Farm Size and Regional Structure: A Preliminary Insight

Abstract

This paper is concerned with differentiating the effects of regional structure on farm size and function within southern Manitoba. Farm size is presumed to represent the equilibrium outcome of internal and external forces that influence the agricultural system. Internal forces include various physical and cultural factors as well as local marketing patterns; external forces may operate through the aegis of interregional comparative advantage. A canonical analysis is set up to examine the multiplicity of factors contributing to the agricultural outcome. That analysis interrelates a set of variables representing the agricultural regional structure with a set that represents the industrial—urban domain. From the results, distinct farm size—function characteristics are identified for southern Manitoba.