Effect of Size and Current Use 



There was a total of 137 agriculturally idle or nearly idle places in the 

 six towns just reviewed. Eighty-three (60 percent) of these were definitely 

 less than commercial size as dairy farms. These would have to be ruled out 

 as places where a farmer could establish a complete farm unit. It is true that 

 farmsteads might be established on them if additional land were available 

 elsewhere. However, most farmers probably would be justifiably reluctant to 

 make heavy farmstead investments on such small places without control of 

 additional land. This leaves 31 (23 percent) of the places with probably not 

 quite enough land for a 20-cow farm, and 23 (17 percent) with enough 

 usable land. It will be recalled that most of these places were currently used 

 principally as residences. In most cases they were the residences of the owners. 

 Only 10 of the 54 places in the two larger farm size groups had buildings 

 currently available for a farm operator — if we assume that the current use 

 of buildings would not be given up. Thus it appears that not only the less 

 than commercial size places, which are in the majority, but also most of 

 the larger places would have little chance of being used except by farmers 

 operating from other farmsteads. 



Table 13. Availability of Buildings Needed for Farm Units 

 on Places of Possible Commercial Size 



Town 



Size of Places 



Number of Places 

 Number on which Buildings 

 of May be Available 



Places to a Tenant Farmer 



Greenland and 

 Stratham 



Hopkinton 



Gilmanton 



Lancaster 



Walpole 



Commercial size 

 Doubtful commercial size 



Commercial size 

 Doubtful commercial size 



Commercial size 

 Doubtful commercial size 



Commercial size 

 Doubtful commercial size 



Commercial size 

 Doubtful commercial size 



lotal of 6 towns 



Commercial size 

 Doubtful commercial size 



23 

 31 



9 

 1 



The next pertinent questions are: What are the attitudes of owners to- 

 ward making their agricultural land available to farmers? What are the 

 attitudes of active farmers toward using this land? In three towns — Green- 

 land, Stratham, and Hopkinton — an effort was made to contact all owners of 

 idle farm land and all active farmers to obtain their attitudes on several points 

 related to possible land use. It is believed that attitudes toward these points 

 would not be greatly different in other towns. 



Attitudes of Owners 



In Table 14 the places are classified according to the owners' direct or in- 

 direct answers as to why their land was not currently rented for farm use. 

 Probably in most cases more than a single consideration was involved, but 

 an effort was made to select the most direct, strategic, or deciding factor in- 

 volved. 



30 



