The Republican journal., 1922-11-23
Abandoned Farms.

ar.at many people in other states and
..,e in our own, have been led to believe
that agriculture in Maine is decadent,
Mr. Frank P. w ashburn, our Commission
.,ofAgr grculture in an able and timely ad-
d,sss has the following to say about
abandoned farms:
"some people have gone so far as to
assert that some twelve thousand farms
mere abandoned in the State during the
IN wear period from 1910 to 1920. 1t is
,,rs that the total number of farms drop
nsd from sixty thousand to -eight
,bousand, but we should not gather from
| tb;s that anything like one-fifth of the
.or;cultural strength of the State has
bssn lost In the first place, many OF
these farms should have been ibandoned.
n, reason of location and character OF
so;l they should never have been cleared,
q ond it was impossible ever to operate
them at a profit. Many of these farms
are now being operated in connection
with others and under better manage
ment with more up to date methods and
machinery. Then we should remember
/ that a farm as defined in the census en-
tural enterprise that yielded gross return
of Two hundred and fifty dollars per year.
/ In 1000 or 1910 there were many such
that provided a means of subsistence Tor
their owners, but the increased cost OF
living and equipment, together with the
greater attractions offered in other indus
fries had by 1920 combined to drive the
two,hundred and fifty dollar farmer out OF
business.
rrhe whole matter of abandoned farms
has been somewhat misrepresented and
misunderstood. Many interested people
object to the term abandoned" In this
ronnection. so let US designate them as
moccuped farms, meaning those that
have no resident owner or operator. Dis
satisfied with the apparent deductions oil
the census that twelve thousand OF these
had been added to our agricultural prop
lem in ten wears, at least two OF our
State departments, the State as es-
soy and the Department of Agrlcui
ture. have attempted to get at the facts.
The former having more intimate rela-
tionship with municipal officers, have OBJ
tanned the most complete results lndlcat-
ing not twelve thousand idle farms, put
considerably less than four thousand. In
the Department of Agriculture we nave
as vet only incomplete returns, but so far
with those gathered by the State asses
sors. We have attempted to 60 further
with our inquiry and to determine the
proportion of these unoccupled farms
that are for sale, and the number that are
equipped for business, and we are INFORM
ed that practically one half are Tor saie'
and that fifty per cent OF TINS numoer
have the necessary buildings, fences,
machinery, etc., for successful operation.
The net returns, then, of our investiga-
ton, are as follows:
Number of unoccupied farms 3oO0
Number for sale loOO
Number for sale with equipment 9OO
Both departments have been criticized
for making public statement oil this
nature, the fear being expressed that IL Is
damaging concession calculated 10 III =
luence possible purchasers against locat-
Msin Maine. 1t does not appear that this
criticism is Just. The entire investiga-
ton has been carried on with the object
in view of locating this class of property
and aiding in it's disposal. There seems
no good reason why, if we have some Two
thousand farms for sale we should not
advertise the fact. There are already
many inquiries; prospective farm settlers
can no longer find cheap western iano.
The fact that Maine has such land OF
lower cash value than other States Is no
deterrent, and the prospect is that such
OF this idle land as has any real agrlcul-
tural value will soon be utilized.
The matter of the increase OF hfty-
eight per cent in the amount OF mort
cages upon Maine farm property has also
been dwelt upon. 1t should be borne In
mind that this increase is practically all
TAX, care of in corresponding increase
ho 4 H. fnr
tne same period. We hear no mention OF
the fact that Maine has the lowest per
cent of tenant farmers of any state ana
tnls percentage also decreased from l9lO
lg20. The percentage of tenant 1arm-
CTS varies all the way from four and two .
tenths in Maine, to forty-one in Iowa and
slxty- six in Georgia. Certainly mort.
ssseo farm is no worse than a tenanteo
iarm, and it is no greater discredit to
uaVe cheap land that the operator can
.wn .n than to have land so high in value
'n9s a. no one but capitalist can hold IT,
lnere are certain other advantages that
would be placed upon the credit side OF
salne agricultural ledger. We lead the
.watry in the production of potatoes per
Mie and very frequently lead in per acre
roduction of oats, wheat and corn. Ad-
Ss Sso TO this we have higher standard OF
~sng. There are fewer children and
romen at work in the barns and fields OF
t.se farms than in those of any other
Ms M;as IN proportion to farm population.
t.;l tss nigh standard we are bound to main
n and for this reason many of those
rs russ Interested in our agricultural pro-
s' sss' have not been enthusiastic over
io,. pan OF popping our idle acres with
,Ms. farmers In some instances, not
A. mat of the Swedish settlements IN
II ntvsstook, tsk, this plan has worked out well
,el.sa! sae past, but unless a very careful
hsuon cab be made there is danger of
on, Ting the standard of farm living with
n ho.eatly -nefitting business conditions
pnsll l country towns as alien farmers are
~psalIy poor buyers.
Ns later atter all. is it wholly problem OF
eult;"amoer of farms. or the acreage under
Of thuonf Is it not rather question
thosaa prosperity and contentment of
now upon our farms