How would George Henderson get on today?

[betweenthelines]

Henderson may have written a good book but he's not alone in his success.

Many of today's farming "barons" can probably trace the source of their wealth back to an enterprising ancestor who had the resources to start farming during the agricultural depression of the thirties. From the late thirties until the 1960's you could buy a farm and pay for it out of your profits. Similarly, science being applied to farming have shown an increase in yields over the same period, largely irrespective of what system/fashion farmers followed.

 

[glasshouse]

Henderson may have written a good book but he's not alone in his success.

Many of today's farming "barons" can probably trace the source of their wealth back to an enterprising ancestor who had the resources to start farming during the agricultural depression of the thirties. From the late thirties until the 1960's you could buy a farm and pay for it out of your profits. Similarly, science being applied to farming have shown an increase in yields over the same period, largely irrespective of what system/fashion farmers followed.

History will show that the period from 1997 to 2007 was every bit as bad as the 1922-32.
Grain prices halved, bse collapsed cattle and sheep prices,
And shocking weather

 

[betweenthelines]

Didn't see lots of farms to let or for sale with no interest around that time though.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

The value of those two pushbikes in my van would have bought me a 450 acre farm in the mid 60 ts
They would not buy me two acres of land today
Was it Goerge who said "you never see a farmer on a bike"

does anyone know how Frank's getting on , not seen him for a while

 

[essexpete]

Henderson may have written a good book but he's not alone in his success.

Many of today's farming "barons" can probably trace the source of their wealth back to an enterprising ancestor who had the resources to start farming during the agricultural depression of the thirties. From the late thirties until the 1960's you could buy a farm and pay for it out of your profits. Similarly, science being applied to farming have shown an increase in yields over the same period, largely irrespective of what system/fashion farmers followed.

I think you can extend that back before WW1. Essex has many farming families that descend from families that made a huge to decision to leave areas of Scotland and North Country uplands to farm in Essex and other home counties. They, apparently, sometimes started without paying rents but were in kinder climate, sometimes more easily worked land and most importantly, proximity to markets.

 

[essexpete]

I wonder, from some of the posts, if some of the Henderson family generations have been muddled?

 

[glasshouse]

Didn't see lots of farms to let or for sale with no interest around that

I think you can extend that back before WW1. Essex has many farming families that descend from families that made a huge to decision to leave areas of Scotland and North Country uplands to farm in Essex and other home counties. They, apparently, sometimes started without paying rents but were in kinder climate, sometimes more easily worked land and most importantly, proximity to markets.

Correct
The uk ag recession started in 1880, not 1930.
The 1870, s were prosperous due to prussian french war, and rents shot up.
American grain hit the uk in a big way in 1880 as the prairies got ploughed and the railways hauled it to port.
The high rents could not be sustained and grain farmers eventuallywent broke and walked as landlords refused to reduce them enough or at all.
Vast tracts of land lay vacant in eastern england.
Then the bit i like happened, landlords started going bust and giving the land out rent free to scotsmen.

 

[glasshouse]

 

[suffolksmallholder]

1835 was the year the estate I worked on expanded and modernised a lot of the farms and buildings. The dates being carved in the main trusses. Similar rain-water tanks which have the dates highlighted in the rendering.
These were all tenanted farms and not bought-in.
Water availability being the main driver with keeping stock numbers up.
One of the maps from this era had stored water available to the drovers clearly marked with a large ‘W’ and poking about one either found a rainwater surface run-off store or better still a holding tank. Those tanks that survived next to the highway/drover routes had been ‘improved by the Council for safety reasons but still held water
SS

 

[Veryfruity]

What I'm asking is, are there people out there doing similar now. Making a 'proper' living on farms, say sub 100 acres? Mixed farms that don't therefore rely on one niche enterprise? Is it still possible?
Are there people farming by his methods (or similar)?

I was very receptive to his ideas. His concept diluting fixed costs through greater output, rather than greater area, coupled with hard work and relentless attention to detail.
I have little doubt he would Succeed in todays Britain, but for many more, less driven, would be new entrants there appears to be some rungs missing from the farming ladder.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

I wonder, from some of the posts, if some of the Henderson family generations have been muddled?

Frank is waz the straw one

 

[suffolksmallholder]

Aubrey Seymour wrote about Farming in the same area. To me The Land Where I Belong is a good read.
SS

 

[Still Farming]

All the old boys and women would of thought what the F is it all about??
Definitely.