Reconstructing the Survey's Calculation of "Surplus Land"

This page follows the order of the original survey in order to reconstruct how officials calculated required land and then identified so-called "surplus land." The sequence matters: each step produces the assumptions and numbers used in the next step.

Calculation Sequence

1. Average desiatinas per livestock unit
↓
2. Communities below the group average
↓
3. Length of stay on winter pastures
↓
4. Livestock requirement of a normal household
↓
5. Required land per household
↓
6. Required and surplus land by regional group
↓
7. Required and surplus land for common-use pastures
Step 1

Average Desiatinas per Livestock Unit by Regional Group

First, the survey calculated how many desiatinas of winter pasture were available for each livestock unit in the five regional groups.

Regional group Winter pasture area Livestock units converted into horses Average desiatinas per livestock unit
I. Right-bank steppe 34,600 5,766 6.0
II. Right-bank forest-steppe 282,700 29,092.5 9.7
III. Hilly region 633,029 38,109.22 16.6
IV. Middle-mountain region 681,356 31,471.4 21.6
V. High-mountain region 1,310,156.66 127,372 10.3
Whole county 2,941,821.66 231,811.12 12.7
Step 2

Communities with Below-Average Land per Livestock Unit

Based on the average for each regional group, the survey selected those village communities whose land per livestock unit was below the group average. The survey treated these communities as examples of more intensive use of winter pasture.

From the figures in the village-community tables, it is possible to select those communities whose actual scale of land use was below the average for their group. These land-poor communities, though not always, used their winter pastures more fully than neighboring communities in the same group that possessed more land.

I. Right-bank steppe

  • Village communities: 5
  • Households: 189
  • Winter pasture: 17,100 desiatinas
  • Livestock units: 3,805
  • Desiatinas per livestock unit: about 4.7, range 2.9–6.0
  • Share of village communities in group: 55.6%
  • Share of households in group: 58.1%
  • Share of winter pasture in group: 49.4%
  • Share of livestock units in group: 66.0%

II. Right-bank forest-steppe

  • Village communities: 66
  • Households: 1,102
  • Winter pasture: 101,100 desiatinas
  • Livestock units: 18,833
  • Desiatinas per livestock unit: about 5.4, range 0.5–9.6
  • Share of village communities in group: 66.7%
  • Share of households in group: 64.2%
  • Share of winter pasture in group: 35.8%
  • Share of livestock units in group: 64.7%

III. Hilly region

  • Village communities: 77
  • Households: 985
  • Winter pasture: 173,774 desiatinas
  • Livestock units: 21,791
  • Desiatinas per livestock unit: about 8.0, range 2.6–15.6
  • Share of village communities in group: 54.5%
  • Share of households in group: 40.3%
  • Share of winter pasture in group: 27.5%
  • Share of livestock units in group: 55.1%

IV. Middle-mountain region

  • Village communities: 20
  • Households: 615
  • Winter pasture: 163,470 desiatinas
  • Livestock units: 13,318
  • Desiatinas per livestock unit: 12.3, range 7.9–17.7
  • Share of village communities in group: 30.8%
  • Share of households in group: 24.3%
  • Share of winter pasture in group: 24.0%
  • Share of livestock units in group: 42.3%

V. High-mountain region

  • Village communities: 71
  • Households: 3,175
  • Winter pasture: 403,580 desiatinas
  • Livestock units: 77,365
  • Desiatinas per livestock unit: 5.2, range 1.5–9.5
  • Share of village communities in group: 48.8%
  • Share of households in group: 47.7%
  • Share of winter pasture in group: 30.8%
  • Share of livestock units in group: 60.8%

Summary of Land-Poor Communities and Remaining Communities

Regional group Selected land-poor communities: winter pasture Selected land-poor communities: desiatinas per livestock unit Remaining communities: winter pasture Remaining communities: desiatinas per livestock unit
I 17,100 4.7 17,500 8.9
II 101,100 5.4 181,600 17.7
III 173,774 8.0 459,255 28.0
IV 163,470 12.3 517,866 28.5
V 403,350 5.2 906,807 18.1
Whole county 858,794 6.4 2,083,028 21.5
Step 3

Length of Stay on Winter Pastures

The next step was to estimate how long land-rich and land-poor communities stayed on winter pastures.

Regional group Number of land-rich communities Land-rich communities: total days on winter pasture Land-rich communities: average days per community Number of land-poor communities Land-poor communities: total days on winter pasture Land-poor communities: average days per community Average days on winter pasture per community
I 4 1,150 288 5 1,335 267 276
II 8 5,210 241 77 16,020 208 230
III 146 12,882 286 20 4,720 236 271
IV 45 16,300 221 71 13,870 198 208
V 74 2,200 275 16 4,415 276 276
Whole county 277 67,530 189 189 40,360 214 231

According to the survey's calculation, in Regional Group I livestock stayed on winter pasture for 267 days, or about 9 months. Since fully feeding one livestock unit for the whole period required 4.7 desiatinas, one livestock unit required about 0.52 desiatinas per month.

4.7 desiatinas ÷ 9 months = 0.52 desiatinas per livestock unit per month

Step 4

Livestock Requirement of a Normal Household

The survey then estimated how many livestock units a household needed in order to maintain a basic livelihood.

Comparison item Whole county Independent households Budget household No. 19 Budget households in Groups IV–V Independent households in Groups IV–V
Population per household 5.5 5.5 5.5 5.3 4.9
Livestock units per household 14.1 13.9 16.0 14.2 14.6
Livestock units per person 2.6 2.6 3.0 2.7 3.0
Meat consumption per person 5.0 4.6 4.8 5.2 5.3
Grain consumption per person 7.2 6.9 6.9 7.3 7.0
Total meat and grain per person 12.2 11.5 11.7 12.5 12.3

The survey concluded that a normal medium-consumption household should have an average of 5.4 people and 14.15 livestock units. To avoid error and raise the standard, the survey set the required number at:

15 livestock units per household

Step 5

Required Land per Household

The survey summarized the monthly land requirement per livestock unit, the length of stay, the full-period land requirement per livestock unit, and the required land per household.

Regional group Monthly desiatinas required per livestock unit Months of livestock stay Full-period desiatinas required per livestock unit Desiatinas required per household
I 0.52 9 4.7 71
II 0.60 9 5.4 81
III 1.14 7 8.0 120
IV 1.54 8 12.3 185
V 0.74 7 5.2 78

Monthly land per livestock unit × months of stay × 15 livestock units × number of households

For Regional Group I, the survey's calculation can be written as:

0.52 × 9 × 15 × 325 = 22,815

In the final table, however, the required land is calculated from the rounded household norm:

71 × 325 = 23,075

Step 6

Required Land and Surplus Land by Regional Group

Based on the household norms, the survey calculated how much land should be reserved for each regional group and how much land remained as surplus.

Regional group Included districts Households Months of stay Desiatinas required per household Total area To be reserved by norm Surplus
I XXVIII, XXIX 325 9 71 34,600 23,075 11,525
II XXX 1,717 9 81 282,700 139,077 143,623
III VI, VII, VIII, X, XII, XIII, XXVI 2,533 7 120 681,356 303,960 377,376
IV II, IV, XVI, XIX, XXV 2,445 8 185 633,749 452,325 181,424
V V, IX, XI, XV, XVII, XVIII, XX, XXI, XXII, XXIII, XXIV, XXVII 6,660 7 78 1,310,156.66 519,480 790,676.66
Whole county — 13,680 — — 2,942,541.66 1,437,917 1,504,624.66
Step 7

Required and Surplus Land for Common-Use Pastures

Finally, the survey also calculated required land and surplus land for common-use pastures.

Regional group Districts with nomadic activity Plot numbers Households Total area To be reserved by norm Surplus
I — 105 1,280 224,800 30,720 194,080
II XXX 106, 107, 108, 109 3,061 638,025 295,009 343,016
III VI, XII, XIII 17, 49–67, 69–82 12,135 877,504.74 478,923 398,593.74
IV I, III, IV, XIV, XVI, XIX, XXV 2–5, 8–16, 27–31, 34–48, 85, 84, 88–104 16,482 741,425 552,974 188,449
V V 1, 6, 7, 18–26, 32, 33, 68, 89–87 9,275 702,088.34 235,555 466,533.34
Whole county — — — 3,183,841.08 1,593,181 1,578,018.08