An Empirical Study on the Conditions of Existence and the Managerial Function of Large-Scale Farming Entities

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The study empirically investigates the present situation, the conditions of existence, and the managerial features of large-scale farming entitis.The large-scale rice-growing entities are found over a wide area of Hokkaido. Their conditions of existence and managerial features may bo summarized as follows : 1. In the rice paddy areas of Hokkaido, enlargement of the managerial scale is mainly through the enterprise for effective ownership of farmland managed be Hokkaido Agricultural Development Bureau. 2. The enterprise facilitates the circulation of farmland, but local communities have to pay the interest. It may be difficult to attract farmers who are willing to sell their land when land prices are falling. Besides, the enterprise involves more and more office work. 3. The land is tend to be purchased rather abruptly, not systematically. 4. The land is often purchased a lot at a time, which leads to related investment such as machinery and facilitics. 5. The related investment may not be made systematically. 6. Rice insurance policies play an important part in decreasing the risk of crop fluctuation in the long run. 7. The insurance policies are crucial for recovering serious cold-weather damage, while its role is rather small when the crop is stable.In this way, the empirical results suggest that the managerial scale, including the acreage, should be enlarged systematically, that even large-scale farming entities do not have great ability to invest, to redeem the capital invested, and to diminish the managerial risk, and that the supporting measures are indispensable such as the enterprise for effective ownership of farmland and rice insurance policies.In addition, large-scale farming entities in Hokkaido are inferior to those in Tofken in ability to respond to the markets.