VI. Soils and Types of Farming^ 



Types of Farming 



TYPES OF fanning refers to the principal kinds of products grown on 

 most of the farms in a specific area. The types of farming are determined 

 by physical, economic, biological, and historical influences. Among the 

 physical influences are soils, topography, and climate. The economic in- 

 fluences include the prices for various products and the cost of things neces- 

 sary in their production. The biological influences include insects, diseases, 

 and predators of livestock. History enters the type of farming pattern 

 through the influences of the past on the farmer's skills, likes, dislikes, and 

 prejudices; and the types of buildings and other resources already avail- 

 able on the farm. 



The principle that encompasses all of these influences is that people 

 tend to use their resources for the purposes that give them the greatest 

 satisfaction and the highest money return. For a type of farming, such 

 as dairying, to prevail in an area, the combination of physical, economic, 

 and social factors must be sufficiently favorable to provide a satisfactory 

 income to dairy farmers which they believe to be greater than they could 

 earn in some other enterprise. 



1 This section originally was written Ijv W. K. Burkett, Associate Agricultural 

 Economist, New Hampshire AgricuUural Experiment Station, 1955. 



^(iil Conservation Service 



Dairy farming prevails where soil, ecoiioinic, and social factors are favorable. 



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