COST OF FEFCING IN NORTH CENTEAL STATES. 18 
The fence requirement of two farms in the same locality may differ 
if the cropping systems followed on these farms are not similar. 
Factors influencing the amount of fence needed by the farm are the 
number and kind of stock kept, the pasturage customs, and, as 
already stated, the length of the rotation and the size of the farm. 
Many farms have fields which are not easily accessible or are too 
rough for cultivation, and such fields are often kept permanently in 
pasture. If all the stock on the farm is kept on this permanent 
pasture during the entire growing season, much less fence is required, 
there being no division fences necessary between the crop fields. On 
other farms the pasture forms a unit of the crop rotation, and on 
many farms having small acreages in permanent pasture it is supple- 
mented by pasture in rotation. Often it is the custom to turn stock 
into the cultivated fields after the crops have been harvested in order 
that they may utilize such feed as is left on the ground after harvest. 
There are very few farms in Areas 1, 2, and 3 on which stock are 
confined entirely on permanent pastures during the entire pasturage 
season, and such a practice is not generally feasible. In order to 
utilize all farm land to its fullest extent in these areas it is necessary 
for the farm to be suitably fenced. 
The field arrangement of the farm is a big factor in influencing 
the amount of fencing required on the farm. Field arrangement is 
governed by the natural topographic conditions of the land, the 
shape of the farm, the roads running through or around it, and the 
cropping system followed. When the farm is located in a hilly or 
rolling county it is quite essential that the field arrangement be 
such as to make it as easy as possible to work over the uneven land. 
In a level country the question of topography will not have to be 
considered. The cropping system and the shape of the farm will 
be considered jointly. The length of the. rotation will determine the 
number of fields on the farm. If a three-year rotation is to be fol- 
lowed, three crop fields will be required ; if a five-year rotation is to 
be practiced, provision will be made for five fields. The arrange- 
ment of these fields should conform to the shape of the farm in such 
a way as to make each field readily accessible to the buildings and to 
permit the farm work to be done with a minimum of travel. Also the 
layout of the farm should be such as to make the amount of fence 
required as small as possible and still retain the other essentials. 
In much of the area covered by this investigation the land is 
divided into sections. Each section is a mile square and contains 
640 acres. The highways follow along the section lines, and nor- 
mally each section is entirely surrounded by roads. A farm must 
furnish the entire amount of road fence about it, but only half of 
any fence separating it from another farm. Hence the location of 
