Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 564 New Colonization ([-])

It has to be said that the advantages of the three-crop crop rotation system are still obvious.

The advantage of this method is that villagers can raise a large number of livestock in order to obtain more economic income as much as possible. After all, cattle and sheep can be sold at a higher price than grain.When the East Coast government collects taxes, it mainly collects cash, and now it basically no longer collects taxes in kind.At the same time, their fallow fields will also accumulate a large amount of livestock manure as fertilizer, making the soil more fertile when planting grain next year.For relatively poor land, the superiority of this kind of crop rotation system is higher than that of fertile land, and the increase rate of crop yield will be higher.Moreover, the grain stalks harvested on weekdays can also be used as feed for livestock, so that precious grains will not be used to feed livestock when grass is in short supply in winter.

To be honest, this kind of thing is not a great black technology.As early as hundreds of years ago, farmers in Europe and China had already summed up this system, but due to various reasons, such as population growth, land shortage, political turmoil and frequent wars, etc., these systems have not been well promoted. .For example, in the middle of the Middle Ages (12th-13th centuries) in Europe, some areas (the Rhine River area) adopted this method of fallow rotation to maintain soil fertility, but this method was only popular in some areas and was soon adopted. Interrupt, it is really puzzling that people will not be popularized on a large scale until the so-called "agricultural revolution" in the 18th century.

"I've asked people in Dingyuan Township that even if it's a newly reclaimed wasteland, it's not a problem to grow 4000 jin of alfalfa a year. After all, the climate here is very suitable for the growth of this crop. If you add some potatoes or sweet potatoes to the pasture, you can raise ten cows." After arriving at the door, Anderson jumped out of the car, and then called her wife out to unload the pasture.

Her wife was taking care of the vegetable cattle by the pen, and when she heard this, she hurried over, and seeing Wang Youcai following behind, she immediately blushed, and said hello in a low voice: "Mr. Wang."

Wang Youcai responded with a smile, and then began to help the two of them work together.The cows that Anderson bought looked very thin. Maybe they had lost too much weight on the way from the south, so they urgently needed fattening.The eight cows only cost 80 yuan in total. If it wasn't for the cows that were snatched from La Plata, how could it be so cheap!After all, regardless of the outcome of this war, at least the lower-level farmers on the east bank have really reaped a fortune.Otherwise, even if the upper echelon wanted to promote the three-crop rotation system across the country, how could so many livestock be distributed to farmers?Fortunately, a large amount of cattle and sheep were seized through a war, and a large part of the "startup funds" for the promotion of the three crop rotations was immediately put in place.

In fact, the Government Council originally planned to graze the large amount of cattle and sheep that had been looted on the state-run ranch in Muchang Township, but the military department insisted on distributing the cattle to the farmers, because these farmers are the main source of the militia.They also drew the Ministry of Agriculture as an ally, pointing out that the three-crop crop rotation system to be promoted by the Ministry of Agriculture requires a large number of cattle, and the non-captive grazing model adopted by the state-run ranch is too inefficient, and the cattle eat low-quality wild animals all day long. Weeds grow slowly and produce little feces, which is not conducive to agricultural development.In the end, it was really hard for the military, so the Government Affairs Council agreed to sell half of the cattle and sheep at a low price, and return some funds by the way.

As for what Anderson said "asked the people in Dingyuan Township", it is because Dongfang County, the capital, had already started experimenting with the three-crop crop rotation system more than ten years ago.At that time, a group of farmers from the Ministry of Agriculture across the country were helpless in the face of "ancient agriculture" without chemical fertilizers, improved seeds, pesticides, and agricultural machinery. Generally, the yield of seventy to eighty catties of wheat per mu almost drove them crazy. It was a serious blow to the Ministry of Agriculture, which was gradually abandoning potato cultivation.

In desperation, they had no choice but to maintain a huge potato planting area while sending people to Europe (England, Netherlands) to learn advanced agricultural technology. Later, they were Walloon immigrants from the Western South Netherlands. inspired them.After constantly summing up experience, they finally worked out a crop rotation method similar to the Norfolk system of later generations, and officially named it the East Coast Three-Crop Rotation System.

12年前，他们在东方县定远乡划拨了一万五千亩农田作为试验田，开始执行三茬轮作制度。这12年中，每一亩地平均休耕四年（期间种植牧草），其余八年全部种植小麦。小麦亩产也从一开始（1635年）的70多斤（种子收获比1:4.6），逐步上升到1641年的90余斤（种子收获比1:5.9），增长28%；然后到了1644年的时候亩产小麦120斤左右（种子收获比1:7.5），与三年前相比再次增长27%；而今年的数据也才刚刚出笼，比较喜人，亩产小麦140余斤（种子收获比1:8.8），环比上一个周期再次增长13%。

This data can basically confirm the great success of the three crop rotation system.Because the fallow land (planted with grass) basically does not require much care from the farmers, on the contrary, a lot of manure and livestock are harvested (skin, meat, fat, and milk can be sold for money).The fertility of the fallow land has also been maintained, and the yield of wheat per unit area has nearly doubled that before the crop rotation was not implemented.

This yield increase is huge!Because this means that on the same 30 mu of arable land, those who implement the three-crop rotation system will harvest 8400 catties of wheat (not counting miscellaneous grains) and no less than ten cows (slaughter in three years), while those who do not implement this system can only harvest Harvest about 6500 catties of wheat, and raise a few more sheep at most.If one season of miscellaneous grains planted after the summer wheat harvest is included, the yield gap is even greater, which is enough to prove the great superiority of the three-crop crop rotation system.

This is only in Dingyuan Township, where the agricultural conditions are not so good. If it is in the Huxi area with good conditions, I believe that the wheat output will definitely exceed 140 catties.Because historically, when England and some parts of Western Europe implemented this crop rotation system in the 17th and 18th centuries, the seed-to-harvest ratio of wheat could even reach an astonishing height of 1:14 (more than 200 catties per mu), and the seed-to-harvest ratio of barley was also 1:8. : Around 140, it is really staggering.The current yield of wheat on the East Bank is only 30 catties per mu, and there is definitely room for improvement in this yield. I believe that as long as the land has enough farm manure, it is definitely not just a dream to increase the yield by 50%-[-]% per mu.

Judging from the annual production of 6 tons of feces by adult cows raised in captivity today, it is enough to fertilize 3 mu of wheat fields.For example, Anderson’s family raised 8 cows and produced 48 tons of manure per year. At the same time, the 20 mu of wheat field cultivated at the same time only needs 40 tons of manure to fertilize the field every year. The remaining 8 tons of manure can be sold to the Northern Gunpowder Factory to make nitrate in exchange for some economic income. .

Of course, most farmers are reluctant to sell the manure.They generally put all the manure on the fields to make the cultivated land more fertile and to harvest more grain every year.Only a very small number of farmers will choose to sell manure to the cotton-growing areas of Zhenyuan Township and Bingtuanbao. You must know that growing cotton is very labor-intensive. Just like growing sugarcane and tobacco, these lands require more fertilizers.

The 12-year three-crop crop rotation system in Dingyuan Township is not without some shortcomings.For example, experts from the Ministry of Agriculture found that after using a large amount of manure to fertilize the field several times in a row, the seeds will degrade faster when planting wheat next time. If it is a commercial crop, it will effectively alleviate this adverse consequence.

After the success of the experiment in Dingyuan Township, with the approval of the Government Council, the Ministry of Agriculture immediately began to promote the three-crop crop rotation system in suitable places across the country.Now, as long as the conditions are right for newly-built settlements, the land will be allocated according to the three-crop rotation system when planning, and the agricultural technicians at the agricultural technology station will guide the cultivation, so as to increase the domestic grain production as soon as possible and increase the number of farmers. income.

"On average, more than 1 ton of wheat can be sold to the national reserve grain depot every year. Even according to last year's purchase price, it is more than 30 yuan. In addition, there are many miscellaneous grains that are either fed to pigs or sold, and the average annual price is about 15 yuan. The last is the income of captive cattle. It is not a problem to sell 15 yuan a head to the meat factory, and the average annual profit is 40 yuan. In this way, the annual pre-tax income of a single farmer is nearly 90 yuan. Hurry up Served as a soldier!" Wang Youcai, the chief executive, made a rough calculation and came up with a data that made him a little admirable: "If the cows are raised for both meat and milk, there will usually be some extra fresh milk and cheese. , butter income. No wonder the state wants to cut farmers’ income. If this goes on, who is willing to work in a factory as a worker? Why don’t they all swarm to become farmers!”

"I am now a supervisor of the Northwest Reclamation Bank. My monthly salary is only eight yuan and twenty-five cents. After adding the year-end bonus, the annual pre-tax salary will only be about one hundred and ten yuan. The income of a farmer in the countryside is about It’s more than me.” Anderson said with a chuckle, “How much is the annual income of an ordinary factory worker? About 65 yuan! I remember that many workers have been complaining, and now prices have been rising, although wages have also increased, but the increase is somewhat Lag behind, their life is more difficult than before.”

"Haven't you taken an economics class? As a rapidly developing economy, inflation is normal, especially when we are still in a war. When inflation and prices rise, wage increases are sometimes higher than However, when there is deflation and falling prices, wages tend to fall more slowly than prices.” Wang Youcai said: “However, given that farmers have more real estate, the state has now seriously implemented property tax collection. The income levels of farmers and workers will gradually level off, and workers’ incomes will even be a line higher.”

The two chatted for a while, and Wang Youcai didn't leave until all the clover was unloaded and shredded.

(End of this chapter)