תמורות במבנה הפיסי של מושב נהלל: 1921-1996

The article contains an analysis of changes which have taken place in land use patterns, both private and public, in Nahalal - a Moshav established over eighty years ago in the Jezreel Valley. The changes revealed in this analysis reflect the restructuring of agriculture in general, and family farming in particular, over this period, but mainly during the last three decades. The original plan of Nahalal was based on the Moshav principle of equal opportunity for all farmers, expressed through equal allocation of land, water and capital and similar farm structures. Today the Moshav is characterized by a considerable internal diversity both in terms of employment and farm structure. Agriculture is still the mainstay activity, but only about half of the farm families earn their living from agriculture alone. The rest combine farming with off-farm occupations (pluriactivity). Part of the land is cultivated jointly by the local cooperative or by partnerships. Individual farms specialize in different enterprises, particularly dairy cattle and turkey breeding, and recently also beef cattle and flowers in greenhouses. The diversity in scope and structure are the major factors responsible for the differences in the extent of the built-up area on individual farms. Farms with long-term low levels of activity have hardly any farmbuildings on their lot, while fast growth in farm production is usually accompanied by an increase in the area devoted to farmbuildings. Leading in this respect are the dairy farms. A considerable increase in the built-up area, sometimes accompanied by functional conversion, is observed also in the center of the Moshav, occupied by public institutions and services. This development reflects the growth and change in population and economic activity within the Moshav, as well as in the role and functions of Nahalal as a regional center.