The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1905-01-13
< THE TIME TO FIGURE.
How the farmer May Follow Closely
TIA business End Of the
Farm.

TIA business End Of the
Farm.
Now that the work of filling the silC
is again completed. it is an excellent
time to look over the method this sea.
son and compare it with former years
and see II any new idea has been
brought into use that has had q ten
dency to reduce the expense and labor
Of accomplishing the work. There Ia
a certain amount of work on the farm
that might be termed seasonable, that
is, It is done about the same time each
season from year to year. The farm
er is his own manager: he outlines and
accomplishes to a large extent the
work carried on upon the establish
ment; consequently he has unbound.
ed opportunity Of studying his own
conditions and discovering new and
better methods.
There are farmers who have at hand
records of their operations, and can re-
fer to and compare accurately, by lg-
ures, the cost Of completing certain
kinds Of work, and who have the adj
vantage Of knowing the variation of
expense from year to year, and can
compare methods of accomplishing
the work. At Forest Grove Farm"
we do not feel at all satisfied with our
farm operations unless we have at
hand figures to compare, and in this
way accurately reckop up variation Of
production from one year 10 another.
AS space will not admit Of giving a
detailed account of our silo filling ,op-
erations, l will only here outline the
work and compare it with the preced-
ing year:
Machinery t;n1 hayy Ter filling.engine and cut
Seven men-four at 81 and three at $3.50
Farm team force. including three 10 %
Binder inci1d Ing twIne per acre for 10 %
Wagons we own. three at 50 cents per "
oaS '''''..'''''''..''''.'..... 70
$50 70
AS will be noted. boarding the men is not
included because most of the men boarded
themselves.
Year 1908
Eight men, four at 81 and four at $3.50
Farm team force, including three 80 "
Binder i IN ~ Rer d fwice FOR 10
Wagons we own, three at SOC per day. 3 Is
Total ........................$65 Is
Comparing the two accounts for
1904 and 1903, we notice difference
in total cost of $5.05 in favor of this
seasons work. In making out an
itemized account of this nature and
comparing it with former years We
must take into consideration the vari-
atoms in prices of both labor and
prices of materials purchased. AS will
be observed, there is slight difference
in binder, including Irvine; this is ao-
counted for in difference in price of
Irvine and the amount used. Some years
Irvine will be little lower than others
and the crop somewhat heavier, but as
rule it costs somewhere around $13
to cut the crop with the corn harvest
er. Taking into consideration the
variation in prices of materials and la
Dor, the two years compare very ia
vorably in respect to cost
AS our corn field this year was with
in 20 rods Of the siro, we were able to
move the work aloog very rapidly
with two teams and three wagons,
the same as last year, thus making the
cost In this respect practically the same,
says Ohio Farmer. We found by chang
ing around, in throwing the corn on in
the field, one man could do the work
about as easily as two had done it
formerly, and in this way reduced the
extra hired force one man. In making
a comparison of the two years. ac-
count, it will be noted that we have fig
ured in our own labor and tools at
fair price, rot that we care to add to
the cost of filling the silo, but it gives
a better idea as to the exact expense.
If the regular farm force, including
in particular our own labor and rental
on tools, were subtracted from the to-
tai expense it would be seen that tho
cost would be materially reduced.