This motion has already been debated at some length. Although a strong case was made for it, from this side, the only reply we have had, so far, was from the Minister for Agriculture and what I might term some form of reply from Deputy Corry. The Minister said he thought that there was a political move behind this, and that it was got up for the purpose of making a further attack upon the policy of the Government, and to have another rattle at the economic war. I assure the Minister that was not my motive when I put my name to this motion. I had the idea for a long time, and particularly since this Government came into office, that a motion such as this was very necessary, and a right step to be taken by the Department of Agriculture. There are others who think the same thing, as was proved by a resolution passed at the Cork Committee of Agriculture on Saturday last. The resolution was:
That this Committee invite applications for the taking of a 50-acre farm, on which they would place one of their instructors to demonstrate the manner in which land can be made profitable.
That committee consists of sensible hard working men who know their business and who have got credit from the Department officials, in the past, for having been of wonderful assistance in the development of the Department's policy. When the Cork Committee of Agriculture sponsored such a motion as this I do not see any reason why the Minister should not accept the motion which we have tabled in this House. We hear a lot about existing conditions in agriculture. I do not want to refer to the economic war. In regard to the present policy of the Department we hear a lot about their tillage scheme and the amounts realised from the production of beet and wheat and other farm produce under that great scheme. We have no account of the cost of production in the case of beet or wheat. If we had a demonstration farm, such as mentioned in the motion before the House, it would be possible for an instructor in charge of such a farm to set out a correct account of costings and let people know the result. They would then know whether the policy of tillage, and the growing of wheat and beet, is a sounder and better policy, financially, than the policy pursued for a number of years past in the country by the Department and its officials.
There is an experimental farm quite close to my place. The Minister said it would be impossible to carry them on without subsidies. I agree these farms must be subsidised. They have given very useful service to the State and are continuing to do so, but I hold they are not suitable for the purposes mentioned in this motion. The average size of a farm in this State to-day is 40 acres. We have farmers and their sons living on these farms. If the son of a farmer living on a 40-acre farm goes to a 300-acre or a 1,000-acre farm, for education purposes, and spends a year there, he will come home filled with ideas much too big for a 40-acre farm. He will come home filled with motions about reapers and binders and machinery which costs a lot of money, and the result is that the last stage is worse than the first. While they may give useful service I am afraid they are not suitable for the averagesized farmer. That is one of the reasons why I stress the necessity of establishing one of these farms.
There are other reasons, in reference to costings, that the Department has not so far considered. It was tried under the Cumann na nGaedheal Government for a while. I do not know why it was let drop. I wish it had been continued for some time so that we would know where we stand in this matter. We hear a great deal about the prices realised for wheat and beet, but not a word about the cost of production. I cannot speak about beet, but I know that the average return from wheat is eight barrels to the acre. The price when most farmers sold the crop was £1 3s. 6d. a barrel. It may be taken that £9 8s. 0d. was realised on an acre in that way, and that 30/- was realised from the straw. I have not the items of the costings, but they can be had in the report of the Cork Committee of Agriculture. They amounted to something like £8 10s. 0d., including seeds, manure, ploughing, harrowing, rolling, reaping, threshing, etc., rent and annuities. That would leave a profit of something like £2 0s. 0d. on an acre. These figures were given by a prominent member of the Cork Committee of Agriculture in the presence of the Department's inspectors, and have not been contradicted by anybody. I take it if the costings err on any side they are on the low side. If we had demonstration farms we could find out if these figures were correct. The average profit on wheat would be £2 0s. 0d. per acre.
Coming to cattle, the Minister in his wisdom thought fit to have the young calves slaughtered, for reasons that I do not know. I take it that an acre of land that grows wheat must be good land. On that land under grass I would put four calves as soon as they were ready to go out in April. I take it that it would feed these calves until they were fit for the market, in addition to the separated milk that a farmer has, as well as other feeding stuffs, oats, potatoes, wheat, turnips or mangolds. The cost, including rates, annuities and labour, would be about £16. I am putting down prices under normal conditions, if we had not the economic war, and if the market was open—the market is still open if we were wise—when these cattle would realise £8 each at the end of 12 months. Cattle of that type are at present realising £8 in the open market and more. If the cost of producing the four calves is £16, and taking it that they would realise £32, in my estimation, that would leave £16 for the farmer. That is a big difference from the £2 he would have on wheat. I believe it is the same in connection with beet growing, because the cost of production is higher.
In the monthly report issued by the Department of Agriculture, in calculating average prices, it mentions that first-class stores, 12 to 15 months, realised from £3 15s. 0d. to £6 0s. 0d., and that the average price was £4 17s. 6d. Even at that price the profit realised from four cattle is much more than what is realised on wheat, not to mention the difference in the condition of the land. Unless land is properly manured and cared after wheat there is an amount of deterioration, while under cattle the land improves. I should like if an experiment could be carried out which would give costings and indicate what would produce the best results for farmers. I consider that the report for November, 1935, is not correct. It states that calves under one month realised from 10/- to £1 15s. My experience in West Cork, in the month of November, was that calves under one month were selling from 2/- to 5/- per head. I cannot understand from what quarter a report like that came. It is a misleading report. I cannot understand who is responsible for it. Calves from one month to nine months are given as value for £1 12s. 6d. to £2 15s. 0d. No such price was realised at any fair in any part of the Free State for calves. If there were such farms it would help to avoid having misleading reports and misleading the people. I am sure the Minister is not responsible. Such reports should not be sent out. If demonstration farms were available, and if the prices realised could be seen, there would be no such statement issued that calves, one month old, sold from 10/- to £1 15s. 0d.
Another matter that could be dealt with by men in charge of demonstration farms is the annual cost of repairs to machinery and the expenditure incurred owing to the deterioration of farm buildings. No farmer is able to estimate these items accurately. He does not know where he stands between tariffs and the prices or the quality of the stuff he buys. The expert knowledge that an official of the Department would have would enable him to arrive at what the deterioration of machinery and farm buildings represents. When we have all these details we could see whether the policy of the Government is leading us in the right direction or not. With regard to the 50-acre farm, which is the average that the President or the Minister for Agriculture looks forward to seeing, before we go into the 50 or the 30-acre level, or whatever an economic holding would be, I should like to see demonstrations carried out on some such farms.
That would prove that on the Government's policy it would be possible for farmers to pay decent wages, to replace farm implements, to provide a decent livelihood for themselves and their families, enable them to educate their children, and perhaps put something aside for the rainy day. The important thing on these demonstration farms would be the keeping of accounts and costings showing a profit and loss balance sheet. If we had these details farmers would know their position and the country would be the wiser. I am afraid that very little interest is taken in demonstration or experimental plots conducted by agricultural instructors. Nobody goes to visit them. Reports are issued by the county committees of agriculture, but they do not reach the average farmer. If demonstration farms were worked in each county, and perhaps more than one in each county, to show how the instructor, or whoever took charge of them, would carry out his work and to show what profit he has at the end of the year, how the different crops pay and what their costs are, it would be highly educational for the agricultural community.
Deputy Corry said he was able to make money on farming, and he invited some of our people to go down and inspect his farm and to spend some time working with him. I do not know that there is very much to be learned on Deputy Corry's farm. His farming may be as slipshod as a good many others in the State. He said that he had the advantage of having a good market for his milk. That counts for a lot, because the milk cheque is important at the moment. Another experiment that could be carried out is in relation to the feeding of pigs. When we in the Free State have to pay £8 per ton at present for an admixture containing 50 per cent. of barley or oats, our neighbour across the Border is able to buy maize, pure Indian meal, sold in Derry at £4 15s. 0d. a ton. That is a difference of £3 5s. 0d. which we have to pay for our 50 per cent. admixture, and if it takes three sacks of meal, as the Minister, I think, said on one occasion, to fatten a pig, it means, with a difference of 8/- per sack, that we start with a disadvantage of 24/- in the production of our bacon as compared with our neighbour across the Border.
