This film was made by John Sellers a farmer at Old Oak Farm just outside Rotherham. John had got together with two neighbouring farmers, Peter Morell and Martin Telling, to form an agricultural cooperative in October, 1966 – Thrybergh Farming Company. They decided it would be good to commit their new formed enterprise to film, and this film covers most aspects of their work over the course of a couple of years, from 1966, when the shed was put up, until 1968.    This film was made by John...

This film was made by John Sellers a farmer at Old Oak Farm just outside Rotherham. John had got together with two neighbouring farmers, Peter Morell and Martin Telling, to form an agricultural cooperative in October, 1966 – Thrybergh Farming Company. They decided it would be good to commit their new formed enterprise to film, and this film covers most aspects of their work over the course of a couple of years, from 1966, when the shed was put up, until 1968. 

 

This film was made by John Sellers a farmer at Old Oak Farm just outside Rotherham. John had got together with two neighbouring farmers, Peter Morell and Martin Telling, to form an agricultural cooperative in October, 1966 – Thrybergh Farming Company. They decided it would be good to commit their new formed enterprise to film, and this film covers most aspects of their work over the course of a couple of years, from 1966, when the shed was put up, until 1968. 



 

John started farming in 1954 at the age of 21. Although his grandfather was a farmer his father wasn’t, so this was a new enterprise for John; but one that he was fully committed to. Some cooperation between the three farms started as early as 1958, and in 1962 they built a joint grain store. Then in 1966 they bought a combine harvester between the three farms and decided to form a Company – Thrybergh Farming Company – within which the three farms would be merged, each plot of land being rented from the Company. This allowed for achieving economies of scale – combining production, supplies and marketing. The film description provides an overview of production on the three farms.   

 

Before this integration John Sellars was farming 69 acres, mostly with cereals, at Old Oak Farm, with some 20 sows, 15 herds of beef cattle, and 800 laying hens. At Chestnut Tree Farm Peter Morell was farming 120 acres of restored opencast land, along with 40 fattening bullocks and 250 laying hens. Martin Telling was working with his father at Grange Farm, where 60 dairy cattle were grazing on 65 acres of permanent grass, while in the farm buildings 1,000 laying hens and 6,000 eating birds were being raised. 

 

The cooperative proved to be very successful, continuing for 26 years until 1988. At that time the farms were handed over to the next generation, and these voted two-to-one to disband it. John himself didn’t retire until 2008, and his farm is now run by his son and daughter. These, along with the children of the other farmers, can be seen in the film – for example as they ride on the trailer. Also to be seen in the film is Peter Morell’s father, with his pipe.

 

The idea for cooperative farming was boosted by the 1967 Agriculture Act which provided support for all forms of agriculture. The Central Council for Agricultural and Horticultural Cooperation was formed to be responsible for the administration of grants for cooperative purposes. Grants were made available for new machinery and buildings for joint ventures.  The government followed the progress of the cooperative as they were pioneers for a policy the government were keen to promote. The film was actually shown to other farmers and helped to promote the cooperative idea.

 

If anything, the film is perhaps even more relevant today than it was when it was made. The idea of cooperation in agriculture remains an important issue when so many farmers across the world are struggling. And this is not just a concern for farmers. For those who have lived all their lives in a city farming can seem remote, but clearly what we eat and how we get it involves us all. Agriculture is caught up in a global economy with global issues, and there are increasing calls to eat local produce.

 

We have come a long way in agriculture since the seeds of agriculture were sown in the Middle East some 10,000 years ago. How we feed the world has become an increasingly hot topic, throwing up a host of controversial issues: what should be produced and for whom? Why do so many people die of hunger? What is the role of the big corporations which control much food supply and retailing? How should farm animals be treated? Should animals be used for humans at all? How can agriculture aid biodiversity and ecosystems? Are genetically modified crops a good thing?  What is the place of pesticides? The list could go on and on.

 

Of course, this film is not designed to address any of these issues. But it is interesting to see what developments there have been in the farming practices shown since the film was made.  The burning of stubble was banned after an accident on the M18, when someone was killed, was blamed on smoke produced by farm fires. Since then chemical weedkillers have become common to stop the spread of grass seeds.

 

One of the more striking features of the film – at least to those not brought up on a farm – is the way the animals are handled. What has probably changed most is the attitude towards the treatment of farm animals.  This was already becoming an issue with the publication in 1964 of Ruth Harrison’s Animal Machines, and the beginnings of what was to become The Farm Animal Welfare Council.  As the title of this body suggests, this concern has gradually made its way into legislation through the ideas of animal welfare, to prevent cruelty and suffering to animals. 

 

There are those who go further than this kind of prevention by developing ideas of animal rights. This really took off in the 1970s and has mushroomed since. For some who advocate animal rights the use of animals for any human purposes is unjustifiable.   This position is bolstered by the growing evidence of just how much feelings – sentience – animals can have. These go beyond the usual ones of pleasure, pain, heat, cold, hunger, thirst, like and dislike to also include fear, loneliness and anxiety, and the positive feelings of pleasure and play. But even for organisations that stop short of this view, like the Compassion in World Farming Trust, there is still a long way to go before farm animals are treated without suffering. The National Farmer’s Union argue that the laws as they stand already do this, even though they may often get broken. Much hinges on what is considered to constitute care and compassion. 

 

The UK prides itself in leading the way in animal welfare, being responsible for the first legislation in this area with the 'Act to Prevent the Cruel and Improper Treatment of Cattle', in 1822. At present The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) is responsible for all farming matters. The welfare of farm animals is covered by the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and the Statutory Instrument ‘The Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2007’. According to this a person responsible for a farmed animal must have regard to its physiological and ethological needs in accordance with good practice and scientific knowledge. In addition there are European Commission Directives.  All the regulations are brought together in the ‘Codes Of Recommendations For The Welfare Of Livestock’.

 

Other organisations that oversee animal welfare include The Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC), an independent advisory body established by the Government in 1979, and the Royal Veterinary Centre for Animal Welfare, which adopts a very scientific approach to animal welfare. Other organisations challenge the ethical assumptions upon which this scientific approach is founded upon, raising broader issues of how humans should relate to other animal species.  People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) claims to be the largest such organisation.  FAWC adopted a policy of ensuring five freedoms for animals soon after it was formed: freedom from hunger and thirst; freedom from discomfort; freedom from pain, injury or disease; freedom to express normal behaviour; and freedom from fear and distress.

 

The RSPCA has adopted the same five freedoms and is critical of many practices, such as the conditions in the transportation of live animals.  DEFRA also claims to support these same five freedoms. These very general aims allow for plenty of disagreement as to what they entail.  Much of the debate has centred around one freedom in particular: ‘Freedom to Express Normal Behaviour  So, for example, the RSPCA state that pigs should have bedding material at all stages of growth, whereas the DEFRA regulations do not stipulate this.   The RSPCA also has a Freedom Food labeling system to identify animal products that have come from farms maintaining standards that have been set and monitored by the Society. - by providing sufficient space, proper facilities and company of the animals own kind’.

 

The usefulness of home made films such as Agricultural Co-operation has recently been demonstrated by  the BBC, who made a series of programmes of how agriculture has changed, Mud, Sweat and Tractors, using locally made films such as this. 

 



References

The YFA has an interview with John Sellers conducted shortly after the film was made.


Francis Donaldson and Derek Barber, Farming in Britain Today, Penguin Press, London, 1969.

Raynor, A. J. and Ennew, C. T.  'Agricultural co-operation in the UK: a historical review.' Discussion Paper, Department of Economics, University of Nottingham.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

RSPCA:

The Farm Animal Welfare Council:

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA):

Further Information

Ruth Harrison, Animal Machines, Vincent Stuart, London, 1964.

Peter Singer (ed), In Defense of Animals: The Second Wave, Blackwell, Oxford, 2005.