Lady Eve Balfour facts for kids
Lady Evelyn Barbara Balfour, OBE (born July 16, 1898 – died January 16, 1990) was a British farmer and teacher. She was a key person in starting the organic farming movement. She was one of the first women to study farming at an English university. She graduated from what is now the University of Reading.
Contents
A Pioneer in Farming
Early Life and Education
Evelyn Balfour was one of six children. Her father was Gerald Balfour, 2nd Earl of Balfour, and her mother was Lady Elizabeth Edith "Betty" Bulwer-Lytton. She was also the niece of former Prime Minister Arthur Balfour.
When she was just 12 years old, Evelyn decided she wanted to be a farmer. At 17, she became one of the first women to study agriculture at Reading University College. She earned her farming diploma in 1917. After that, she spent a year working on a farm, learning practical skills like ploughing fields.
Starting Her Own Farm
In 1919, when she was 21, Evelyn and her sister Mary bought New Bells Farm in Haughley Green, Suffolk. They used money they inherited from their father.
In 1939, Evelyn started the Haughley Experiment on her farm. This was the first long-term scientific test to compare organic farming with farming that used chemicals. She wanted to see which method was better for the soil and crops over many years.
The Living Soil Book
In 1943, Evelyn Balfour wrote a book called The Living Soil. It was published by Faber & Faber in London. This book became a very important guide for the new organic food and farming movement. It explained why organic methods were good and shared her plans for the Haughley Experiment. The book was printed many times because so many people were interested.
The Soil Association
Founding a New Organization
In 1946, Evelyn Balfour helped create the Soil Association. She became its first president. This group works to promote sustainable agriculture, which means farming in a way that protects the environment for the future. The Soil Association became one of the main groups supporting organic farming in the UK.
Evelyn was disappointed when the UK government passed the Agriculture Act 1947. This law supported farming that used machines and chemicals. It did not offer help or money for organic farming.
Growing the Movement
By 1952, the Soil Association had grown to 3,000 members. This was thanks to the hard work of Evelyn and a small group of people. They also published a journal called Mother Earth, which later became Living Earth.
In South Africa, some farmers tried Evelyn Balfour's organic methods in the early 1960s. They found that organic farming worked very well, especially on dry soil. They realized they did not need chemicals, which sometimes made things worse.
Later Years and Legacy
Continued Work
Evelyn Balfour kept farming, writing, and giving talks for the rest of her life. She believed that "Health can be as infectious as disease, growing and spreading under the right conditions." This meant that good health, like good farming, can spread when conditions are right.
In 1958, she traveled for a year around Australia and New Zealand. She met other organic farming pioneers there, like Henry Shoobridge. He was the president of the Living Soil Association of Tasmania, which was the first group to join with the Soil Association.
Retirement and Recognition
Evelyn moved to the Suffolk coast in 1963 but still visited her farm at Haughley often. The farm was sold in 1970. In 1984, she retired from the Soil Association at the age of 85. She still enjoyed working in her large garden.
On January 14, 1990, Evelyn Balfour was given the OBE award. This was a great honor for her work. She had a stroke in 1989 and passed away in Scotland on January 16, 1990, at the age of 90.
The day after she died, the British government started offering money to farmers to encourage them to switch to organic methods. This showed how important Evelyn Balfour's work had been.
