With the above factors prevailing, it was decided to derive two initial 

 sets of output comparisons — one at the "actual" level of inanageinent 

 and the other at a level of management designated as "optimum'". Using 

 the method and data discussed in Appendix 1, the two levels of agricultural 

 production were determined for the two periods involved. The output for 

 both periods at the "actual" level is the summation of unit-by-unit esti- 

 mates of number of livestock, acreage of crops and yields. Level of man- 

 agement represents what the operator was doing. In both periods, a certain 

 amount of land was idle. In neither period, was land use of any given unit 

 the best use. either in terms of immediate income possibility or according 

 to conservation principles. 



In estimating "optimum" use, management was standardized and idle 

 land used somewhat in proportion to the segments making up total use. 

 Per-acre yields were established at a level equivalent to the average for 

 several of the more efficient operators. So far as land use was concerned, 

 no material changes from the actual use was made. Table 6 summarizes 

 the assumptions involved in the comparison of output for the two time 

 periods at the different levels of management. 



Basic to both sets of comparisons was the inclusion under productive man- 

 hours of the livestock which could be carried with given acreages. Physical 

 presence of the livestock on a given farm was not considered necessarv to 

 make allowance for the man-work units commensurate with the land. In 

 the pre-construction period, buildings and land were usually adjacent, al- 

 though operators from outside the reservoir area did own or use some 

 tracts. In the post-construction period all buildings had been removed. In 

 general, it appears that farmer-owners received the current value for farm 

 buildings, although not necessarily the replacement cost. Hence, in theory, 

 they could attempt establishment of farmsteads outside the reservoir at 

 no long-time loss, with current value taking in account depreciation credited 

 to operations in previous years. Farmstead sites would be far easier to 

 establish than complete farm units, particularly since good farm lands were 

 limited. In practice, as farm units increase in size and decrease in number, 

 many tracts at some distance from the farmstead are being integrated into 

 one operation. Thus, the displacement of farm buildings is not the critical 

 factor it once would have been before mechanization, specialization, and 

 increase in size had become accelerated. Therefore, the critical effect of 

 the reservoir program comes largely from the farm land affected and the 

 limitations on its use. 



A. Pre- and Post-Construction "Actual" Levels 



Table 7 summarizes the shifts in land use that have actually taken place 

 between the pre- and post-construction periods. Explanation of the terms 

 used and units of measurement will be found in Appendix I. 



Some of the significant changes between the two periods are the following: 



a. Decline in the total number of acres used for agriculture, ranging from 

 44 percent in Franklin Falls to 74 percent for Edward MacDowell. 



b. Elimination of orchards and small fruits as farm enterprises in the 

 reservoir areas. 



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