10 N. H. Agri. Experiment Station [Bulletin 298 



farms represent situations little different from those of many larger 

 places where farming is not undertaken. Most of the places had been 

 operated as farms at one time. 



Tillage Land 



The acreage in tillage land is more a measure of the farming done 

 twenty years ago than of present activities. The present acreage ex- 

 aggerates the importance of agriculture, since many of the fields are 

 too rough, too rocky, or too infertile to have much promise as to fu- 

 ture possibilities. Thus, while the average of 27 acres of tillage land 

 per farm compares favorably with many other sections of the State, the 

 present condition of the tillage land and the trend toward lower yields 

 indicate that the acres in tillage are likely to decline in the next few 

 vears. The approximate amount and location of tillage can be noted 

 m Plate 3. (See page 35.) 



New Hampshire soils can generally be maintained only if associated 

 with livestock and aggressively managed. It is often said that the 

 operators farm around the manure pile ; when the ratio of stock to 

 acres of tillage becomes somewhat wide, the yielding capacity of the 

 land decreases. Of the 6,414 acres of tillage land reported on 252 

 farms, 49 per cent were associated with less than .2 of a cattle unit per 

 acre. This soil is declining in fertility, and under present manage- 

 ment will probably be in brush by 1955. 



This is mentioned here because, regardless of any opinion as to the 

 future possibilities of these farms, half the present tillage land either 

 has reached or will soon reach a stage where use in agriculture will be 

 prohibitive. Thus the effective tillage land is not large, and the pres- 

 ent trend indicates a further decline. 



Dairying 



While the predominant farm enterprise is dairying, only 48 of the 

 252 operators had more than five cows ; 51 had one cow ; and 69 were 

 without a cow. Due to location many individual farms have not had 

 access to dependable markets. The individual operator was handi- 

 capped in getting the small volume of milk to market every day over 

 poor roads, and little possibility existed for cooperative effort in haul- 

 ing to the nearest local station. In recent years State roads have 

 pierced certain areas, and while this may stimulate dairying on a few 

 well located individual farms the opportunities for expanding commer- 

 cially are not encouraging. 



Poultry 



Eight farmers had over 300 hens and might be considered commercial 

 poultrymen. One had approximately 600 hens. On 169 farms no hens 

 were reported. 



In certain areas of the State poultry has replaced cattle on farms 

 where tillage is difficult, and this adjustment has checked abandon- 

 ment ; but in this area there is only a trace of such change. The poul- 

 try enterprise, as carried on in New Hampshire, is not very definitely 

 related to the use of land. All grain is purchased, and only a small 

 area of open land is used for range in growing pullets. 



