MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 294 



PERCENTAGE 



100 



75 



50 



25 



P«rc«nta3« of A»»t»3e<l Ai-«o. 



Owned by Non - R«sid»nts, 



by Town-s Arrayed . vi Ascending Order 



\ \ L_ 



15 



50 



25 



Chart 4. — Percentage of Farm Area In Improved Land as Compared with Percentage of 

 Acreage Owned by Non-Residents, 71 Massachusetts Towns. 



farms. Due to unprofitableness of operation, the individual producer is likely 

 to contract his agricultural activities on the poor land and concentrate on the 

 utilization of that section of his farm which contains the best land, with possible 

 changes in the type of farming. A greater portion of the farm is utilized for graz- 

 ing and then gradually allowed to grow into brush and woods. The presence of a 

 large area of this land in individual farms is a common indication that agriculture, 

 at least in its previous set-up, has become unprofitable in a particular community 

 and that the land is ready either to be abandoned or tc be converted to some other 

 use. 



Farm Land Values 



Similar evidence is provided by analyzing non-resident land ownership in 

 connection with farm land values, although the latter are characterized by much 

 greater fluctuations. In many sections of Massachusetts, farm land often derives 

 its value from its potential significance for residential, recreational or other uses. 



