Horse and Mechanical Help for Farmers

To increase home food production by all means, an increase in the number of horses to pull hand ploughs as well as increased mechanisation was essential. Despite the army commandeering many farm horsesFarm horses early in the war, their numbers recovered by early 1917 by purposive breeding when the plough policy to increase home food productionHome food production was implemented. Horse drawn ploughing was the most widely used method during the Great WarGreat War, making the ability to plough with horsesHorses a vital component to increase crop productionCrop productionincreasing to feed the population. The physique of British policemenBritish policemen and their backgrounds in agriculture made them ideal substitutes to help farmersFarmershelp for plough the land ready for spring sowing in early 1917. To minimise the need for manpowerManpower, government promoted mechanical ploughing. Steam plough cultivation was sparse although essential to plough uncultivated pasture and fallow soil, government attempted to increase their numbers including providing competent manpowerManpower. The many types of petrol-driven tractorsPetrol-driven tractors were experimental, and their delivery delayed. Their use on unsuitable land hindered effectiveness due to mechanical breakdowns and shortages of spare parts. As war progressed training in ploughing was established by the county WAECs and individual farmersFarmers.