The Impact of the Federal Soil Bank Program on the 

 Economy of Coos County, New Hampsh-re. 1956-59 



By Richard A. Andrews and George E. Frick^ 



PROBLEM 



The placement of 17 percent of Coos County cropland in the 1956-59 

 Soil Bank Programs by 129 landowners has created interest and concern 

 about the impact of the programs on other farmers in the county and on 

 the local economy. Dealers handling farm equipment and supplies are con- 

 cerned as to how their volumes of business will be affected with the fewer 

 farmers to serve. Other merchants, business people, and service workers 

 are concerned about the demand for their goods and services. Nonpartici- 

 pating farmers face a possible loss of source of local feed supplies and 

 a loss of market facilities or higher marketing costs due to a reduced 

 volume. 



SCOPE AND OBJECTIVES 



The purpose of this report is to appraise the impact of participation 

 in the Soil Bank Program in 1956-59 upon the economy of Coos County. 

 It recognizes that the Soil Bank Program is only one of many forces at 

 work causing changes in the local economy. Specific attention was given 

 t(p the agricultural portion of the economy. However, other segments of 

 the economy were analyzed to establish a basis for interpreting the im- 

 pact of the Soil Bank Program on the changing economy. 



Where several major forces, either singularly or jointly, were influencing 

 the activity level of the farm economy, the boundaries of the study were 

 broadened to include them in the analysis. Three major objectives formed 

 the basis of the study: 



First was the end or goal of the Soil Bank Program to reduce agri- 

 cultural production and promote conservation of the Nation's land resources. 

 Since 1920, the number of farms, the number of livestock, and the acreage 

 of cropland have declined. A continuation of these trends would have been 

 expected during the 1956-59 period. Therefore, the objective was to de- 

 termine the net effect of the Program on agricultural production and land 

 conservation considering the changing agricultural economy. 



Second is the impact of the Soil Bank Program on the economy of the 

 county. The objectives here were to appraise the changes in land use and 

 income flows associated with the Program with respect to the income 

 position of nonparticipating farmers as well as members of the nonfarm 

 economy. 



1 Assistant Agricultural Economist, New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station, 

 and Agricultural Economist, Farm Economics Research Division, Agricultural Research 

 Service, USDA, respectively. 



