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<br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />00223'3 <br /> <br />in the nine counties in 1980 (except when otherwise noted): The <br />two lowest percentages are Garza and Crosby Counties, each of which <br />has substantial acreage in the Rolling Prairies. The average for <br />all other counties exceeds 80 percent cropland, and even lubbock <br />County, with its 200,000 population Standard Metropolitan Statis- <br />tical Area (SMSA), still has a very hi9h 72 percent in cropland. <br />Our primary interest is in area-wide trends in irrigated vs. <br />dryland cropping in recent years, the specific crops produced, <br />and their contribution to management returns under changing cost <br />conditions. Because size of holding is one important determinant <br />of profitability, and because we are interested in some social <br />implications of farm size trends, it is useful to record some <br />typical farm-size trends over the span of years since ranching <br />gave way to farming. Without attempting to aggregate size of all <br />farms, this illustrates trends within representative areas. <br />Table IV-7 shows changing farm sizes in Hale, Hockley and lynn <br />Counties. By 1980, the average size of farm as estimated by the <br />County Agricultural Extension Service in each county was: Floyd <br />846 acres, lamb -- 640 acres, lynn -- 700 acres, Terry -- 728 acres, <br />Hale -- 610 acres, Garza -- 1,250 acres. The latest (1974) esti- <br />mates for Crosby, Lubbock and Hockley were 1,016, 482 and 677 acres <br />respectively. A simple unweighted average for all counties in 1980 <br />would be about 800 acres, or a section and a quarter per farm. The <br />number of farms in 1974 which exceeded 2,000 acres in size was 318, <br />less than five percent of the total and very low by national stan- <br />da rds. <br /> <br />IV-37 <br /> <br />Arthur D Little.lnc <br />