Il62 



Milk Recording Societies. [mar.^ 



County Agricultural Executive Committee, the Women's 

 Committee, or a Farm Committee consisting of women and 

 local farmers with (in some cases) a neighbouring farmer as 

 supervisor, and a working forewoman. 



Neglected land under divided control was bound to possess 

 disadvantages of the worst kind, and on much that was taken 

 over there could have been no possible question of profit- 

 making. The results are very interesting. On the Yorkshire 

 farm in less than a year the War Agricultural Executive Com- 

 mittee reported to the Ministry that great improvement in the 

 cultivation of the land had been effected, and that it was now 

 in a fit state to be re-let ; there was no loss on the working. 

 On the small farm in Somerset, a loan of £250 was repaid with 

 interest and a profit of £15 made in ten months. The land at 

 Newport was in a starved and dirty condition, houses and drain- 

 age were in a very unsatisfactory state, and there was a con- 

 siderable loss on the working, but the Executive Officer reported 

 that the condition of the land had been improved. The Devon 

 farm was held for two years most successfully, and Professor 

 White, who inspected the farm, reported to the Ministry that 

 the condition of the crops and the farm as a whole reflected 

 great credit on the management, and that the farmyard was 

 one of the best he had seen in the summer of his visit. The 

 farm in Worcester, taken over in 1918, is still in hand. 



It will be seen from this brief summary of results that the 

 experiment of putting farms under the control of women 

 workers has been very largely successful, and has demonstrated 

 the ability of women who have had no previous training, but 

 are full of the desire to become farmers, to overcome obstacles 

 that must fairly be regarded as rather out of the common. 



««*•«« 



A CORRESPONDENT recently wrote to the Ministry to ask 

 why it was considered necessary for the Government to give 

 . financial support to milk recording 

 Ldeties^^^^ societies. Doubtless there are many 

 people who have considered the question, 

 and it may be of interest to set out the very simple 

 reasons. The principle of keeping milk records of cows is 

 one that every dairy farmer should follow in his own 

 interest, but the work has not been done systematically 

 or scientifically to any great extent in this country, and 

 it is very unlikely that it would ever have been taken up 

 had not the Government decided to give dairy farmers 



