Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1908-08-01
is SMALL OR BIG FARMS BEST?


1t is not the intention of the writer
to encourage city men who know Moth
Ing of farming to go on to farms ex-
pecting easy work and large profits
Without economy and hard work
success should not be expected on any
farm. Experience is as necessary as
| in any other line of work. The more
intensive the methods the more neces-
sary experience becomes
1t is true that inexperienced men fire.
quently make successful farmers from
the start, but this is also true of any
other line of business
Nothing in this article should be
interpreted to mean that the time has
come when the average farm in the
corn belt should be reduced to twenty
to forty acres. We do not mean any
such thing.
1t seems perfectly clear that the
majority of farms should contain so
to $50 acres. There is no reason why
the man who owns a large farm and
has means and help to operate it
should reduce his acreage.
But the man who must depend. main
ly on borrowed money or is unable to
oSSul SulltCiGlll Help O1lGIl ONeETedCIleS
and reduces his profits or creates an
actual loss in consequence, when If he
had been content to work on a smaller
scale, depending mostly upon his own
labor and as little as possible upon
borrowed funds, success would have
been much more certain.
Even the man on a 160-acre farm
must depend largely upon making a
profit from hired labor. His margin
usually is not large and his risk is con-
siderable. He must commonly be con-
tent with very moderate return upon
his investment.
The small farmer cannot expect to
clear as much as the larger one in the
most favorable seasons, but on the
other hand his loss will be much less in
unfavorable seasons. He has less risk
not only because he has less invested
in land, but especially because he has
| less invested in teams, machinery, feed
i etc, and has entirely eliminated the
very important item of expense for
hired help, and also because he can
keep closer watch of everything and in
case of sudden or unforeseen contin-
gencies, such as sudden storms, can
care for his smaller acreage more
quickly.
In the case of poor crops the small
farmer can lose little besides his living
| expenses, because his running expenses
is very small, but the large farmer who
operates on borrowed capital has his
interest to pay and heavy running ex-
penses, including hired labor.
Nearly everything on the small farm
returns a larger percentage of profit
because everything receives the own
ers personal attention.
Generally the man on less than 80
acres cannot afford to grow much
grain. AS a rule, he should aim to
produce things that are shipped into
his home town rather than those that
are shipped out.
A glance at any grocer's stock is suf-
ficient to show that he is obliged to
import much that could be profitably
grown in the vicinity.
OF the products adapted to small
farms for which there is more gen
eral market hogs and alfalfa will prob
ably take the lead
Dairying can always be resorted to-:
the growing of improved seed corn can
we'll be handled on the small farm; 100
or more hens can always be made
profitable.
No one man will produce all Of these,
and for that reason there is room for
several small farms near every town of
even a few hundred inhabitants.
A few cows, few hogs and a good
many hens will work in nicely with al
most any combination of crops. If
| many hogs are kept most of the farm
should he in alfalfa and hay and hogs
would be the products sold. Potatoes
or seed corn can be handled with hogs
and alfalfa.
Often a pasture has to be plowed
UP, and this makes an excellent
place for either corn or potatoes. If
cream or butter is to be sold enough
hogs should be kept to make profitable
use of the milk.
Every man must make a careful
study of the local conditions, his own
preferences and the crops and stock
he selects. OF these he should become
an expert producer.
Every foot of ground should be kept
busy as much of the time as possible
and to do this catch crops, such as
turnips, pumpkins, millet, sorghum and
early varieties of corn planted late for
| feed, must often be resorted to.
Frequently before one crop is off the
ground another may be started. The
producing power Of the soil must be
kept at the maximum by the use of
manure and leguminous crops.-J. A.
Warren, United States Department of
| Agriculture.