Census of Agriculture - Great Britain

CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE - GREAT BRITAIN In Great Britain an agricultural census was first taken in con nection with the Census of Production Act, 1906. Under this act compulsory powers were given to the Board of Trade to obtain returns of the output of all industries, but agriculture was ex pressly excluded, mainly on the ground that much of the informa tion relating to that industry was already obtained annually under a long-established system of voluntary returns from all occupiers of farms. On Nov. 23, 1907, the Board of Trade ad dressed a communication to the Board (now the Ministry) of Agriculture stating that for the purposes of the census of pro duction schedules issued by them would be required to be filled up by manufacturers and other industrialists, but in the case of the produce of agriculture it was proposed to leave the collec tion of the necessary information to the agricultural department. The Board of Agriculture acquiesced and proceeded to issue a series of enquiries designed to supplement and complete the in formation obtained by the annual agricultural returns.

Census of 1908.

The results of the census taken in 1908 were published under the title of "The Agricultural Output of Great Britain," described as a "Report on enquiries made by the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries in connection with the Census of Production Act, 1906, relating to the total output of agricultural land, the number of persons engaged and the motive power em ployed." The "output" from agricultural land is not the same as the production. It is evident that crops produced and consumed by live stock would be reckoned twice if their total bulk were added to the beef, mutton and pig-meat produced. Such crops are of the nature of raw materials used in the process of manu facture. The object therefore was to calculate the net production or "output," being, in fact, that part of the gross production which is sold off the farms. The total value of the crops grown in go8 was calculated (at market prices) at Li25,000,000, of which L46,600,000 represented the portion actually sold. The actual value, or, as it is termed, the "consuming value" of the major portion of the crops was thus dependent on their realization in other forms. , The total sales, i.e., the "output" from all the farms, were: England and Wales . . 127,65o,000 Scotland 23,15o,000 Great Britain . . 15o,800,000 The permanent labour employed throughout the year on the farms of Great Britain, excluding the occupiers themselves but including members of their families, was 1,173,000 persons. Con sequently the gross output per person employed was 1129. On the total area included in the agricultural returns the gross output amounted to i3 3s. Id. per acre but the range was very wide on different classes of land. Thus the return from woodland was only about 6s. and from rough grazings not more than los. or 12S. per acre. On the cultivated area, i.e., the farmed land proper, the average output was L4 los. per acre. The mechanical motive power used on farms was generated by 34,450 engines of various descriptions with a total horsepower of 213,525.

Census of 1925.

Itwas intended that an agricultural census should be taken, with the census of production, quinquennially, and in 1913 the Board of Agriculture again made detailed enqui ries on similar lines to those made in 19°8. But before the returns could be fully tabulated and analysed the outbreak of war inter rupted the work and compelled the transfer of the staff engaged upon it to more urgent matters. It was not until twelve years later that it became possible to resume the enquiries under the Census of Production Act, and as on the previous occasions the agricultural census was undertaken by the agricultural depart ments. The establishment, in the interval, of the Board of Agri culture for Scotland left the English department responsible only for England and Wales. The result of their enquiries was pub lished early in 1927 under the title of "The Agricultural Output of England and Wales, 1925" (Cmd. 2815), and described as a "Report on certain Statistical Enquiries made in connection with the Census of Production Act, 19°6, relating to the output of all kinds of agricultural produce and to the agricultural industry generally, together with a brief survey of agricultural statistics up to 1925." The scope of the report was wider than that relating to 19°8 not only by the inclusion of serial tables for a number of years where the materials were available, but also by an endeavour to meet a desire expressed in the House of Commons during the years 1925 and 1926 for a complete survey of the agricultural conditions and possibilities of the country. An attempt was made to meet that demand on the statistical side, it being admitted that "there are necessary limitations to the information which can be supplied by agricultural statistics and also to the deductions which can safely be drawn from them." The value of the total output from all farms in England and Wales in 1925 was L225,33o,000. The following table gives the comparative figures for each of the main groups of products in 19°8 and 1925 with the percentage increase in each case : The average increase of prices in 1925 over 1908 was calcu lated at 77%, so that it would appear that the output was prac tically the same in each year although the area of agricultural land had been reduced in the interval.

Of the total output in 1925 live stock and live stock produce represented 68.6%, farm crops 20.5%, and fruit, vegetables, flow ers, etc., 10.9%. Sales of fat cattle, sheep and pigs—excluding transactions in store stock between one farmer and another—rep resented 35%, and sales of dairy produce 25.6% of the total sales. Poultry and eggs, the output of which increased since 1913 to a greater extent than that of any other kind of produce, represented 6.7%, and wool 1.3%. Corn crops accounted for no more than io.7%, and potatoes for 5.3% of the total. Of the corn sold about one-half in value was wheat.

Strictly speaking the output of farms is meat-animals and not meat itself in its consumable form. But, following the pre cedent set in the 19°8 report, a calculation of the quantity of meat represented by the animals sold annually off the farms was included in the 1925 report. The average number of each kind of meat-animal slaughtered annually was calculated as follows, the numbers being in thousands (000's omitted) : Cattle Calves Sheep and lambs Pigs 1,225 785 5,194 3,518 The average total quantity of meat produced (in thousands of cwt.) was: Mutton and Beef Veal lamb Pig-meat Total 6,866 600 2,41i 5,026 14,912 There has apparently been a substantial reduction in the pro duction of English meat. If the estimated weight of meat of all kinds is added together the total quantity has decreased since before the war by 15%. Taking into account the increase of population the supply per head of English meat fell from 55 lb. to 44 lb., a reduction of 20%. The change in the extent of the home supply varies in each kind of meat. Beef production de clined by 17% and mutton and lamb by 38%, but veal increased by 3o%, and the production of pig-meat remained about the same.

Of the total quantity of milk produced about four-fifths is con sumed in its natural state as liquid milk. Of the remainder about three-fourths is made into butter and one-fourth into cheese. The production and disposal of milk and dairy produce in England and Wales in the year ending June 4, 1925, are shown in the following table: The cream consumed in farm households is included under liquid milk. A considerable portion of liquid milk is sold by farmers to factories and creameries where much of it is converted into butter or cheese. Consequently the amount of milk actually consumed is less, and that of butter and cheese greater, than is shown in the above table.

Returns of the motive power used on farms showed a great increase in 1925, as compared with i9o8, in the number of oil or petrol engines. In 1908 there were only 6,91i, but in 1925 there were 56,744'. On the other hand steam engines had been reduced from 8,690 to 3,73I• Electric motors increased from 146 to 7oo. The number of motor tractors, which were not known in 19°8, in use on farms in 1925 was 16,68i.

Persons Employed.—An exact calculation of the amount of manual labour employed in agriculture is not possible owing to uncertainty as to the number of persons, male and female, who are engaged only on part-time or for certain seasonal occupations (see AGRICULTURAL LABOURER). The report suggests that "the total number of persons employed in the agricultural and horti cultural industries in 1925 was in the neighbourhood of 800,000 which, with about 3oo,000 employers or persons working on their own account, gives a total of ,Ioo,000 engaged in the industry." On the basis of these figures it is calculated that the average out put per person employed was L282, while if employers working on their own account are included the average is .12o5.

No official returns of the rent of agricultural land had previous ly been collected, but in connection with the agricultural census of 1925 estimates were obtained from the crop reporters of the average rents of holdings of various types. The average for all holdings, omitting those devoted solely to fruit, vegetables or poultry, was 3is. per acre. For arable holdings the average was 26s., for pasture holdings 36s., and for mixed holdings 29S. per acre. Classified according to size-groups, rents averaged 62s. per acre for holdings of to 5 acres and 5is. for holdings of 5 tO 20 acres, declining progressively to 24s. for holdings of 3oo to 5oo acres and 20S. for holdings of over 5oo acres. The gross rental value of all farms was calculated at 43,35o,000, and the gross capital value of all agricultural land at L815,000,000. The total amount of tenants' capital, including the value of live and dead stock, the tenant right valuation and other working capital was estimated at .1365,000,000. (R. H. R.)