DANISH FARMING

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 187, 25 August 1937, Page 13

DANISH FARMING

Determination is Whipping the Crisis During the last generation Denmark has been considered a model agricultural country wliere co-operative farming has weathered all sorts of crises, but now the farmers are jvearing troubled faces. Fifty years ago Danisli fai-mers produced wheat, oats, barley and rye. This production was wiped out _ by hard competition and dumping prices from tbe Balkans and the United States. Thousands of farms were foreclosed. They were taken over by young men who discovered that Germany and Britain would be able to consume thousands of tons of farm produce. Danisli farmers ahandoned wheat, and went into tlie bacon, butter and egg business, establishing hundreds of co-operative dairies, slaughterhouses and co-operative stores. They distributed goods at low prices. An averag© annual turnover of about £10,000,000 derived from export was reported. Germany and Britain took 80 per cent. of tbe output. Farming was on a paying basis. Then came the depression. Production kept up, and prices went down. Britain tried to give her Dominions a hand by putting a heavy tariff on imports from Denmark. Germany had to reduce her imports and use "ersatz" (substitutes). Labour was expensive because the Socialistic Government adopted the dole system, which made it impossible for farmers to hire help. Political unrest among farmers was quelled for a while by relief bills, moratorium bills, tax exemptions, and cash loans. Reciprocal trade agreements were made with Britain, Germany and the Netherlands, and Belgium, but these agreements practically killed the trade between Denmark and the United States. - Nevertheless, agriculture slowly regained a financial foothold once more, and in 1986 farming paid a slight dividend up to harvest time, Because tho harvest was small, it was necessary to increase imports at higher prices. The Government has just fixed certain minimum prices which are to be paid by the home market. If the approacbing harvest comes out as good as it looks Danish farming will have whipped the worst crisis it ever experienoed,