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INDIVIDUAL ENTERPRI5 CO-OPERA
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E BENEFITS THE British flair for adapting varying—and often superficially opposed—methods of control is long established and widely recognized, whether in the sphere of government or private enterprise. This is exemplified to a remarkable degree in the substantial
growth of agricultural societies, 4
Fundamentally, individualism is dominant in farming. But where co-operation can clearly be shown to provide real benefits it is exploited to the full. The combined " annual turnover of the agricultural associations in England is now £135m.----over 40 per cent, more than five, years ago. Such rapid expansion confirms the value of the services which these societies offer to farmers.
Road transport operation is a major function of many such societies. But, because the service transport provides must also be largely individual, its integration into the activities of a society calls for high administrative ability to satisfy the urgent day-to-day-requirements of farmer members.
Annual Turnover Exeezds Om.
An excellent example of such a transport department is run by the Southern Counties Agricultural Trading Society, known throughout that area as SCATS. Founded in 1907, this society has become one of the largest in the country, with a membership of more than 12,000 and an annual turnover exceeding Dm. More progress has probably been made in the Society's activities in the past 10 years or so than in the previous 40. Since the war many ancillary services have been added or expanded.
A farrier's forge, for example, has been developed into a useful machinery depot. A mill was purchased in 1950, and extra silos for the drying and cleaning of grain have been leased. An electrical department was established in 1946, and a dairy installation department has also been added.
Diversity of traffic is inevitably one Of the major problems to be faced by the transport department. But because the modern farmer is vitally concerned with production per acre per man, the Society must continually aim at lower selling costs per ton, and a higher turnover of trading capital. Transport costs must similarly he reduced to a minimum,
SCATS' operational fleet of commercial vehicles, controlled by Mr. G. Orsborn, transport manager, totals 172,
Bedfords have been converted by SCATS for special work in the supply of water in agricultural areas. The smaller vehicles comprise 40 Thames 5-cwt. vans and 53 vans or trucks ranging from 10-cwt. to 30-cwt, capacity, and of either Ford or Bedford manufacture.
The bulk-grain body fitted to the Foden incorporates a chute at the rear, together with Pilot tipping gear. The hulk-feed body fitted to the 7-ton Commerwas built by Mann Egerton and Co., Ltd., Norwich, and has four 30-cwt. containers with pneumatic equipment for unloading. A low-loading semi-trailer is used for transporting large equipment, such as tractors, well-drilling tackle, piping and pumping equipment for water installations on farms. • The ex-W.D. Bedfords have been fitted with tilt bodies, and each has a winch under the floor for loading and unloading. Eight of the Thames 10-cwt. •trucks for machinery field service also have tilts and shelves for spares and tools. Two 6-ton Bedfords have special bodies to allow side loading of small equipment and sundries in cage pallets.
plus five employed as 'service units. The diversity of traffic carried is reflected in the variety of sizes of chassis and types of body. The largest vehicle in the fleet is a Fodett '12-ton bulk grain wagon. There are 27 7-tonners of Austin, Bedford and 'Ford manufacture, mostly platform vehicles with ShoIderhi hydraulic loaders, A Commer, however, is fitted with a bulk-feed body, whilst one of the Bedfords is an articulated outfit with a lowloading semi-trailer.
There are a further 18 Bedford 6-tonners, all fitted with -oil engines And platform bodies, nine having hydraulic loaders. Twenty-seven Bedford 5-tonners have sided bodies, and -23 have petrol engines. Six ex-W.D. 3-ton
172 drivers. _ Some of the farm-service vehicle drivers are also tradesmen, such as fitters, building workers, water engineers 'and electricians. The transport department employs eight fitters on fleet maintenance, Major overhauls and breakdowns. Along with three administrative staff, these men are based on the transport department's headquarters at Kings Worthy, near Winchester.
Length of service averages five years for drivers and 16 years for the maintenance staff. Incentive schemes are being investigated for payment on tonnage and accidentfree driving, with the particular objective of reducing minor damage.
Despite the wide area covered by the activities of SCATS, the only transport depot is at Kings Worthy. Trading is done through the Society's many branches, which are completely self-contained, operating their own transport independently under two main sales sections. The machinery and engineering section has 18 branches in Hampshire, Wiltshire, Sussex and Berkshire. The grain and merehanting section has a further 25 branches in Hampshire, Wiltshire, Sustcx, Surrey and Kent. Servicing and minor repairs •are carried out by local garages, the Society's branches having no equipment or spares.
Similarly, the only warehouse or transhipment shed is that utilized by the central purchasing department alongside the transport garage at Kings Worthy, although each branch has some accommodation for ..machinery, feedingstuffs, fertilizers and other farming requirements. Trolleys and a Lansing Bagnall fork-lift platforrn truck are used by the central purchasing department, whilst the seed grain department employs an electric sack hoist made by J. W. Wooley and Co., Ltd., Tamworth, for lorry loading and stare stacking at its Church Lane depot in Winchester. Hand-operated chain hoists are, in general, used at several branches.and one has a Fourways conveyor.
Apart from the specialized trade of retail shops and small machinery sent to the central purchasing department, all machinery is delivered direct by manufacturers to branches.
The 13 shops of the Society in Hampshire and Sussex receive their goods either direct from the suppliers, or by SCATS' delivery service operated by two vehicles working from the central purchasing department.
Most of the transport required in connection with the general merchanting trade consists of collection from ports, manufacturers' mills, factories and stores, and delivery direct to farm or into branch stores.
There is inevitably seasonal fluctuation in the demand for machinery and farm services, resulting in transport peaks which are covered by overtime working. There is, however, no dead time in which vehicles and staff have to be laid off. Thus, the grain and merchanting section has peaks for seeds and fertilizers in the spring and for grain at harvest time. Abnormal pressure on the SCATS' fleet is then eased by additional employment or hired transport. The extent to which use is made of the professional haulier is shown in the amount of £122,688 paid for outside haulage in the 12 months ended January last. Ihis• total is made up of returns from 26 depots, with individual hirings up to £9$12. .
Where trade expansion strains the branch transport facilities provided by SCATS' vehicles, the branch manager hires locally until an increase in his own fleet is justified.
SCATS' trading area covers -5,000 -sq. miles. Local journeys for representatives and branch deliveries are made in a radius of about 20 miles, although this figure is much lower in Hampshire and East Sussex.
Outside this area 150,000 tons of foodstuffs are collected from the ports of Bristol and London for delivery by branch transport to local farms or branch stores. Similarly, fertilizers are collected from factories outside the SCATS' area, whilst seed potatoes are brought from either ports or the north of England.
There is also a substantial amount of internal transport of grain bought from members and delivered from the farm to millers, maltsters, brewers and other buyers both inside and outside the Society's trading area. In addition, some of the grain is used by the Society for their own animal feedingstuffs business.
There is a wide variety in the types of machinery carried, which is usually loaded either by winch or by hand. Seed, grain, feedingstuffs, fertilizers and chemicals are normally packed in paper or hessian sacks, loaded on platform vehicles and sheeted in wet weather.
Apart from the bulk-grain and bulk-feed lorries, none of SCATS' fleet is adapted for the carriage of containers. Mr. Orsborn does not consider that containers lend themselves to the handling of their traffic, and two-way loads are not easy to arrange. Bulk transport is developing slowly because of capital costs. A farmer must be highly mechanized and dealing in large quantities to warrant the cost of mechanical handling.
In Mr. Orsborn's opinion there is, as yet, no simple mechanical conversion from container to open platform which would allow a bulk transport vehicle to be changed easily to sack transport. Cages are, however, used by the two central purchasing department lorries as containers to prevent orders from different shops and branches being confused when loading or unloading.
• The machinery farm service does not permit the regular routeing of vehicles for delivery in connection with such contracts as water and electricity supply, building and machinery maintenance, and breakdown services. There are, however, regular routine weekly deliveries of small equipment and spare parts.
Transport requirements are higher where the machinery branches have large repair shops and farm services, so that a vehicle may be kept available for emergency work. SCATS' field staff are generally licensed to drive, so that a van or truck can be shared between sections. Fixed routes are planned by branch managers.
Approximately 90 per cent. of all the machinery trade of the Society is delivered free on farm. This, however, does not apply generally to the grain and merchanting trade. The consignment note—termed a delivery ticket by SCATS then has details of the transport charge and goods that will appear on the invoice. The farmer will have been quoted for the goods, plus a transport charge for farm delivery, but he can collect himself from the branch store if he so wishes. Where the Society buy hay straw or grain from farmers, they arrange collection by either their own or hired vehicles. Alternatively, when these commodities are sold to farmers, transport is charged and shown as such on the delivery note.
A weekly report .sheet is completed by drivers of commercial vehicles and private cars showing the mileage run; the fuel and lubricating oil consumed, together with appropriate comments on the running of the vehicle. At the head of this form the names of the branch driver and mate are inserted, together with the vehicle number.
Details are then added day by day as to the journey, number of calls and deliveries. Particulars of the tonnage carried are then segregated into four columns headed Ex London," "Local Station," "To or ex Farm" and
Retail.These quantities, together with the mileage and fuel used, are totalled for the week.
Provision is also made to record the number of days the vehicle was off theroad and the cause—repairs; holidays, sickness or other reasons. Thern total earnings per week relative to the tonnage carried are also shown, together with wages. At head office the standing, fuel and other costs are also entered.
Last year, the vehicles with carrying capacities exceeding 15 cwt. covered 1,905,193 miles, whilst the vehicles from 5-15-cwt. recorded 919,798 miles.
As general manager (grain and merchanting), Mr. T. F. Collis is a major customer of the transport department. He considers that it is particularly important in their trade that management should have direct control over their vehicles, whilst allowing for decentralization to meet the needs of many branches scattered over a wide area.
Readily Available As an example of the continuance of available traffic throughout the farming year, Mr. Collis said that in January feedingstuffs were being carried, whilst a beginning was being made with fertilizers. There might still be some moving of grain to be done, as this would be the last month when labour was readily available. More concentrated fertilizers were now becoming available, but the reduced tonnage required per acre was being balanced out for the transport department by increased usage.
By February, the tonnages of feedingstuffs and fertilizers moved would be increasing. Annual sales of these two commodities totalled around 200,000 tons. Seeds would be transported in March for both herbage and cereal and cleaning and grading of seeds required transport.
Limestone was spread by contractors in April, whilst the delivery of weed-killing substances by SCATS' vehicles continued, as did feedingstuffs for cattle.
By May, however, the delivery of feedingstuffs for pigs and poultry replaced that for caftle. Turkeys and chickens were now being bred for the holiday season. Further vehicles were required for root seeds in June, and by July, early harvesting created the need for English grain to be delivered to the compounding and flour millers—first barley and then wheat. Barley 'tonnages were about double those for wheat.
' The peak period for the transport department was August and September, when harvesting was at the -maximum. The Society were then responsible for the carriage of approximately 20,000 tons of grain.
In October, there was the -phosphate trade and basic slag to be dealt with, whilst the building up of stocks of feedingstuffs for the winter was beginning andwould continue until early the following year. This build-up increased in November and December, and as vehicles returned from some deliveries they -picked up sugar-beet pulp and took it to the farm for animal feeding. When vehicles were in London, dried grains were also collected from Arthur Guinness, Son and CO.. Ltd., at Park Royal.
• In contrast, the main need for transport by the machinery and engineering 'section, controlled by Mr. R. F. W. Jones, was to deliver to farmers all types of new machinery and equipment and collect .repairs, or alternatively,' for' the carriage of maintenance, equipment to the farm. In addition to the more routine job of maintaining farm tractors and similar 'equipment, his department were also responsible for well-drilling and the subsequent installation of water supplies.
Comprehensive records are kept for all vehicles and Mr. Orsborn gave me examples of theresults the ,Society had obtained. As applied to general merchanting only, the cost per mile for a 7-tonner is Is. 4d., or 16s. 5d. per ton, and Is. ld. per mile and 14s. 3d. per ton for a 6-tonner. For the 5-tonners, which are now being replaced. the cost per mile is Is. 4d. and per ton, 17s. 9d. At the lower end of the scale the 10-cwt. vehicles are being operated at 8d. per mile.
The Society are now half-way through a three-year replacement programme. For vehicles of 5 tons and over, five years is considered to be the maximum life, and for the group ranging from 30 cwt. to 3 tons, three years. Cars and light vans are to be changed every two years.