longer-term goal belongs in the political arena and will no doubt

change over time. However, it would seem desirable to express this

in terms other than the preservation of some arbitrary number of

small farms, however they are defined.

 Except for the first factor listed above (income), measurement

will be difficult. A part of the research and evaluation effort

must be directed toward developing ways to measure these other

factors.

 Need for Other Small Farm Assistance

 The agricultural science and education system alone cannot

bring about success as measured by the above factors. Extension

personnel can determine the specific needs of small farms within

a given community and fulfill these needs when it involves technical

assistance. However, if needs are largely credit, for example,

there must be public or private institutions prepared to make

credit available. There must be a commitment by the full range of

public and private institutions to help the small-scale farmer so

that the efforts of the agricultural science and education community

can be of greatest benefit.