The Post-War Period 229 
     
    
   
   
    
     ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION 
     
    
   
   
    
     FARMING 
     
    
   
   
    
     Contemporary times have been marked by the disappearance of 
     
     thousands of small family farms and the growth of large commercial 
     
     operations. The trend began after the First World War and increased 
     
     considerably after 1945. There were over fourteen thousand farms on 
     
     the Island in 1911 but by 1941, thirty years later, there were only ten 
     
     thousand®. This number decreased with the passing decades so that 
     
     by 1980 there were only three thousand farms left on the Island’. 
     
     Those that did survive became proportionately larger. 
     
    

    
     Since the Second World War, agricultural products have remained 
     
     more or less the same, the most notable change being in the area of 
     
     production which became more and more specialized. Mixed farming 
     
     had been the dominant trend on the Island up until the end of the 
     
     1960s. The following list® shows the commercial value of various 
     
     agricultural products in 1979: 
     
    
   
   
    
     potatoes 25% 
     
     beef 21% 
     
     pork 16% 
     
     dairy products 14% 
     
     other crops 12% 
     
     other 9% 
     
     eggs and poultry 3% 
     
    

    
     100% 
     
    
   
   
    
     Agriculture is still the main industry on the Island. Even though 
     
     the number of farmers has considerably diminished since the turn 
     
     of the century, production has actually increased due to the modern- 
     
     ization and commercialization of the industry. The average farm today 
     
     is a relatively complex operation involving large capital investments, 
     
     professional management and, of course, a well-trained farmer. In 
     
     addition, there are now innumerable rules and regulations controlling 
     
     the quality and even the quantity of agricultural products.