The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1904-06-17
The Resources of The Farm.

S..ssA "a ltH
resources for the maintenance of the finn
lily. ays the Nebraska Farmer. In this
particular feature the farm has demon-
Strated the Independence of the farmer.
1t is from the farm, the soil. In some OF
Its various and varied lines of production
that the people of the world are fed. The
farm furnishes the basis of the food and
feed products that fill our markets.
1t has been said that the farmer is the
most independent of men. II he IS not, it
is his own fault, for certainly no other
class of persons AVE SO completely at
their the means of independ-
ence. Fruits, vegetables. grains and
meats constitute the necessaries of life;
they are the basis of the living expense Of
all classes of persons, and these are the
direct products of the farm. The we'll
regulated farm can be made to produce in
great variety Of all these standard prod
uctS.
The neglect of the producing capacity of
the farm. the abuse of the advantages 1t
offers, whereby poor management and
lack of system in the cultivation and
growth of the standard crops for profit
and economy in the living of the home, is
a condition too frequently met with on the
average farm. Why should the farmers
family want for fruits, vegetables or
meats when all these can be so cheaply
produced on the farm and at so little OUT
lay of money?
Why should the farmers family buy at
great expense canned fruits, vegetables
and cured meats when all these articles
can be produced on the farm at a greatly
reduced expense?
As an Illustration of what a large per
cent of western farmers are doing in this
line of extravaganza. we will take cured
Ineats as an example. The farmer raises
the hogs, finishes them ready for the
Slaughter, and they are sold on foot to
the local shipper. who ships them to one
of the large GENITAL markets where they
pass into the hands Of the stock yards
company and to the commission .irm, to
whom they were consigned. They are
then sold to the packers, Slaughtered, the
hams. shoulders and sides cured for the
commercial trade, shipped out over the
country to the country merchants, grocers
AID meat markets to sell lack to the
farmer who raised the hogs. But at a
greatly increased price-a price that will
cover a profit for the local stock shipper
who first bought the hogs from the farm
or; she railroad for Its high freight tariff;
the stock yards for yardage, feed, weigh
ing, etc.; the commission man for his
charge for selling; the packers for their
costs and profits In killing, curing and
handling of the meats; the railroad again
for freight charges in shipping back the
cured meats to the merchant, and the
merchant his profit In selling these cured
meats to the farmer who raised the hogs.
Does any farmer think that these varied
and numerous expenses that this meat
has Incurred from the time the hogs left
the farmer until the cured meats returned
some months later would exceed the cost
of butchering the family meat supply and
curing 1t at home? II he does not, let him
make an experiment and estimate the cost
of the cured hams and bacon at home
and compare it with the prices ha pays
tor cured hams and bacon at the grocery
or meat market.
These are some of the things that the
farmer can regulate: these are some of
lhe e-Ntravagances practiced on the farm
thar cost money to keep up and does not
Secure better service than the home meth
cd offers. Cured meats and canned fruits
and vegetables are among the everyday
feateres of home diet that any family on
the farm may enjoy as the fruits of Its
own labors.
The intelligent farmer with his well reg
ulated farm, forms a combination that
would stand a protracted siege before the
necessity of a surrender from a lack OF
food ~resourcea would demand it.