ABSTRACT
The influences of climate, soil type, topography, past history, farming policy, individual ability and financial backing, and a host of other factors, make it inevitable that each farm will have its own particular characteristics. Farming has had to survive serious depressions, some of them being the result of ill conceived economic policies, and yet it has survived and ultimately prospered. The variability of potential in different farms and the heterogeneity of skill in the individual farmers present a much more complicated situation. The most careful, far-sighted plans of a farmer to meet future demands cannot benefit him if he goes bankrupt before they come to fruition. For a farmer contemplating change, the list of possible alternatives is restricted by the environmental conditions of his farm and by the technical skills and financial resources at his command. For the most efficient use of land in any given environment, there are optimum ranges of size of holding for any system of farming.
