Cork County Committee of Agriculture Descriptive List

Identity Statement Area

Reference Code:

IE 627/CC/CM/AG

Title:

Cork County Committee of Agriculture

Dates:

1901 – 1980

Level of Description:

Fonds

Extent:

38 items

Context

Creator Cork County Committee of Agriculture

Archival History Donated to Archives in 2009 by Teagasc, Farranlea Road, Cork. 1931 annual report donated 2015 by Maire O’Callaghan. Administrative History/Biographical History Cork County Committee of Agriculture was established and appointed by Cork County Council in December 1901, with full powers delegated to it, under the Agriculture and Technical Instruction Act 1899. Local authorities were given the power to levy rates on agricultural land for investment in the development of agriculture and rural industries. Financed by this levy, the county committees of agriculture were tasked with providing technical instruction to farmers and stimulating rural industry, under the general auspices of the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction in Dublin. From about 1904, the Committee administered an agricultural education scheme for the benefit of farmers and small holders in Cork, employing 5 instructors to advice on all matters connected with stock-keeping, crop-raising, purchase of manures and feeding stuffs. In the winter, lectures were delivered and classes provided. An additional 4 itinerant instructors were employed for horticulture and beekeeping, and instruction on poultry keeping and dairying was provided by a number of trained female instructors, who as well as lecturing and giving demonstrations, visited farms on request.

In 1906, the Committee consisted of all the members of Cork County Council, plus 28 other appointees including landowners such as George Colthurst and R. Bence Jones.

With the creation of the Irish Free State in 1922, key functions of the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction were retained, including the County Committees of Agriculture. Legislation over the years impacted on the work of the Committees, such as the Agricultural Act 1931, which strengthened their position, requiring them to administer local agricultural schemes. The 1931 Act also reduced the size of committees, which were not to exceed 32 members. Each electoral area was to have no more than 3 or 4 representatives on the committee. From this time, each county committee was given the responsibility to establish a farm advisory service.