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l"- ex> r-- - 11 - The size of ranch indicated by the state averages is not a particulary large ranch. In fact, about 60 percent of all farms and ranches in \'Jyoming had gross sales of less than $10,000 in 1959. Many of these ranches must be considered marginal or sub-marginal at present. Undoubtedly, in the future even a higher percentage of such ranches will be considered sub-marginal. Production results from the use of a combination of resources. Frequently these resources lTe enumerated as land (Ifuich includes inputs provided by nature, .even including water), capital, labor, and manarement. Acres of cropland is only one measure of size of farm business. In general, any of the inputs, land measured in acres, labor measured in man-work units, capital, numbers of livestock or animal units, or various subclasses of these inputs might be used to indicate size of farm business. Measures of output, either receipts or physical units, mi~ht also be used to indicate size of farm business. The various measures that can be used have par- ticular advantages and disadvantages. Acres of cropland is not an ideal measure of size. The same acreage of cropland, for instance, 160 acres, can support vastly different sizes of farm businesses in different areas depending upon growing con- ditions, type of adapted crops, and intensity of use of other resources such as labor, capital, and water. Other measurements of size enumerated above would give a better indication and comparison of farm size in different areas. In establishing a basis for limiting size of farm unit, land is probably the most readily measured input and perhaps the most convenient for establishing the size limit. It should be recognized, however, that land is not the only input used, and in areas where irrigation is practiced, it is not the most crucial input used. Furthermore, the various inputs can be, and are, used in different combinations depending upon the situation, so that placing a limit on size of unit based upon acreage does not result in uniform-sized units in different places.