Most economists get caught up in one way or another with size and efficiency issues. We all play a numbers game. It may be to describe output and economic activity in any one of the sectors of the food industry. It may be to make comparisons about farm numbers or output among counties, among states or among countries. Most often it involves changes over time as well. But we are all asked to assemble statistics, to explain how these statistics are collected and to make generalizations about what these statistics mean. This is the very essence of the business of applied economists.

On April 5 of this year President Jimmy Carter addressed the Nation on energy. After a brief introduction the President said:

The President then went on to say:

My task was to survey a field of staggering breadth and yet to avoid being superficial. It was complicated by the intent of providing something of professional interest to a group of economists without resorting to blackboards ro equations.

Farmers in the Northeast have traditionally rotated crops in a particular field. This system has several advantages. Rotation of crops reduces the buildup of weeds, insects, and diseases specific to one crop. Legumes such as alfalfa fix nitrogen for use by the following grain crops. Including close growing crops in the rotation reduces soil loss. Growing several crops distributes labor requirements and reduces risk.

During the past several decades, a number of research publications have used Markov chain processes to predict changes in number of farm firms, the average size of farms and labor resource productivity in farm production (Conneman, Harris and Wilson, Judge and Swanson, Kottke, Seyala, Willett and Saupe, Wysong and Seyala). The Markov method assumes that the pattern of change exhibited in the past will continue into the future. This method provides information on historical changes by frequency distribution categories as well as for the whole cohort, and allows for projection of these changes into the future. Previous studies have used mainly short-run periods of up to 5 years as the primary data base. This study has considered the use of longer-run base periods of 10 to 20 years combined with periodic updating of sample data in projecting long-term trends in numbers and sizes of dairy farms and revising such projections through time.

Nearly level terrain, heavy soils, and impermeable subsoil horizons commonly cause poor drainage in Northern New York. Forty-five percent of the cropland in this region is classified as poorly drained (Lucey). The soils in this area dry slowly, consequently restricting the effective length of the growing season. Production of corn is marginal and the establishment of legume seedings is prevented by poor drainage. Poor drainage is only a single characteristic of a farm's soil resource, but it has multiple effects. Farm managers have adjusted to poor drainage by using grass hay crops as a forage base and by adopting other management practices which utilize land more extensively.

As a result of accelerated growth during the past decade, land use change over time and its accompanying problems represents a policy area germane to New Hampshire. Accurate projections of the future pattern of land use would be helpful to decision makers responsible for land use policy. Such projections could assist policy makers either directly in formulating land use plans or indirectly in justifying the need (or lack of need) for overt land use planning. Future projections, based upon various alternative land use policy scenarios, will increase the quantitative supply of information to decision makers in a two-fold manner. First, such estimates provide an insight into the current trend in land use mix and, secondly, give an overview of what impacts various policies directly have upon land use change.

Virginia and other northeastern coastal states have adopted legislation in an effort to diminish the rate at which coastal wetlands are being “reclaimed” for development as residential, commercial, or industrial sites. In all these states, the arguments for public protection of natural wetlands were based upon a growing, but still incomplete, body of scientific evidence linking wetlands to any array of non-market ecological services such as waste assimilation and provision of fish and wildlife habitat.

This paper presents one component of a larger research project which was conducted to provide a source of data on historical land use trends in the Delaware Coastal Zone. That study used its established data base to predict how past land use patterns may be altered in the future, due to potential Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) onshore impacts. Primary data were generated for selected regions in Delaware's and Louisiana's Coastal Zone to accomplish the study's intended purposes. One of the important characteristics of the effort was the evaluation of the manner in which gross land use changes occurred in and out of selected categories. Most land use analyses have depicted only net changes, which can mask dynamically shifting phenomena. This paper demonstrates the utility of analyzing both the gross and net changes in agricultural land use for the period 1954–75.

Recreational home development has been and is likely to continue to be a major concern of many local governments in New England and elsewhere. Recreational homes are defined here as homes that are not the owner's primary residence and are used for vacation, leisure, or recreation. It is generally agreed that this type of development is initially beneficial to local government finances. While more town services may be required, the cost is usually outweighed by the added tax revenue. It is believed, however, that over time recreational homes may be converted to primary homes, which could lead to cost increases without proportional increases in revenue (Am. Soc. of Planning Officials, Clark, Payne). Also, from a wider perspective, the loss of agricultural and forest land to this use may not be desirable.

Much attention has been given in recent years to the conversion of substantial amounts of rural land to urban uses. A variety of policies designed to encourage the retention of rural open space have been either proposed or implemented by many state and local governments. Because the decision to convert land to urban uses is generally a private decision in response to market forces, an understanding of these market forces should facilitate better policy development and implementation. This paper reports on a research project designed to explore the forces affecting rural land prices in areas where the rural land market is significantly influenced by the demand for land for urban or suburban uses. Publicly available data on transfers of rural land were analyzed, using a multiple regression model, to both identify and quantify the importance of factors affecting rural land prices.

Agricultural economists, whether writing for their journals or at their professional meetings, have shown little interest in pedagogy. The American Agricultural Economics Association has held three workshops on the improvement of education in agricultural economics (1963, 1967, and 1973) and published a separate proceedings for each. However, most of the papers at these workshops were devoted to educational philosophy and curriculum development; in other words, to what should be taught and why, rather than to how. An occasional paper in our journal does address technique or method, but most of the verbiage is devoted to such tools as computer assisted instruction (CAI), the use of gaming models, simulation, and other self-instruction methods.

We economists value writing skills, holding expectations that our students from introductory through graduate level courses be able “to represent one's analysis and evaluation of an issue in a way which will communicate effectively to others” (Weidenaar, p. 99). We have assumed, over the years, that a certain amount of such communication will be in writing. We often have held, furthermore, expectations that the analytical writing will be of high quality.

Research which is designed to evaluate the strength and mix of factors which tend to initiate and sustain economic growth must provide methods of measuring these factors. If one of these factors is taken to be the availability of labor as the Committee on Economic Development in the Northeast (1977) suggests, then methods of measuring the availability of labor need to be developed. Articles by Bonnen (1972) and Gardner (1975) have provided researchers with an incentive to do a better job of operationalizing and measuring the concept of labor availability.

Two topics dominate discussions of public elementary and secondary education. The first is declining enrollments and the second is fiscal problems, especially those problems associated with such catch words as equity, taxpayer revolt, and tax reform. In this paper, we analyze the relationship between these two topics by examining enrollment change and fiscal characteristics in 504 Pennsylvania school districts. Our purpose is to provide a descriptive base for further research on the fiscal problems raised by changing school enrollments.

An important and viable agricultural crop which should receive more attention is turfgrass. This is particularly true in the Northeast where high population concentrations create a large demand for home and business beautification. The Northeast's average population density of three-hundred persons per square mile makes a crop with few offensive characterisitcs, maximum open-space amenities and high value per acre worthy of consideration by farmers, politicians and economists (U.S. Bureau of the Census).

The central role that local auction facilities play in the marketing of feeder, and in some areas slaughter, livestock has resulted in a large volume of literature relating auction costs to auction volume or size. Most auction cost studies have been based on statistical analyses of market accounting costs, although several have been based on synthetic construction of technically efficient market facility models. Studies of the former type include those by Lindberg and Judge (Oklahoma) and Wilson and Kuehn (West Virginia). Examples of the latter type are studies by Gibb and Riley (Michigan) and Kuehn (West Virginia).

Most economists characterize spot markets as performing two basic functions: price discovery and locational services (which may be subdivided into assembly and sorting). The livestock auction industry in total does not differ from this general characterization since its basic function is to bring buyers and sellers to the place where the animals are being marketed. Thus whether the principal species and class handled in a particular market is feeder pigs or cull beef cows the functions performed at this level of generality are the same. The marketing procedures used are also highly uniform, consisting principally of unloading, sorting, presentation to buyers and reloading, along with the necessary record keeping. As a result there is a tendendy to view this industry as homogenous with some unit cost differences due principally to variation in size.

Since the 1973 oil embargo, substantial interest has focused upon the question of the cost competitiveness of solar space heating and domestic hot water systems for single family residences. As early as 1974, national surveys indicated that homeowners were seriously considering the use of solar systems (National Science Foundation). At the present time, several New England electric companies (Massachusetts Electric, Granite State and Narragansett) are testing commercially available solar domestic hot water heaters in 100 New England homes. Yet, the question of the cost competitiveness of solar systems remains unresolved. For example, a recent study by the Massachusetts Energy Policy Office suggests that solar systems are currently cost competitive with electric resistance heating in the Boston area. The interim findings reported by consultants to the New England Electric Companies conclude that “Solar energy is a victim of unreasonably high expectations … and that several problems must be resolved if solar domestic hot water heaters are to become economically viable.” (Little, p. 3). A number of other studies have also arrived at conflicting results (Bezdek, et al; G. Lof and R. Tybout; W.D. Schulze, et al).