KOBER, Susan - 1981

Farmland Abandonment in the Southwest Margaree Valley: A Response to Changing Perceptions

The Southwest Margaree Valley in Inverness county, Cape Breton, Island, is one of the numerous rural landscapes in nova Scotia having large areas of abandoned farmland. The average farm in the valley experienced a 47 per cent abandonment rate in the 2 year period between 1954 and 1975. The valley supports a prolific gaspereau fishing industry, one of the most lucrative ones in the province.

The purpose of the report is to investigate the abandonment of farmland in the valley, and to determine what factors are responsible for the abandonment, in particular, the Gaspereau fishing industry.

Following the general assumption that poorer quality farmland will be abandoned before better quality farmland, physical qualities of the land and spatial variables such as the total area of the farm and area originally cleared were measured.

The technique of multiple regression showed that 11.8 percent of the variation for the percentage change of farmed land was explained by the selection variables. The variable with the greatest relative importance was the original area cleared in 1954. It was found that the larger the original area cleared, the greater the rate of abandonment.

The multiple regression further disclosed that the better agriculture land is being abandoned. The location of weirs along the river had no impact on the dependent variable despite the fact that weirs are generally located on the best agricultural land.

It is concluded that the abandonment of farmland can be attributed to the attitude of the people.