The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-03-18
BUSINESS BASIS
 FOR ALL FARMING Object of Dry Farming Con gress to Develop Methods SCIENCE MUST LEAD Farmers Will Be Instructed to Keep Strict Account of Their Work and
 to Know the Cost of Materials
 and to Make Profits
SCIENCE MUST LEAD

Spokane, Wash, March 1S.-(Special)
 That business methods should be ap- piled to farming will be emphasized not only in the discussions at the Fifth Dry Farming congress in Spokane, October 8 to 6, but in the International Dry Farming exposition in connection with the sessions. One of the premiums in- cluded in the preliminary list just con- pleted by Prof. w. H. Olin, superintend- ent of premiums and awards, will be awarded for the most complete and practical display of monthly business reports of farm operations, to be en- tered exclusively by individual farmers.
 To take farming out of the realm of chance and guesswork and put it on a business basis is one of the objects of the dry farming congress. Additional interest in this phase of agriculture has been aroused by the investigations by government officials since the appoint ment of the country life commission by President Roosevelt.
 Much valuable data has been se- cured both by the congress and the government, and one of the valuable papers presented at the fourth congress was by Prof. B. Youngblood of the United States department of agricul- ture. in which he discussed business meth ods in relation to farm manage ment But much Of the discussion of this subject in the past has been de- voted to suggestions regarding what the farmer should keep account of and telling him that he should know how much his crops cost in order to deter mine the profit or loss his harvest brings. rather than showing by tangible evidence what actual business meth cd farming really is.
 We are going to put the various systems of dry farming to the test of business principles" said John T. Burns, secretary of the dry farming congress. ITO reduce agriculture to an exact science it is necessary to know the cost of the various farm operations, the ex- pense of maintaining families and farming establishments on the ordinary sized farms. as well as the fundamental principles of moisture conservation, til- lage and seed breeding.
 We are asking the farmers to keep q strict account of their work. Their records sh ould show how much it costs to feed their horses and cattle, to blow and seed their ground to cultivate and harvest their crops, to keep their ma chinery and implements in repair, or to purchase new implements, and also how much they spend for hired help. cloth ing, supplies for themselves, their fam flies and their employees The farmer should know what each crop costs and what 1t brings in return.
 We believe the premium offered at the dry farming exposition will be an incentive to farmers to submit accurate statements of their farming business, and from these we believe we can gather information which will prove in- valuable in protecting the pocketbooks and bank accounts of other farmers We expect to gain information that will enable us to tell the farmer how to stop the small leaks and the individually small losses or wastes here and there that in the aggregate make broad in- roads upon the farmers income"