TAXATION OF DAIRY FARMS 



The low-valued houses were not in general on the small farms, although the 

 value per acre of the farms showing low-valued houses would indicate a larger 

 proportion of acreage in low- value land; woodlot, pasture, swamps, inaccessible, 

 rocky, hilly, etc. House value was not correlated with farm size. It was asso- 

 ciated with value per acre. 



Table 3. — Frequency Distribution of House Valuations by Farms. 

 Corresponding Number of Acres, Value of Land, and 

 Total Real Estate Value. 



* Nine records omitted because of no enumeration of building value. 



It seems scarcely possible that anyone could look at the table of house valua- 

 tions and not ask at least two questions. 



(1) From the valuation point of view are there as many differences in the 

 houses on dairy farms as the records reveal? The extent of differences as in- 

 dicated by specific pricing is not peculiar to houses. It runs through the entire 

 local valuation process and reaches its extremes in land. The question warrants 

 consideration. 



(2) The second question pertains to precision in pricing. Examination of 

 the data reveals a clustering of valuations around certain prices. This grouping 

 of values can mean either that dairj- farmers tend to have several common types 

 of housing or that assessors have a tendency to use certain valuations. 



The table of valuations seems to reflect a good deal of compromise in judgment. 

 Below the $1000 level, the intervals at $50 suggest uncertainty as to whether 

 the even hundred above or below would be correct. Above $1000, the interval of 

 compromise apparently widens to $100, $250, and even $500 as the house value 

 increases. It is not too presumptuous to assume that even the assessor would 



