Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and...

MAF 51

1919-1974

Papers relating to the measures taken before the Second World War to build up adequate supplies of fertilisers and to give encouragement to farmers to improve the fertility of their land under the provisions of the Agriculture Act 1937, through the Land Fertility Scheme. These consist mostly of files on the creation and administration of various land fertility and agricultural lime schemes including related legislation, research, statistics and correspondence, and a scheme for the state assistance in the erecting of limestone grinding plant. Documents included in this series show the basis and scope of the consultations which took place regarding the stockpiling of essential commodities and the general position as regards stocks and estimated requirements at the outbreak of war in September 1939.

This series contains files re-registered from the SDB file series: MAF 273

Some files have been re-registered into the LF series; see

MAF 274

Public Record(s)

English

429 file(s)

Subject to 30 year closure unless otherwise stated

Topics

Conflict

Food and drink

Fishing

Farming

Operations, battles and campaigns

A few years after the introduction of the 1937 Land Fertility Scheme, the demand for agricultural lime had increased to the point of outstripping production and, in 1941, a scheme was put into operation for giving State assistance in the erection of additional plants for grinding limestone and chalk.

Prior to the Second World War the stockpiling of essential commodities was primarily the responsibility of the Board of Trade, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries was in close touch with the Board advising on fertiliser requirements and making recommendations on procurement.