- 

 ing 130 norses, it is found after deducting Sundays, 

 and allowing for time lost on account of bad weather, 

 that the average number of days each horse is work- 

 ing on the farm during the year is 267. (See Schedule 

 " A," Table A (1), Appendix VII.) 



The annual cost 79 13s., which for 267 days gives 

 the cost of each horse working at 5s. HJd., or, say, 

 6s. per day for each day it is at work. 



B. The Cost of Manual Labour. 



The wages of a team-man required to work and 

 feed the horse are now 42s. 6d. per week, working 

 54 -hours per week. 



The annual wages will be aa under: > 



s. d. 



52 weeks at 42s. 6d 110 10 



Extra for harvest . 7 10 



118 



Usually if the man is not at work he does not 

 receive his wages, so we may calculate that he is 

 working for 313 days in the year, and his wages would 

 average slightly over 7s 6d. per working day. 



0. The Cost of Ploughing with Horses. 



From the foregoing figures the cost of each team 

 of two horses and one man working on the farm is 

 found to be 19s. 6d. per day for each day they are 

 at work. 



Having established this fact and knowing what 

 measure of work should be performed each day on 

 different classes of land it is! a matter of calculation 

 to arrive at the cost per acre of each operation neces- 

 sary in the production of any particular crop on 

 either light land, mixed soil, or heavy land holdings. 



The cost of ploughing is as under : 



25125 



MS 



