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

When World War II ended, and following the Butler Education Act of 1944
which recognised Agricultural Education as a branch of Further Education,
exchequer grants were increased to provide more Research Stations and Farm
Institutes.
During this period, 1945-1970, a technological revolution was taking place in in
British Agriculture and-Horticulture. New techniques in Crop and animal
husbandry, mechanisation and labour saving devices, together with work studies
and improved business and marketing methods, all contributed towards a decline
in the number of full-time farm workers and new entrants to the industry.
In 1964, the number of regular full-time male farm workers between the ages
of 20 and 64 was 250,000, which declined by 60,000 in 1970. The old
craftsmen, such as thatchers, stack builders, carters, hedgers, handmilkers
etc. were no longer needed and there was a new demand for well-educated
and skilled trained workers by farmers to handle the sophisticated and
expensive machinery, and technicians to supervise the work of various
departments on the larger farms and estates.
By 1965, the number of Agricultural students attending Universities and Colleges
doubled the pre-war figure and there were 37 Farm Institutes with a record
number of 2900 full-time and 8000 part-time students (all ages).
It is interesting to find that although the number of new entrants declined,
there was a steady increase in the number receiving full-time and part-time
education and training. On the farms, the productivity was also increasing by
double the national average in industry.
Farmers were paying good wages to skilled and well-trained men and a new wages
structure, based on Proficiency Tests by the newly formed Agricultural Training
Board, was an added incentive for skilled farm workers and apprentices. By 1975,
it is estimated that approximately half of those employed full-time in the
industry will have received some from of Agricultural education and training.
Between 1943 and 1970, the development of Agricultural Education was
considered by independent Committees and a series of reports were issued from
time to time by the Ministries of Education and Agriculture offering advice,
guidance and recommendations to those Local Authorities interested in the
subject. These reports were far reaching and helpful and will be discussed in
some detail in Chapter II, which deals with the History of Agricultural Education
in Wiltshire.