Preliminary results from a survey of Carroll County farmers show that 56 percent of those responding could not continue in agriculture without some nonfarm income.
Yet 81 percent of those who answered the seven-page questionnaire said they want to continue in agriculture, Carroll County planner Gregg Horner told the county Agricultural Commission yesterday.
"I found that interesting," Mr. Horner said, noting that he was originally from an urban community.
"That [the desire to stay in agriculture regardless of profit] may be a by-product of having grown up on a farm," he said. "But I know some city people that think they are going to buy a farm and run it for a profit."
The survey, distributed by the county Agricultural Commission and the Carroll County Department of Planning, was sent to 1,200 farmers in September to complement findings in the 1992 U.S. Census of Agriculture, which was released this year.
County survey questions included opinions on Carroll County's proposed right-to-farm ordinance, whether county regulations are favorable to agriculture and the land uses adjacent to farms.
Results likely will be used to help guide planning decisions and the formulation of regulations, much as the "Future of Agriculture" report was used when it was released in 1989, he said.
"This will be part of the 1994 update to the 1989 document," he said.
Before being used in planning department reports, the results will have to be tested statistically for accuracy because only 195, or 16 percent, of the surveys were returned, Mr. Horner said.
However, a cursory comparison of the county results with those in Census of Agriculture showed similar figures, he said.
Also, Bradley Butt, a commission member who works for Union National Bank, said the bank normally receives a 10 to 15 percent return of surveys.
"This isn't bad, but I was hoping for 30 percent," Mr. Horner said. "With social statistics, you like to have 30 percent, then you don't have to do the testing."
Other preliminary survey results showed:
* Most respondents said the primary reasons they were farmers were an enjoyment of agriculture, the independent way of life and the desire to live in a rural atmosphere.
* About 82 percent of the respondents said they intended to make a profit from agriculture, but the average number of times they did so in the past five years was twice.
* Respondents said they used the services of the Cooperative Extension Agency about 2.5 times a year.
* Knowledge of the Agricultural Land Preservation program seemed higher than of the county's proposed right-to-farm ordinance. Only 6 percent of the respondents said they were unaware of the preservation program, compared with about 40 percent unaware of the right-to-farm legislation.