Lincolnshire Farming in 1935

The following article may resonate in Lincolnshire in 2026.

Louth Standard 7.9.1935. Henry Haslam

FASCIST AIMS-LINCS. M.P.'S WARNING

(From Our Agricu!tural Correspandont)

Rains have been welcomed from every point of view. Things were looking bad for the beet and other root crops, while I am told now that on most land a remarkable recovery has been made. However, it will be surprising even now if tonnage comes up to last year. The rain has been of value, too, not only to root crops air to paztures, but to those rapidly drying ponds and wells and cisterns that have been giving farmers every cause for anxiety. Farmers In the more fortunate districts perhaps cannot realise just how bad things have been in places, particularly on some of the land to the north of the country. Often water has had to be carted for several miles for watering stock. Many drains have had to be held up in the south too in order to keen the necessary head of water in the rivers and prevent wells on neighbouring farms from drying up.

CINEMA VAN IN HOLLAND. To leave agriculture practical and turn to agriculture political, many of my readers have been listening to the speeches broadcast from the National Government cinema van which has been touring Lincolnshire this week. It was in Spalding on Tuesday and Boston on Wednesday. The Government stalwarts do not forget to point out what they have done for agriculture since they took office in November 1931. Most farmers agree that the last four years have certainly seen agriculture receive more attention than it had done for decades. If one or two of the remedies have been unpalateable, and if one or two others have not had the anticipated result, the main trend of the huge weight of farming legislation has been towards the bettering of the lot of the farmer and his men. The work is far from finished. Better returns—and with them better wages —are a necessity if the standard of life in the country is ever going to rise to that of the industrial towns.

But to return to the cinema van. On its visit to Boston. Mr. T. J. Ward, of Carrington, and Mr. Victor Fyson, of Horncastle, were present, and at Mr. Ward's request the film dealing with agriculture was shown. It referred to the five marketing schemes and depicted the various stages in production from harvesting to marketing, reviewing the achievements of the Government in agricultural spheres. One interesting part of the film showed the dumping of foreign produce prevalent at the docksides prior to 1932. "BLACK SPOTS." When I commenced writing these notes about eighteen months ago I referred to the four "black spots'' in agriculture as cattle, barley, pigs and milk. The cattle trade is still down, but there is hope of a definite policy taking shape through negotiations with the Argentine and Empire countries. In the meantime the subsidy has helped, even if it has not been all that we thought it might be to the industry. Barley is perhaps in a worse position than ever, but it is hopeful to see that support for a subsidy policy is gaining ground. Of course, the trouble with any attempt to regulate foreign importation of barley has been the difficulty of distinguishing between feeding barley and malting barley at the ports of entry. Put a tariff on imported barley and what agriculture gains on one hand it will lose in the higher price of feeding stuffs that must inevitably follow. The vexed question of marketing pigs went through the stage of collapse and resurrection in a new form; while the milk scheme has survived a crisis, and restrictions on foreign imports together with other reforms appear to promise better returns.

THE DICTATOR'S WAY. In all these problems I had passed to me this week the short cut to a new heaven on the land. An article entitled "Fascist Policy on Agriculture." by Sir Oswald Mosley, seems to promise the end of agriculture's difficulties. On the surface it sounds good to read that Fascism stands for the exclusion of foreign foodstuffs and the production of that £220 millions per annum of imported agricultural products in Britain. A Three Year Plan is suggested for this. The cost is to be "Corporate organisation between Government and farmer," but a new Agricultural Bank would be set up to provide new credits. We are going to give up exporting and so expand the purchasing power of our own people that they will buy all the goods we used to export. How this ''increased purchasing power' Is to be achieved the article is not at all clear. Certainly it is doubtful if the purchasing power of the average Fascist Italian or Nazi German is as high as that of the average Englishman. I prefer to heed Mr. Henry Haslam's advice and his warning on the subject of these pretentious dictatorships. I met him at Carrington last week and had a brief chat with him after a political meeting he was attending. Abolish the House of Commons as an effective instrument, he pointed out. and you check the power of your own elected Member to raise local questions and national questions and make representations on your behalf.