Quantities Purchased. 



It is estimated that in 1949 there were over 281,000 tons of grain- 

 feeds purchased in New Hampshire. Almost 60 percent of this total was 

 needed in three counties: Hillsboro, Rockingham, and Merrimack (see 

 Figure 1), which are by far the most important poultry areas in the State, 

 as well as of major importance in dairying. 



Poultry feed requirements accounted for 182,000 tons or about 65 

 percent of the total. Of the remainder of almost 100,000 tons, needs for 

 milk cows accounted for about two-thirds and other cattle and calves 

 about one-seventh. Thus, poultry and cattle together required all but about 

 20,000 tons of total feed purchases in 1949. or 93 percent. 



Value of Purchases. 



According to 1950 census data. New Hampshire farmers paid $22,619,737 

 for feed for livestock and poultry in 1949. Purchases by specialized poultry 

 farms accounted for S13, 544,544 and purchases by specialized dairy farms 

 for $6,596,686, or a total of $20,141,230. Figure 2 shows the total dollar 

 expenditures for feed for livestock and poultry by counties and economic 

 areas, and by specialized dairy and poultry farms by economic areas, for 

 1949. 



The preceding census figures are for all feeds (grain, hay, etc.) pur- 

 chased. It is estimated that 1949 purchases of grain-feeds alone in New 

 Hampshire amounted to over $20 million. This represented about 48 percent 

 of the total gross income from sales of livestock and livestock products. For 

 poultry, purchases of grain-feeds usually account for 65-70 percent of per 

 unit production costs, while for milk production, only 20-25 percent of unit 

 production costs are for purchased grain-feeds. 



Size of Feed-Consuming Units. 



Having examined briefly the size and area distribution of the market 

 for grain-feeds in New Hampshire from the standpoints of quantity and 

 value, a short discussion of the sizes of consuming units is in order. 



Table 1 shows some measures of grain-consuming livestock in New 

 Hampshire, both on an aggregate and per farm basis, as derived from 1950 

 census data. These figures again indicate the predominance of poultry 

 (mostly chickens) and cattle (mostly milking cows and other dairy stock) 

 among the grain-consuming livestock population. Average numbers per 

 farm reporting indicate a relatively larger average unit size for chickens, 

 eggs, turkeys, and cattle than for other categories, but such averages do not 

 truly reflect the unit size distribution. Neither are the census classifications 

 on chickens, eggs, and turkeys mutually exclusive. 



For a more revealing look at the unit characteristics for the New 

 Hampshire market of grain feeds, there are presented in Table 2 the 1950 

 census distribution of farms by numbers of cows, chickens sold, and chicken 

 eggs sold. These data show that New Hampshire has relatively more smaller 

 herds (under 10) of cows than either New England or the United States. 

 With respect to chickens sold, there is little difference between New Hamp- 

 shire and the New England average; both considerably exceed the United 



