30 



MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 439 



Figure 14. 



Bushes, Shrubs, and Weeds Are Chopped and Mixed with Soil by Rotary Tiller as 



First Step in Pasture Improvement. 



The organization and operation of Soil Conservation Districts offer oppor- 

 tunities to devote inore specific attention to land improvement problems in the 

 future. The district supervisors can assist in making heavy equipment available 

 to farmers at reasonable rates. Farmers who are interested in land improvement 

 work and conservation can focus public attention on the problems. The land 

 owners, the district supervisor, and the technicians working together should be 

 able to outline and put into operation a program of land improvement and soil 

 conservation. 



Soil Conservation Districts in other states have provided technical assistance 

 and have made arrangements for obtc.ining heavy equipment. The details of 

 the arrangements have varied from state to state and from district to district. 

 In some cases the district acquires the machinery and furnishes the machine 

 operator; in others, the district supervisors make arrangements to hire county- 

 or state-owned equipment. In all cases, the land owner pays the costs of the 

 work, either by the hour or by the job. The costs are often lower than the charges 

 by commercial operators. 



SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 



The acreage of improved farm land in Massachusetts has decreased by 50 

 percent in the last century' and many adjustments have been made in crop and 

 livestock production. Poultry and dairy enterprises which are dependent upon 

 western grain areas for feed have supplanted sheep and beef cattle production. 

 Vegetable and fruit production does not meet local demand. Intensive crops 

 with a high value per acre have been substituted for grain crops. Lower pro- 

 duction costs in other agricultural areas have been responsible for these shifts 

 ana for abandonment of much farm land in Massachusetts. However, efficiency 

 of production has increased in many farm enterprises. 



