The main purpose of this investigation was to determine patterns of establishment in farming followed by youth in five Wisconsin counties. Specific objectives were: (1) to determine who among the 1957 high-school graduates had ever farmed and were actually farming in 1968; (2) to determine the similarities and differences of those who stayed in farming and of those who did not in relation to 19 characteristics; and (3) to determine the progress made while farming. During the Fall of 1956, 764 male high-school seniors, including 346 who were farm reared or whose father was involved in farming, were selected for the study. All of the group who had indicated that their present occupation was farming or that they had farmed at some time in the years following high-school graduation were surveyed through mail questionnaires and telephone interviews. This report provides the study data resulting from a comparison of those presently farming and those who terminated. The comparison is made on the basis of education, youth club membership, job responsibilities, capital investment in home farm, background information, methods used to enter farming, capital accumulation, control of capital, tenure in farming, extent of involvement, use of credit, participation in continuning education, progress made while farming, involvement in farm organizations, approved practices followed, farming status achieved, capital investment and income, future plans, and why men quit farming. (DB)