Articles containing the keyword 'farm economy'

The Finnish Government appointed a committee in 1955 to analyse the economic status of the population living from agriculture. The present paper contains Part II of the proceedings of this committee. It discusses the earnings of the agricultural population from forestry and occasional work.

Agricultural population was defined as all people living from holdings of at least 2 hectares of agricultural land. Forestry income includes, besides the value of stumpage sold, earnings from logging in connection with delivery contracts. Earnings from occasional work include wages for logging made to the account of someone else, as well as wages for agricultural work, floating, carpentry, road construction and maintenance work etc.

In 1951–1954, the farms in Finland received an average aggregate of 29 milliard Fmk for stumpage, 10 milliard Fmk of which consists of the value assigned to the timber consumed by the farms themselves. The average income from stumpage was 110,000 Fmk per farm. The earnings from logging in connection with delivery contracts amounted to 3.3 milliard Fmk, and the earnings from occasional work to 6.7 milliard Fmk. The income from stumpage together with the earnings from delivery loggings amounted to 123,000 Fmk per farm. Adding the earnings from occasional forest work, an aggregate forestry income of 150,000 Fmk per farm has been obtained, 70–75% of which accounts for stumpage price.

The occasional earnings from sources other than forestry were on average 12–13 milliard Fmk, or 45,000–50,000 Fmk per farm. The agricultural income of the farms was 60.4 milliard Fmk, or 230,000 Fmk per farm. Thus, the aggregate income of the farms was 110 milliard Fmk, or 420,000 Fmk per farm.

The financial surplus from forestry per farm for the farms included in the study in 1951–1954 was on average 21, and the income from forestry 18 times as high as in 1934–39. The income from stumpage at the end of the same period was 18, and the earnings from occasional work 27 times as high as at the beginning of the period.

The agricultural income has the greatest relative importance in Southern Finland and Eastern Bothnia. The income from stumpage, in turn, has the greatest relative significance in supporting agriculture in the inner part of Finland, while the occasional income plays its most vital role in northeast Finland.

The PDF includes a summary in English.

• Maatalousväestön taloudellista asemaa selvittävä komitea, E-mail: –

The purpose of this study is to reveal the links between farm forestry and its economic and social environment. The second-stage factor analysis used was based on factor scores per municipality, representing the dimensions of total farm operation and of its economic and social environment. The population was 17 municipalities or groups of municipalities in the South Karelian Forest Board district.

The conclusions of the results are directly applicable only to the ideal types presented. A socio-economic environment marked by industrialization detrimentally affects both the standard of forest management, as assessed subjectively by field workers, and the productivity of logging, as measured by labour input/m³ of output. This finding holds good even despite the modernization of forest management indicated by the adoption of renewal cuts.

The clearest negative factor for forestry is the irrational distribution of forest holdings. This impedes the rationalization of forest management and the efficiency of loggings. Extensive scattering of forest holdings also delays the mechanization of logging. The spread effects of industrialization relate to a higher level of forest management and labour productivity of logging. Family farming links up closest with features that enhance the importance of the forest to the farmer. Such features include regularity and size of delivery cuts.

Centralized agriculture, mainly village settlement areas, displayed the poorest forest management. Problem farms are typified by small farm units, unemployment and a low degree of forest management.

The PDF includes a summary in English.

• Hahtola, E-mail: kh@mm.unknown

The study links up with the general development of logging on private farm woodlots, practiced by the Work Efficiency Institute (Työtehoseura). It is based on the idea that the promotion of forest management on farms should be integrated with general agricultural development. The aim of the study was to find out the relation between delivery cuts and management of the farm as a whole, including economic and social environment. The first, methodological part develops a model representing farming, based on factor analysis. The second part tests the applicability of the factor analysis in the light of the empirical data, and studies the relation between delivery cuts and total farming and regional differences in farming.

Despite the descriptive nature of the factors obtained, the solution permitted a multi-dimensional examination. It seems that certain aspects typical to scattered settlement accentuate the importance of the forest for the farm. These include a high ratio of forest to arable land, barren soil and forest holdings that form unbroken tract of land. The importance of forestry is accentuated by the self-sufficiency of farms in labour and tractive power. On the other hand, there were lines of production and forms of livelihood and land utilization that compete with forestry, such as off-farm employment and alternative forms of land-use. One factor indicative for small importance of forestry for the farms was the small size in ratio to arable land. Often money for machinery has come from forest revenues.

The factor analysis indicate that a rational parcelling of forest holdings leads to better cutting methods. Also, cutting method improve and the proportion of renewal cuttings increase on moving from remote areas towards population centers. Productivity of delivery cuts is affected by the total employment of labour and tractive power on the farm. Abundance of labour and the use of farm’s own labour are probably detrimental to the productivity of delivery cuts. When the farms grow, the increase in the quantity felled and the rise in the degree of mechanization favour productivity.

The PDF includes a summary in English.

• Hahtola, E-mail: kh@mm.unknown

This investigation studies the significance of forest income to the economy of a farm in Finland. It concentrates on the relationship between monetary income from forestry and the capital of the farm, especially from the viewpoint of investments made in the agriculture. The material is based on results of the accounting holdings of the National Board of Agriculture between the financial years 1925-1926 and 1936-1937.

The study shows that there is a high correlation between farm’s monetary investments and changes of deposits, and changes in the monetary income of forestry. The changes in depts seem not to be as closely related to forest income as could be expected. The most important role of forestry income in farm economy is financing the investments, i.e. operations that aim at developing and rationalizing farming and making it more profitable. In many parts of the country, the investments would have remained low without income from forestry. Income from cuttings provides usually a relatively large sum on a single occasion, which is easier to use to finance a large investment compared to a smaller regular income. The needs of agriculture may, however, lead to overcutting of the forests.

The PDF includes a summary in German.

• Piha, E-mail: ap@mm.unknown

Only fifth of the farms in Finland had no forests in 1936. Forests have been important for the economy of the farms by providing household timber and income from timber sales. However, forests have not been taken into account in the profitability studies of agriculture. The article analyses the revenues of forestry in private farms, and the different sources of revenue. The revenue is examined in farms of different sizes, different parts of the country and in different financial years in the period of 1925-26‒1936-37.

Forest holdings smaller than 25 hectares give relatively small financial support to the farm economy. Household timber saves costs, and timber sales can give opportunities to investments. The revenue given by bigger forest holdings are, however, important items in the income statement. Finally, the results are compared to profitability studies in other countries.

The PDF includes a summary in German.

• Piha, E-mail: ap@mm.unknown

Private forests account for about 2/3 of the growth of the forests in Finland, but little is known about the economy of forestry in private farms. The study analyses the forestry in private farms using accounting data of farms, collected in a survey of profitability in agriculture that was compiled by the Board of Agriculture. The sample of 18 farms represent farms where the use of forests was sustainable. The accounting data was complemented by survey of forest recourses in the farms. The typical forest site type is Myrtillus type, and the average growing stock is 96‒136 m³/ha which is above the average of the private forests. Fellings exceeded the growth of the forests in some farms, but this was compensated by uncommonly large forest resources. In average, growth exceeded the fellings. Timber accounted for most of the sales, while fuel wood sales exceeded the pulpwood sales. The significance of thinning seems not be fully understood in the farms. Especially standing sales of timber was important for the economy of the farms.

The PDF includes a summary in German.

• Hildén, E-mail: nh@mm.unknown

The article is a survey about the economic situation of the farms in the northernmost Finland, commissioned by the senate of Finland. Agriculture practiced in Northern Finland has differed markedly from the rest of the land. The farms were small and pioneer farming was common. The lands were predominantly owned by the state which had assigned wide areas for new settlements in the area. The article includes a detailed survey of 154 farms in the area. Statistics of different categories of capital is listed; stock, equipment, land, and domestic animals, in addition to overview on the different types of farms in the area.

The PDF includes a summary in German.

• Jutila, E-mail: kj@mm.unknown