On the prospects of farmers on so-called cold settlement farms in 1963

After the last war some 16 200 settlement farms were founded in Finland of a type that obtained practically no cleared land or buildings. The clearing of these so called cold farms has been an extensive task requiring much work and capital. In 1963 when the material for this paper was collected the work was partly unfinished nor has it been completed as yet (Uudistilakom. osamiet. II 1964, p. 2). The main part of the foundation work had, however, been brought to an end. The investigation at hand tries to find out which features have been considered by the farmers as the greatest disadvantages on the farms in question at the stage when the greater part of the foundation work had been carried out. In addition, plans made by the farmers to eliminate the said disadvantages as well as their opinions on the size of a farm giving sufficient means of livelihood are examined. The investigation, which has been financed by a grant made by the U. S. Department of Agriculture under P. L. 480, is associated with an extensive landeconomic research and forms a part of it. The research which was started by agricultural and forestry experts as a teamwork in 1959, studies the economics of alternative use of land for agriculture or forestry (cf. PIHKALA 1965, p. 32)