volved, the structure of these firms, the alternatives and the relative im- 

 portance of agriculture to the overall economy, a change in demand for 

 these services may mean some adjustment in firm reorganization with 

 only infinitely small changes in the prices of the services. The major 

 marketing cost affected is connected with milk hauling, and the analysis 

 IS restricted to possible changes in the economies associated v^^ith milk 

 assembly. Towns of 200 or more cows were selected for preliminary an- 

 alysis. As shown in Table 11, density of production was measured in teniis 



Table 11. Cows per mile of road for town with a total of 200 or more cows, 

 and Coos County, New Hampshire, 1959* 



Area 



ClarksviUe 



Pittsburg 



Colebrook 



Columbia 



Stewartstown 



Stratford 



Northumberland 



Lancaster 



Jefferson 



Whitefield 



Milan 



11 towns .... 

 Coos County .... 



* Road mileage based on road classes I, II, IV and V as established by the State 

 Highway Department. 



of the relationship of milk cows per mile of road. Comparing the cows 

 per mile of road in the several towns with the County average gives some 

 relative picture of the importance of dairying in these towns. On the 

 basis of all cows in each township, the several towns averaged 22.7 cows 

 per mile of road. 



To do a more precise study of the effect of Soil Bank enrollment on 

 density of production and hence marketing costs, the towns of Colebrook 

 and Columbia were selected for further study. These towns have 1,976 

 acres enrolled in the Program, which is the largest amount for any two 

 towns in the State. On a township basis, they have 19 and 27 percent re- 

 spectively of their cropland enrolled in the Program. If marketing costs 

 for milk were to change, it would be expected to be evident in these two 

 townships. Minimum mileage inilk hauling routes were established for 

 both pre- and post-Soil Bank conditions, assuming no duplication of routes 

 by different dealers. Other restrictions for this inodel included every- other- 

 day pickup of milk and a bulk tank truck of 1,500-gallon capacity. As 

 would be expected, the analysis of route pickup miles results in a lower 

 ratio of cows per mile than the previous analysis relating miles of town 

 roads to cows. This is the case because of the outgoing and incoming 

 travel associated with pickup routes. There is no difference in the number 



35 



