EFFECTS OF DISTANCE INTERNAL TO THE FARM: A CHALLENGING SUBJECT FOR NORTH AMERICAN GEOGRAPHERS∗

The effects of intra-farm distance on farm income have not been previously tested in North America. European studies are inconclusive as they use data taken from bookkeeping accounts for the farm as a whole. This paper calls for field-to-field farm analyses that combine internal movement costs with costs of production, yields, and farm-gate prices. In a study applying this method to Manitoba grain farms, it was found that adjustments in the organization and intensity of farming offset the effects of distance on net income.