Table 2. Number of Places "Rented" per Farmer, Town of Walpole, 1949* 



Number of Places "Rented" per Farmer 

 Kind of land used 0123456789 10 "Some" 



Number of Farmers Using Above Number of Places 

 Bought standing hay 38 4 



(total 4 places) 



Rented hay land 31 7 3 1 



(total 21 places) 



Rented for cultivated crops 39 2 1 



(total 6 places) 



Rented pasture 23 15 3 2 



(total 27 places) 



* Exclusive of two farms rented as the operators' home units. 



each and one farmer rented five pieces. Rented hay land was apt to be on 

 the small pieces within or the somewhat larger pieces on the fringe of the 

 areas of frequent commercial farms. Almost half (nine) of the pieces of 

 rented hay land were between 10 and 25 acres, but five pieces were of five 

 acres or less and five were of 30 acres or more. Probably some of the larger 

 places were broken up into more than one field. Eleven of the 21 pieces of 

 rented hay land were within a mile of the renter's farmstead and none was 

 as much as three miles away. 



Only four farmers reported bu) ing standing hay. In so far as we can 

 talk about the characteristics of so small a number they are similar to the 

 rented hay cases, except that none of those buying standing hay reported 

 buying more than one piece and one piece was farther away from the buyers 

 farmstead (5-6 miles) than were any of the rented hay lands. 



For cultivated crops two farmers each rented a few acres nearby, one 

 for silage, the other for vegetables. A third fanner rented four pieces, aver- 

 aging 12 acres each and from one to five miles away, to raise dairy grain. 



Both of the rented farm units were commercial size dairy farms. In one 

 case the rented farm is the operator's complete unit except that he lives in 

 his own house nearby: he uses the rented farm's barns. In the other case 

 the operator lives on the main rented farm but rents some supplemental 

 pasture and crop land. 



Extent and Nature of Current Renting in the Town of Derry 



Acain in early all the active farmers were contacted. Slightly more than two- 

 thirds, as compared to more than one-half in Walpole, were using other 

 people's land in some manner. However, just half (15 of 30 1 of the Derry 

 farmers were using rented land in ways other than buying standing hay. 

 whereas somewhat more than half (27 of 44) ) were doing so in Walpole. 

 About half ( 14 of 30 1 of the farmers were buying standing hay in Derry 

 as compared to less than one-tenth (4 of 44) in Walpole. Thus we can say 

 that a somewhat higher proportion of the active farmers in Derry were 

 making some use of other people's land but a larger part of this total use 

 was a very light form — one which is regarded as too light to keep the land 

 in agriculture in the long run. 



Buying standing hay was the most numerous single use of others' land 

 in Derry. Six bought hay on only one place, but three each bought on three 

 places and one bought on four. The 14 pieces for which the size was given 



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