History of Agricultural Education in Wiltshire - Lackham Countryside ...

1914 -1918 World War I.
Tractors began to replace horses on the farms and 3,000,000
acres of grass ploughed up to increase food production.
1920 Agricultural Wages Board fixed minimum wage for farm workers.
1927 Agricultural Land Commission, compensation for disturbance etc.
1931 Agricultural Research Council formed.
1932 National Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs formed with head
quarters in London.
1933 Formation of Milk Marketing Board and several sugar beet
factories erected.
1939 Declaration of World War II.
1940 War Agricultural Committees formed in the counties to increase
food production. The Agricultural Education staffs were seconded
to the War Agricultural Committees.
With grant aid by the Board of Agriculture following the Technical Instruction
Act of 1889 and the 'Whisky 1 award of £75,000, seven Universities and two
Agricultural Colleges received grants to carry out Agricultural Research and to
train teachers and advisers for Local Authorities. Only four Farm Institutes
were established at this stage. The development of Farm Institutes was slow
and the whole system was reviewed in 1908 by Lord Reay and his Committee. It
recommended that an Agricultural Organiser should be appointed in each county
to advise farmers and appoint instructors in Horticulture, Poultry, Dairying and
Beekeeping. The Organiser should be attached to a provincial centre of Higher
Education e.g. Wiltshire should be linked with Bristol University.
In 1911, the Development Committee provided large sums of money for further
development of research in Universities and Agricultural Colleges and advisory
work in the counties. In 1939, there were:
8 Provincial Centres
7 Universities
7 Agricultural Colleges
13 Farm Institutes