SUMMARY 



The Soil Bank 



The Conservation Reserve Program under the Soil Bank Act is designed 

 to help adjust farm production to market demands and to promote con- 

 servation of soil, water, forest, and wildlife resources. 



Participants in the Program agree to keep a specified acreage of land 

 out of production of farm crops for 3 to 10 years. They also agree to 

 protect the soil with vegetative cover, which includes trees. 



Agriculture in Coos County 



The number of farms has decreased by half in the last 30 years. Acres 

 of cropland and numbers of cows have also dropped. Milk production — 

 the main farm product — however, has stayed about the same. Larger 

 farms with better cows and land make up present-day agriculture. 



Resources Enrolled in the Soil Bank 



Many part-time farmers and owners of unorganized units found the 

 Conservation Reserve Program more profitable than selling standing hay. 

 Some dairy and other types of farms are enrolled also. For the first 4 

 years of the Program — through 1959 — a total of 129 landowners 

 signed up 5,204 acres. Allowing for historical downward trends and re- 

 source quality, the estimated net effect of the Program is a reduction of 

 4,350 acres of cropland and the equivalent of 195 cows. 



One hundred and twenty whole farm units were enrolled in the Program. 

 Twenty-six were classified as commercial farms, and this included 4 poultry 

 farms that continued operations. The rest of the units were part-time or 

 completely unorganized farm units that sold only hay. Forty-eight of the 

 whole units were selling only hay as far back as 1940. There were no farm 

 buildings on 53 and no dwellings on 37 whole units. 



Impact of Soil Bank on Agriculture 



The Conservation Reserve Program reduced cropland by 17 percent 

 and milk production by about 3 percent. 



Gross income to participants has changed very little because of the Pro- 

 gram. Income in the form of Conservation Reserve payments compensates 

 for the loss of earnings from crop production. But the expenditure pattern 

 of participants has changed. Expenditures for farm operating goods and 

 services have decreased. Thus the purchase of more consumer goods is 

 anticipated. 



Historical trends were hastened because of the large number of small 

 or uneconomic holdings that were enrolled, which speeded up the trends 

 in land abandonment. But the costs of nonparticipating farmers and po- 

 tential farmers have increased because putting land in the Soil Bank has 

 decreased local hay supplies and the number of acres or farms available 

 for renting or buying for enlargement of many farms too small for efficient 

 operation. 



