Abstract
In this study, the farming systems of‘N Farming Association’in Noda, Chiba prefecture were simulated by using actual data, and the possibility of reducing production cost and expanding the farm scale were estimahed.
The results were as follows:
1) It is possible to expand the managing area from 7.0ha to 15.4ha in soybean plot, from 24.3ha to 50.0ha in wheat plot and from 13.0ha to 28.5ha in barley plot under the same scale of machinery system. By means of this expansion, it is possible to reduce the production cost from 38, 835/10a to 36, 137/10a in soybean plot, from 32, 163/10a to 27, 336/10a in wheat plot and from 29, 325/10a to 24, 587/10a in barely plot.
2) The labor cost considerably influenced the production cost. The influence was especially larger in the soybean in which the labor cost was larger.
3) If a grain combine and a grain dryer are introduced to the farming association, it is possible to reduce the labor time and labour cost without increasing the production cost.
4) The earnings of the farming association increased by the reduction of labor cost accompanied with the expansion of management area.
