ADAS

 

My first job, after completing a degree in Agriculture at Reading University, was to become an Agricultural Advisory Officer (AAO) with the Agricultural Development and Advisory Service (ADAS). This organisation was an executive agency of the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food (MAFF).

I feel that I was very fortunate to work for this organisation, which helped farmers and growers in England and Wales to produce more food, more efficiently and (especially in more recent times) in an environmentally friendly way. 

The Origins of ADAS

 Land Army girls milking at Reaseheath

Before 1912 the only direct advice on agricultural problems available to farmers was given informally by the teaching staff of academic institutions and local authorities.  The Reay Committee on Agricultural Education recommended in 1908 that instructors under local authorities should be subsidised by the Board of Agriculture. In 1912 the Board of Agriculture had finally clarified its position with the Board of Education and assumed responsibility for agricultural education for all students over 16. Each county established an advisory service to advise on routine agricultural matters.

In the First World War, the War Agricultural Executive Committee (which farmers referred to as The War Ag) helped the country to become less reliant on food imports and encourage farmers and growers to grow more food. In the Second World War the War Ag was reconvened and given more powers. For instance, famers would be told to plough up permanent pasture to grow potatoes and cereals. This sometimes caused resentment - many farmers thought they were best placed to decide what should, and perhaps more importantly what shouldn't be grown on their farms.

Both world wars had highlighted the importance of national food security.  As part of the 1944 Agriculture Bill, the National Agricultural Advisory Service (NAAS) was established in 1946 as the advisory and research arm of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF). It provided free advice to farmers and growers on a wide range of areas. Some advice was quite specific, such as  "does this field need lime to correct a low pH". Other advice was far more wide ranging, like Business Management Advice - for instance "should I increase my dairy herd, and go out of beef production"? 

NAAS was rebranded as ADAS in 1971. The new service combined the work of NAAS, the Agricultural Land Service (ALS), the State Veterinary Service, and the Drainage and Water Supply Service (DWSS). 

This service was designed to be smaller, and more cost-conscious, than the previous organisations. 

ADAS the Government Agency

ADAS continued and expanded the work that NAAS had carried out.  

Advisory Work

As a front line advisor, I was fortunate to be supported by a huge army of experts, with very different specialisms. They would train staff and come out on visits when needed.  

The range of advisers included horticulturalists sub divided in to more specialist groups e.g. top fruit, glasshouse crops, soft fruit.

In the later years of free ADAS the general adviser became more specialist as farming systems changed.

Farm Management

It was NAAS, and later ADAS, in the late 60’s early 70’s that codified and and made practical the discipline of farm management through pioneering work of some of the then Advisors.

The Farm Management Group provided advice to farmers, and others, such as accountants and recording agencies, on the management of farms to encourage efficient use of available resources to give maximum returns. 

The Farm Management Group would prepare very detailed costing books, which were updated annually, to help general advisers to prepare Gross Margin, Profit and Loss accounts and cashflow forecasts.

ADAS Farm Management advisers would also provide information for colleagues, farmers, and growers on Farm Diversification and Socio Economic aspects, including Succession and Inheritance.

Livestock

Livestock Husbandry Advisory Officers (LHAO) were organised into Beef, Dairy, Pigs, Sheep, and Poultry specialists. After ADAS became an agency Equine advisers were also added. They would advise on breeding, feeding, fertility, sire selection, and general aspects of livestock management.

Dairy Husbandry

ADAS Dairy Husbandry advisers Advisory Officers (DHAO) gave advice on all aspects of dairy husbandry. 

Initially their work on producing clean milk was very important to recuse impact of Ecoli, Salmonella and other diseases being passed through untreated milk.

They advised on clean milk production, mastitis prevention, choice of milking equipment, and cleaning milking machines and storage. They would also advise on farmhouse butter-making, cheese making and ice-cream production. They also had statutory duties (see below) under the Milk and Dairies Regulations 1959 (and later). As a result of their advice, the shelf life of pasteurised milk has been extended by many days.

DHAO’s worked closely with the National Institute for Research in Dairying (NIRD) to develop methodologies for testing all aspects of milking machine function and hygiene. Those methodologies form the basis of modern day standards and tests of milking equipment, including checking that temperatures and chemical concentrations were adequate for disinfecting the plant, and that vacuum level and pulsation were not causing adverse effects on teat/udder health.

ADAS also had a network of milk testing laboratories, which would test the compositional and hygienic quality of milk. 

Nutrition 

Nutrition Chemists would provide advice on the formulation of rations for different species of livestock. ADAS had a Feed Evaluation Unit at Drayton, near Stratford-upon-Avon, to carry out research on how farm animals performed with different feedstuffs. Many of the feeds for livestock were by-products from the production of food and/or drink for humans. For instance: 

• Beet Pulp was what was left over after sugar had been extracted from Sugar Beet
• Citrus by-products were the remains of citrus fruits which had been squeezed to extract the fruit juice
• Soya bean meal was the remains of soya beans, after the oil had been extracted for human consumption
  
• Rape seed meal the remains of rape seed, after the oil had been extracted for human consumption
•  Brewers/Distillers’ Grains were the residue from alcohol production
  

Because cows, and sheep, are ruminants, they are able to digest these fibrous products, which humans cannot.

Agronomy, Entomology and Plant Pathology 

Agronomists would advise on crop production, including choice of varieties and alternative crops and pest, disease and weed control. In the 1970’s and 1980’s ADAS Agronomists were involved in Plant Health and Seed certification both in regard to Grass and Cereals.

Plant Pathologists would advise on prevenetion and control of crop diseases. 

Entomologists would advise on insect pests, and other crop pests. I learnt that six rabbits would eat the same as one ewe and, that for every rabbit you saw, there would be ten underground! A lot of the work avoided unnecessary agrochemicals. For instance, the Entomologists would have Frit Fly traps to monitor the population of these insects, which could destroy new reseeds. This would help prevent unnecessary spraying (which also would wipe out the natural predators of these insects). 

Soil Science

Soil Scientists would advise on different soil types, reducing compaction etc. etc. I had struggled with Soil Science when I did my degree in Agriculture (our lecturer spoke in a monotone voice showing numerous slides of soil profiles in a warm dark room).... 

ADAS Soil Scientists were very different to my university experience of learning about soils. They were very "hands on". They would encourage us to dig pits with a spade, and then feel the compacted areas with a (more sensitive) trowel. They would also encourage us to sniff the soil (badly drained areas smell different), look at the colours of the soil (mottling indicates poor aeration and impeded drainage characteristics) and examine the root growth. If the roots suddenly go horizontal, that's an indication of soil compaction. you would be amazed how many farmers subsoil (to break up a plough pan) either too deep (wasting fuel and being less effective) or too shallow (which is completely pointless). The soil scientists would also advise on  soil sampling and testing (many people in the trade would not do this properly). They also advised on farm waste management. A dairy cow produces a far larger volume of urine and excrement, than it does milk. If applied at the wrong time of the year, it can cause terrible pollution, but when applied at the correct time (and place) can save the farmer money buying artificial fertilisers. ADAS even had a Farm Wastes Unit, near Reading, which gave invaluable advice about preventing pollution.  

Mechanisation

Farm Mechanisation advisers helped transform farms from originally mainly using horses to using increasingly complex machinery to save time and money. 

Labour, Horses and Tractors in Great Britain 1921-65, source Agriculture and the Environment, edited by David Jenkins, 1984

Farms were persuaded to change from (very weather dependent) hay making ("Good hay hath no fellow, but not many fellow hath good hay") to silage making (which was faster and produced a more nutritious product). Different solutions were advised for different circumstances and different farms - Tower Silage, Clamp Silage and (later) Big Bale Silage needed to be made and fed in very different ways.

Farm Mechanisation advisers also had a very important role in reducing the extent of pollution.  

Land and Water 

The Agricultural Land Service was created under the Agriculture Act 1947 and came into existence in 1948. In 1971 the Land Service became part of ADAS.

ADAS Surveyors had a wide range of duties. They would give advice to farmers and growers on farm building construction, and were involved with planning matters. They would be consulted when new roads etc. cut through agricultural land. The Agricultural Land Service also undertook the Agricultural Land Classification" used to ensure the "best and most versatile land" was used for agriculture as opposed to being developed.

A lot of landlord and tenant work was carried out, dealing with the Ministry Licences and Approvals which were then available for short term tenancies under the Agricultural Holdings Act. Where an applicant for tenancy succession also occupied other land in their own name ADAS certified whether this land was a ‘commercial unit’ within the definition of the Agricultural Holdings Act – it being a requirement for succession that the applicant was not in occupation of another commercial unit. 

ADAS surveyors also advised ADHACs – Agricultural Dwelling House Advisory Committees. The Land Service also carried out surveys for MAFF on Land Rents etc. ADAS Surveyors provided an input into Local Plans prepared by Local Authorities. They also became involved with Farm Diversification and led an interest in Forestry and Conservation. 

ADAS Surveyors also dealt with the statutory consultations of planning applications which were for more than 10 acres (4 ha) of land. If they objected, the local authority was virtually compelled to refuse permission. This helped prevent good agricultural land from being built on.

Members of the Land And Water Service were frequently called to give evidence at public inquiries.  

ADAS was also responsible for overseeing the restoration of mineral workings. This included restoring opencast coal mines for the National Coal Board, and also restoring sand and gravel quarries etc. This work restoring top soil, and correcting drainage problems caused by the previous workings.

Environmental work assumed increasing importance in the 1980’s. ADAS provided secretariat support, and advise, for the Farming and Wildlife Groups (FWAGS).

Another important aspect of ADAS's environmental work was dealing with agricultural pollution. This involved combined work with Agricultural Consultants, Drainage Officers and Surveyors and Soil Scientist and others. This resulted in Codes of Good Agricultural Practice (for the protection of the Air, Soil and Water). These are practical guides to help farmers, growers and land managers protect the environment in which they operate.  

Drainage and Water Supply Officers advised on the need for drainage of agricultural land. Better drainage of agricultural land has had a major effect in improving crop yields. They advised on the need, and best method, for crop irrigation. They would also act as a trouble-shooters for example when a dairy farm’s private supply failed its regular test. 

Discussion Groups and Open Days

A lot of work that ADAS did was promotion of change. Discussion groups were in existence immediately post war and many continue to this day. ADAS Advisers were encouraged to promote and run these groups, as it was more efficient to speak to many farmers at the same time. Also many of the group members were key influencers in their areas.

Farm Open Days were regularly run, promoting good farming practice and new ideas.

Research

Experimental Husbandry Farms (EHFs) were developed at Arthur Rickwood Farm, and Boxworth, Cambridgeshire; Bridget's, Hampshire; Drayton, Warwickshire; Gleadthorpe, Nottinghamshire; Greathouse, Lancashire; High Mowthorpe, Yorkshire; Liscombe, Somerset; Pwllpeiran, Cardiganshire; Redesdale, Northumberland; Rosemaund, Herefordshire; Terrington, Norfolk and Trawscoed, Aberystwyth. The National Archives still have their reports and guides here. 

Each farm had its own area of research. For instance, Bridget's was established to carry out full systems investigation of production from high yielding cows in what were then regarded as large herds (and would investigate preventing lameness and mastitis, and preventing lameness). Trawscoed would investigate producing milk from grass (and got yields of around 5,000 litres per cow feeding no cake at all). The work at Greathouse investigated problems that were faced by Producer Retailers (who were typical in that upland Pennine area). The dairy herd size was much smaller, but the farmers also needed to know about bottling their own milk etc. Redesdale investigated extensive farming of hill and moorland.

Experimental Horticulture Stations were developed at Brogdale Farm, Kent; Efford, Hampshire; Fairfield, Lancashire; Kirton, Lincolnshire; Lee Valley, Hertfordshire; Luddington, Warwickshire; Rosewarne, Cornwall and Stockbridge House, Yorkshire. The National Archives still have their Reports and Guides here.

The Farm Buildings Research Group comprised of a group of Engineers, Architects and Surveyors, and carried out research on improving farm buildings, which was then cascaded out to other advisers.

Agricultural Science Service

In 1971 MAFF’s professional, technical, and scientific services were brought together within the newly set up ADAS. Along with the Pest Infestation Control Laboratory, the Plant Pathology Laboratory now operated as a science laboratory within the ADAS Agricultural Science Service.

Laboratories

In 1940 a Pest Infestation Laboratory was set up by MAFF at Slough. This became combined with Infestation Control Laboratories in Tolworth and Worplesdon, and became part of ADAS in 1974. These labs were responsible for the work of the Regional Infestation Control Service.

In 1918 MAFF set up a Plant Pathology Laboratory at the Royal Botanic gardens at Kew. In 1920 the work was transferred to a private house Harpenden, and in 1960 transferred to new buildings at Hatching Green Harpenden. In 1979 the Plant Pathology Laboratory was renamed Harpenden Laboratory. It later became part of ADAS and carried research and advice into prevention of entry into England and Wales of plant pests and diseases, and control of any that do gain entry.

ADAS Aerial Photography Unit

ADAS's Aerial Photography Unit was based at Cambridge, and carried out surveys to help with plant disease surveillance.  They also carried out contract work for local authorities. They owned their own plane and had experts to intrepret the aerial photos taken.

Statutory Work

A wide range of work was carried out in implementation of statutory instruments, including but not limited to:

• Milk and Dairies Regulations, by DHAO’s, Milk Laboratories and State Veterinary Service;
• Bull and Boar Licensing. SVS and LHAO’s under legislation dating variously from 1931, 1944 and 1956;
• Town and Country Planning, by ADAS Surveyors 
• Animal Welfare and Disease Eradication/Prevention, The State Veterinary Service would check on animal welfare and disease prevention.  The whole organisation could be called upon to assist with outbreaks of disease, e.g. Foot and Mouth, Swine Vesicular Disease, Fowl Pest.
• Plant Health.

Advisers also carried out seed crop certification.

As well as advising farmers and growers with advice, ADAS gave advice to Ministers of Agriculture about issues affecting farmers and growers, and advice on potential solutions. Ministerial questions had to be answered very quickly.

ADAS was involved with advising on grant schemes like the Farm and Horticultural Development Scheme (FHDS) - which became the Agriculture and Horticultural Development Scheme (AHDS). This made ADAS advisers popular with farmers, as some grants were as high as 50% for land drainage in the lowlands and 70% in the uplands. The actual administration of the schemes was done by MAFF staff (and WOAD staff in Wales), but their staff didn't have the in-depth agricultural knowledge that ADAS staff had.

Later the Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS) came in, and ADAS helped farmers to complete claims, and gave advise on matters such as set aside.

ADAS Organisation

ADAS was organised into Regions and Divisions across England and Wales. In Wales the offices were run by the Welsh Office Agricultural Department (WOAD).

The Land Service came into existence with the formation of ADAS in 1971.  It had not previously been part of NAAS but had a separate existence as MAFF’s Agricultural Land Service. This, in turn, had taken over much of the work of the former Agricultural Land Commissioners who had overseen and supported the wartime work of the War Ags. 

ADAS became divided up into different areas; the Agriculture Service, the Agricultural Science Service, the Land Service, the Water Service (known as LAWS), the State Veterinary Service, along with Central Units. in 1981 the Land Service and the Water Service were merged to form a Land and Water Service (known as LAWS).

When I joined ADAS, in 1980, there were 5,449 staff in total, of which 1,641 were front line advisers.

Source: Hansard. Part-time staff are counted as a half.

By the mid 1980's, the breakdown of work carried out by ADAS was roughly one third Research and Development, one third Satutory and one third Advisory:

ADAS encouraged farmers to solve their own problems, and many agricultural discussion groups were formed. Some also became buying groups. Farmers were also encouraged to do Farm Waste Planning, to see if they had adequate storage.

Publications

ADAS, through MAFF Publications, helped to produce a large number, and wide range, of leaflets and booklets which helped farmers and growers, and also the agricultural supply trade. 

There would be Monthly Farmers' Bulletins:

These were different for each division, with articles (often written by local advisers) and details of advisory events and talks being held in that area.

Some of the publications were quite specific, for instance there was one on "Honey Fungus". Others like "Technical Bulletin 433: Energy allowances and feeding systems for ruminants" and "RB209 Fertiliser Recommendations" were amended regularly as the understanding improved of the area. 

Some of these publications are still published today - but by other organisations like The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board AHDB. 

IT

ADAS was an early adopter of IT. In the early 80's the use of IT was relatively, simple using devices like programmable calculators, and VisiCalc spreadsheets. Later, large programs were developed, which provided help with rationing, fertiliser calculations, fertility analysis and business management software. ADAS had an IT centre at Cheltenham and the important backups were stored in the safe at the adjacent police station!

The Bell Report

By the mid 1980's the government was looking to reduce the money spent on ADAS.

In 1984 Professor Ron L. Bell was appointed Director General of ADAS. He was commissioned to review the work of ADAS, and make recommendations on how ADAS should proceed in the future. Professor Bell was a curious choice to many in ADAS. He studied metallurgy at Birmingham University and had little/no involvement with agriculture until he was 47, and was then appointed as the Director of the National Institute of Agricultural Engineering in Silsoe in 1976. Professor Ron Bell, wrote a report (referred to as "the Bell Report") which introduced the concept that the industry could pay for the cost of the service, and ADAS started charging for advice from 31 March 1987.

There is an interesting Written Answer, in Hansard here about costs, staffing and the cuts being made. Four ADAS labs were closed on 1 April 1986 as part of a planned reduction in ADAS expenditure in 1986–87 on research and development.

New logos were developed, as it was no longer appropriate to use a crown on a privatised service:

ADAS used a strap line: Food, Farming, Land and Leisure, which helped show how much ADAS had diversified from being an advisory service for farmers and growers.

The services were regrouped into a more simplified structure:

Most areas that gave advice directly to farmers and growers were placed in the Farm and Countryside Service. 

In 1992, ADAS became an Executive Agency of MAFF until it was privatised. 

In March 1997 the work of ADAS was split between its commercial and statutory parts. The statutory parts were amalgamated with the ministry's Land Use Planning Unit to form a new executive agency, the Farming and Rural Conservation Agency. The commercial parts were privatised as ADAS Consulting Ltd.

Privatised ADAS

Photo © Keith Edkins (cc-by-sa/2.0)

The privatised ADAS had to evolve and adapt. New services, and new skills, were developed. Frequent reoganisation was required.

The privatised ADAS went into Administration on 5 December 2016 (see here for more details).  On privatisation ADAS had to take on a fully funded pension scheme.  Within the 6 months one of the first pieces of legislation that the new government implemented was a change to pensions law and how they were to be valued. This was part of the fall out of the Maxwell Scandal. The consequence was, 6 months after privatisation, the pension fund went from fully funded to deficit overnight. Later the government tightened pension legislation both interms of the way they were valued, and that they now become an integral part of company's balance sheet. From that ppoint on ADAS has to show how it was going to make up the deficit by large annual payments to the pension fund.  This impacted hugely on the business, and starved it of money for reinvestment.

It was the pension fund issue that lead ADAS into Administration. By then the company had stopped the final salary Scheme, and created a defined contribution scheme. The original scheme went into the Pension Protection Fund.

In 2016 the business, operating assets and employees of ADAS were acquired by environmental consultancy, RSK. 

Details of the current company are available on their web site:

https://adas.co.uk

My Personal View

I feel exceptionally lucky to have started my career working for such a fine organisation. Most of my colleagues were pleasant and talented individuals, who had a desire to help others.

The great thing for me was that if I was on a farm, and had a problem that I wasn't sure about, there was a host of experts that I could contact for advice. If necessary, they would come out on joint visits with me, training me and helping the farmer at the same time.

The extent and scale of the research, that ADAS carried out, was remarkable. Because we weren't selling anything, we were expected to be completely impartial. For instance, the fertiliser trade would advise applications of Nitrogen fertilisers to Winter Cereals in the autumn. This made crops look nice and bushy, and the farmers thought they would get more yields. In reality our soil scientists told us that most of the nitrogen ended up leaching through the soil (causing pollution). Our plant pathologists told us that the bushy crops attracted more disease. The cynic in me wonders if this was a luck coincidence for the sellers of fertilisers, as the same people often used to sell sprays to control the disease. Our agronomists told us that there was no economic benefit in these autumn applications of Nitrogen fertilisers and as a result of our advice farmers saved money and there was less environmental pollution. 

Making farming more efficient is in everyone's interest. It provides food security and helps our economy. I am not convinced that you could put a price on all the environmental work that ADAS conducted, or the animal welfare work that we did. In my view, these subjects are more important than ever. I am glad that some area managed to survive, after privatisation, but I miss the all-embracing organisation that we once had.

I would like to thank several former colleagues from ADAS, who have assisted me in putting together this post. If you have any comments, or contributions, I would be interested to hear from you.