Universities and National Colleges (Continued)

Some suggested that it was important to specialise in a particular crop in order to gain expertise and build up a market more easily. On a small acreage with limited capital it is probably best, we were told, to go for good quality produce such as pedigree livestock, as this has a higher value. A number of people have calf-rearing as their specialist enterprise, although one farmer stressed that this requires skill and experience to be successful. It was also point-ed out that it is possible to over-specialise and become vulnerable to large fluctuations in prices of farm produce, although this presumably matters much less to those who are producing just for themselves, or have another source of income.

We asked about the available power sources on the holdings. Almost three-quarters of the holdings have tractors (and quite a number have more than-one), which -seems quite a high proportion. The figures were:

The holdings which have none of these (including 2 holdings over 5 acres:) usually have access through borrowing or contracting. There is a notable divide around the 5-acre mark; almost all holdings below this size manage with a rotavator, and almost all those above have a tractor or a horse. All but one of the holdings which have no outside source of income possess a tractor, significant be-cause it shows how those who rely on their holdings for all of their incomes need to augment their labour, with machines.

We asked smallholders how far they supply their own food needs from their holdings. About a quarter are approaching complete self-sufficiency in food, although as we saw earlier, animal feedstuffs may well be bought in from outside. The majority of smallholders supply themselves with over half of their food, although quite .a large proportion - about a third - produce less than half of their own food. Interestingly, there is a suggestion that the highest degree of self-sufficiency is achieved by holdings under 8 acres. Perhaps this is because larger holdings are more preoccupied with how they fare commercially. Certainly those whose only source of income is their holding seem to supply a comparatively small proportion of their own food.

Of the 43 who answered the questionnaire, 36 have an outside source of income, and 21 received at least three-quarters of their income from outside their holding. On the whole, it is only holdings which are greater than 25-30 acres which don't rely upon an outside income; and those with holdings below 8 acres general-ly get all their income from an outside source (although there are exceptions). And of the six people entirely reliant upon their holdings, five have either previous farming experience, or farming qualifications:

And the kind of jobs? Professional and agriculturally related jobs are the most frequent, each accounting for about a third of the total. This is not unexpected as professional jobs have flexi-ble-working hours and bring in a fair amount of money; and agri-culturally-related employment is usually rural and often part-time or seasonal. Several people do contracting and odd-jobbing.

Very few people were involved with crafts or tourism, which is surprising as these are often recommended as ways of supplementing farm incomes.

Some wrote to tell us about the problems which they faced. Recurrent themes were getting capital, finding time to do daily chores and build up the holding, making ends meet, gaining skills, finding outlets, meeting like-minded people………..As one farmer summed up his feelings: "Survival, I think, depends on pooling of individuals' morale and financial resources, and thus constructing units that are composed of individual enterprises weaved to form a complete net work that is self-sufficient, non-oil based, diverse and thus fit to face the future shortages of mankind. Where do I meet these people?".