AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS 



The department of Agricultural Fxonomics is directing its resources 

 toward the national emergency. The objective of two projects is the 

 conservation of trucking facilities. During the year another project was 

 initiated to determine ways and means of using milking machines to better 

 advantage in order to save time in this period of labor shortage. Under 

 another one, observations have been made concerning the contribution of 

 a rural area to the war effort, and an analysis is also under w ay to deter- 

 mine some of the necessary adjustments in view of the postwar period. 



Much of the other work, such as pasture improvement and market- 

 ing, has a timel}' relationship to the problem of increasing food produc- 

 tion. 



The activities on certain projects require considerable travel and the 

 field work has been curtailed to some extent due to the gasoline situation. 



The following projects were active in the year ending June 30, 1943: 



A Study of the Agricultural Conservation Program in Selected 

 Areas of New Hampshire. 



The Place of a Small Inland Town in the War and Postwar 

 Economy. (Xorthwood and the War Econom\"). 



Marketing Mcintosh Apples. 



A Studv of the Supplv and Distribution of New Hampshire 

 Milk. 



Adjustments in Transportation and Marketing New Hampshire 

 Agricultural Products to Meet Wartime Conditions— Egg Transpor- 

 tation. 



Economies in Purchases Made by Farmers. 



Spray Alanagement (See Fruit Production). 



Pasture Management (See Pastures). 



Efficient Chore Practices in Dairy Barns (See Dairying). 



Operation of the Agricultural Conservation Program 



An analysis was made of the economic problems involved in a ten- 

 xear pasture improvement project. Available data from agronomy and 

 farm management projects \\ere used as a basis to indicate some of the 

 problems in building and maintaining pasture productivity. Pastures re- 

 spond to lime and fertilizers in varying degrees depending upon the exist- 

 ing cover and fertility. Several patterns of response based on general 

 data and observations were assumed, and the results to be expected were 

 plotted for a series of years. This was based on a program of improving 

 1/10 of the required pasture each year. 



Because of the present depleted condition of most pastures and the 

 time required in building these to full productivity, there is a considerable 

 time lag between costs and returns. It was estimated that the accumulated 

 returns in many instances would not equal the accumulated costs during 

 the first six or seven years of the program. Thus, the improvement of 

 badly depleted and bushy pastures on a ten-year program requires an 



