The commune of Liperi is in East Finland, 0 45 km west of Joensuu. A railway and two heavily-trafficked roads run across the area. About 30 per cent of the total area is water. Field area accounts for 16 per cent of the total area. Many large lakes make the climate of the area, despite its northern location, relatively favourable for plant cultivation. The value of field was determined on the basis of sales and production costs estimates. The bases for the sales estimate are the prices paid in free transaction (not compulsory sale or transactions between relations). The investigation material comprised transactions on 7 farms and 11 unbuilt field areas. Table 1 shows some properties of the farms examined. The arable land and meadow areas ar...