The purpose of this paper is to examine the current situation of forage production by dairy farmers and to estimate the shadow wage rate for labor related to roughage harvest and preparation.
     The roughage self-sufficiency ratio has been gradually declining since 1980 due to the appreciation of the yen and improvements in production and distribution conditions. Under the New Food, Agriculture and Rural Areas Basic Plan, the roughage self-sufficiency ratio should rise to 100% by FY2020, but the current ratio has stagnated at 78% (FY2009). On the other hand, agricultural figures show that roughage self-production costs have been below the price of imported hay for more than 20 years. This observation is very interesting, because if this is accurate, many dairy farmers could have increased their roughage production. However, roughage output figures do not suggest such a trend.
     The question then arises as to why dairy farmers have been making such an uneconomical choice for so long? One plausible answer is that the construction of the question is wrong and misleading. The agricultural annual report states that the reduction of roughage production results from the labor load associated with its production. To address this problem appropriately, we focus our attention on the shadow wage rate of roughage production and underscore the significance of labor in roughage production.
     Several studies have been conducted on the shadow wage rate in dairy farming. However, due to the lack of data, little attention has been paid to the roughage labor shortage that is a most serious problem in contemporary dairy farming.
     In what follows, we first point out the harsh labor conditions in roughage production. Then, we measure the shadow wage rate for roughage harvest-and-processing labor and compare it to the figure obtained from the current method. We adopt a linear-program model as an analytical tool and calculate Lagrange multipliers for the shadow wage rate. Detailed data on households and dairy operation are gathered from farmers' accounts.
     Our analysis led to the following results. Based on the statistical data, the shadow wage rate of roughage production is 5,954 yen/hour and 6,151yen/hour on 60 cow dairy farms and 100 cow dairy farms, respectively. Based on farmers' managerial data from Shikaoi town in midland Hokkaido, the average shadow wage rate is 4,667 yen/hour. Nevertheless, the official wage in dairy farming is set at 1,619 yen/hour. This figure is too small to be comparable to the figures mentioned above. The reason for this discrepancy is that the average wage rate in secondary industry is considered to be an accurate figure for the dairy sector, despite the differences in the labor conditions.
     In addition, to assess the validity of this wage rate, we estimated an imputed value of the roughage production labor using the harvest commission fee. The result is that the average labor value is 4,859 yen/hour, which is consistent with the previous results.
     We thus conclude that the official wage figure has to be revised to take into consideration the fact that roughage production suffers from a labor shortage.

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     Recently, there has been an increase in the number of large-scale rice farms that have expanded their farm size to more than 15 hectares and directly sell their products in order to survive the prevailing fall in rice prices. However, the effectiveness and technical content of their farm management have not yet been clarified. Therefore, this paper focuses on large-scale rice farmers' use of machinery and rice marketing in Joetsu city, Niigata Prefecture, where many large-scale rice farms have been established. The paper' s goal is to analyze the effectiveness and profitability of large-scale rice farming.
     The results show that on large-scale rice farms, a few male workers, such as farm managers and their fathers or brothers, operate farms with the help of some hired workers. They use between 2 to 4 tractors, because it is difficult to finish the land preparation at a rate of more than 15 hectares in a season with just one tractor. On the other hand, a rice transplanter and harvester are effective at completing 20 to 30 hectares in a season. Thus, large-scale farmers can save on rice production costs through an effective combination of multiple agricultural machines. This is one reason why large-scale farmers are continuing to expand their farm size. Additionally, two innovations have been found to lead to further cost-savings. First, laser leveling and direct seeding rice cultivation helps eliminate the obstacles involved in land preparation. Second, post-harvest operation and the lack of a warehouse hinder the expansion of farm size and direct sales. Thus, the introduction of long-term variety is required in order to expand the harvesting season. Further, reconnection with an agricultural cooperative can be a solution to improve post-harvest operation by using the agricultural cooperative' s facilities.
     There is an increase in the direct sale of rice to save marketing costs. However, Joetsu city is located far away from urban areas. This makes direct communication with consumers difficult. Additionally, large-scale farms produce major quantities of rice. Hence, these farms prefer trading with commercial users such as retail stores and co-ops in urban areas, sake breweries, the rice cake industry, and wholesale rice traders, instead of with individual consumers. In such a marketing channel, farmers cannot demand high profitability. On the other hand, they can maintain a high sales volume. Under this relationship, retail store and co-op buyers have shown keen interest in rice cultivation and rice quality. They have discovered the advantage of using rice cultivated by large-scale farmers and use this advantage in their sales promotion. These business partners encourage large-scale farmers to differentiate their products. Large-scale farmers cultivate rice using advanced agricultural skills, such as organic cultivation and quality control post harvesting. They also provide high-quality rice with no fear of unsold stock. Finally, this business model will prove highly advantageous for large-scale rice farmers and their business partners in a competitive market.

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     Farm management has been evolving to make use of renewable energy for realizing the goal of a low carbon society in Japan recent years. Photovoltaic power generation by farms is growing fast and associated with green management. Meanwhile, farm management for mitigating environmental loads is still associated by high operating cost problems, such as fixed capital payments and routine maintenance costs along with limited revenue.
     Asakawa Solar Power Station (ASPS) has been constructed a mixed farming system pattern through a continual increase in investment. It has been associated with many good experiences on how to build up an effective farm management pattern and competitive strategy on renewable energy by reducing costs, strengthening revenue sources and creating new customer value. In October 2010, its monthly power output reached 70kW with five solar power stations including four on farmland.
     This paper focuses on the evolution of ASPS' farm management strategy based on renewable energy and shows the mechanism of the causal logical relationship and interaction function. The results derived by ASPS indicate that its pattern is successful due to a clear strategy of not only supplying a stable energy source for farm utilization but also promoting and creating a new customer value for farms' sustainable development.

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