24 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 387 



Part-Time Farming 



Closely connected with residential land uses is the development of part-time 

 farming. As a matter of fact, the desire to have residence in a rural environment 

 has been one of the primary motives of a good many people in adopting part- 

 time farming as a mode of living. Where farming is done on a very small scale, 

 hardly sufficient to cover the essential requirements of the family in a few products, 

 the residential element is undoubtedly dominant. Where part-time farming 

 expands to the extent of not only fully covering the family requirements in a few 

 essential products but even going into the production of a surplus for sale, the 

 matter of additional income enters more fully into consideration. In most cases 

 the decision to settle in part-time farming is based on a combination of several 

 considerations: cheaper living, more acceptable housing conditions, especially 

 for a large family, opportunities for better health because of country environment 

 and more abundant fresh farm products, a certain amount of additional income 

 combined with the security of owning a small farm — all these enter into the 

 picture.^ 



Part-time farming has been on the increase in the State for the last two or three 

 decades and is still advancing. One type of part-time farming, that carried on 

 by retired people with an outside income, is slated now for a big increase. On the 

 basis of recent social legislation a large number of people engaged in industries 

 and trades will be retiring after a certain age with a definite income through the 

 rest of their lives. Many of these, either because of a previous rural background 

 or because of an urge for rural life, will be looking forward to settling on a piece 

 of land in the country. Some of them are not waiting for the beginning of the 

 retirement period and are already getting suitable holdings in readiness for that 

 time. These tendencies have been definitely discovered in the studies of part- 

 time farming carried on under this and other projects in Massachusetts. 



To determine the extent of part-time farming is extremely difficult because of 

 a variety of types existing in the State and the difficulty of formulating an ade- 

 quate definition. The most recent complete figures available are for the Census 

 of 1940. (Chart X) According to this information, 40 percent of the 31,897 

 farms included in the Census enumeration are operated on a part-time basis. 

 Some part-time farmers are engaged in outside work on other farms, but the 

 majority, comprising 84 percent of the total, are employed in industry and other 

 occupations. The amount of time spent by part-time farmers outside of their own 

 holdings varies widely. While only 17 percent of them spent less than 100 days 

 per year in such work, 61 percent of them were engaged in outside activities to 

 the extent of 200 days or more through the year. 



The extent of part-time farming varies with the location and general conditions 

 in a particular area. There is more part-time farming in towns with industrial 

 enterprises and in rural areas in the vicinity of industrial centers. With the 

 improvement of rural roads and better transportation facilities, commuting is 

 possible for longer distances and part-time farming spreads over wider areas. 



Much of the land previously in commercial farming is now being occupied by 

 part-time farming. More of it will undoubtedly be taken, especially in the eastern 

 part of the State. Considering the level of land values and the high taxes in the 

 eastern counties, it is difficult to visualize much farming on a commercial scale 

 carried on profitably in some of these areas. Inasmuch as the part-time farmer 

 has an additional income and does not need as much land as an operator engaged 

 in commercial farming, he can carry the load with much less difficulty. In 

 addition, to the part-time farmer the expense of maintaining his holding is to a 

 large extent a part of his housing costs. 



*Rozman, David. Part-Time Farming in Massachusetts. Mass. Agr. Expt. Sta. Bui. 266, 1930 



