Edition Bobbett1. Texts by Elizabeth F. Bobbett: 1.1.3. Correspondence, Letters to newspapers

1955 Elizabeth Bobbett: Letter to the Irish Press, 24.02.1955

Purchase of Fertilisers1

On every newspaper, daily and local, and in every post office we see large advertisements advising farmers to apply fertilisers now etc., etc., for grass lands, for corn crops, roots.

Over the years, farmers have constantly been asking for some means of getting cheap credit to purchase fertilisers, and in February, 1954, a scheme was brought into force by the Department of Agriculture to enable farmers to purchase fertilisers on special terms of interest by getting a guarantor to sign in any bank on the appropriate form given out by the Department of Agriculture.

This scheme was very beneficial to a large number of farmers and especially to the smaller farmers. You got twelve months to repay the loan, and it left you in a position that you could pay cash down for your fertilisers and so get best quotations. The official title of the scheme was “Department of Agriculture Scheme of Loans for the purchase of Fertilisers and Ground Limestone, 1954.”

As there had been no mention as to whether this scheme was being made available to farmers for 1955, I raised the matter at the County Wicklow Committee of Agriculture in January, and the County Secretary was instructed to write to the Department about it. Up to February 19 there had not been even an acknowledgment of the letter from the Department. On January 30 I wrote personally to Mr. James Dillon, Minister for Agriculture, asking him if the scheme would be made available for 1955 and strange to say I have not got any acknowledgment either. I did not expect a personal reply from the Minister as I know what a very busy man he is, but I felt that any matter of benefit to farmers he would give it personal attention and get the scheme going for 1955. One of our merchants also wrote to the Department about this scheme as many of his costumers availed of it last year, but he has not had a reply from the Department of Agriculture either. Why this inefficiency and discourtesy from any Department?

Farmers are asking for information of this scheme, and I hope the Minister will make the announcement without delay. Indeed if the money spent in advertising was put to supplying cheaper fertilisers it would be better spent.

1 - A similar letter was published in the Irish Independent, 07.03.1955.

About the digital edition

This volume of Elizabeth F. Bobbett’s writings and speeches is divided into four parts. The first section comprises 321 texts written by her. The second part contains 150 speeches and statements by Bobbett, most of which were published in newspapers. Part 3 contains 727 texts written about Bobbett by contemporaries of her or addressed to her. Finally, Part 4 is a collection of 50 source texts that are important for understanding Elizabeth F. Bobbett’s activism. Parts 3 and 4 will be made available online in March 2027.

Suggested citation

Elizabeth Bobbett: Letter to the Irish Press, 24.02.1955, in: Peter Moser (ed.), In her own Words. The Writings of Elizabeth F. Bobbett (1898-1971). Farmer, Feminist and Public Figure, Bern, 2026, https://www.histoirerurale.ch/editions/pages/bobbett/1955-02-24-201.html, consulted on .

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