The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1911-11-09
COLLEGE TEACHINGS
PUT into PRACTICE
Farm Management InvestIga-
tIons are Help to Farmers.

No other phase of the work of the
| College OF Agriculture of the Univer,
terest than the work OF the farm man
agement department. This department
is for the application OF real business
principles to farming. Before any
other work was attempted, the meth
ous vi Missouri farmers were studied
learning what systems OF farming
were most successful in Missouri. For
more than year now the deparlm mt
has responded to calls from farmers
all over the state who needed advice
and information This part OF the
shows the possibility OF Improvement
under common farm conditions.
Professor ID. H. Doane is in charge
OF the work at the University OF Mis-
souri,. He has the following to say
about the work among farmers:
One year has passed since our dem
onstration work among farmers was
started. Today we have some rather
gratifying reports to MAKE.
Prom one farm, where several hum
dred head OF hogs are fed annually,
the report comes that by following one
of our suggestions carload OF corn
was saved Ola the summer feeding.
From another farm in Franklin county
farmer says: When you found me |
was ready to give up. l could see no
way out. But the last year has made
hole in the wall, and now | know
that | am on my feet and success Is
sure TO come
ION q little farm on the OZarks that
produced the year we started work
less than ten bushels of corn, less than
one-fourth of ton Of hay and about
fifteen bushels OF potatoes per acre,
yielded the next year over forty BUSH
els of corn, nearly 100 bushels OF po-
tatoes and about two tons of hay to
the acre. The farmer in question was
worker and followed our directions
very carefully. He was not rich-ln
fact. the year before the one men,
toned, it was necessary to lose hay
crop on account of not being able to
buy a mower or to borrow one at the
particular time it was needed.
you may ask how we got these re-
markable results-for example, the
corn crop. First, we put our corn on
field that had had cowpeas on it the
year before, the first ever grown on
the farm. We lap disked the corn
ground before we plowed. We pre-
pared a seeded that would have done
for garden. We paid SO bushel for
the best seed corn we could buy, test
cd it carefully, and knew that SO per
cent Of it would grow. Cultivation
did not stop when we had to leave the
field with the team. but continued
with one horse. Cowpeas were plant
ed in the corn with hand planter
when the corn was about four to six
inches high; in fact, everything that
we knew of that could contribute to a
successful yield Of corn was done for
this crop. We applied some fertilizer,
hut in a way that we could get a
check on the results of its use.
Results on this little farm show
that successful farming
does not consist Of the doing Of just
one thing well-for instance. the pur-
chase Of pure bred seed--but the doing |
Of every farm operation In the best
possible way known.
Successful farming Is everyday
The successful farmer Is the
one who spares no pains to get the
best and do the best. He does not
have This wishbone~ where his back
bone ought to he" Business farming
means head as we'll as back farming.
We can tell to a penny what 1t cost
US to produce every crop on this farm.
and we know which ones paid us the
best From these figures we have a
positive basis for future operations.
am often asked how we obtained
such results In one year. 1t was the
work done every day, it was the plan
hing done every night, it was the re-
suit Of the reading put into practice
t was business farming.
Some think it is necessary for us to
III upoluC uo"h S'Siy P'o~e'SN NAA~
method that we find being followed
when we take the direction OF farm.
This is very far from the truth. 1t is
seldom that we make any sweeping
changes. More often. by far, simply
adjustment is needed.
Here is farmer growing crops that
ire making very satisfactory yields.
,ut he says to mel am not making
money" Upon investigation we find
hat there is little that we can do to
improve his crop yields. but we find
hat his stock is being handled at a
oss He is putting good crops through
'oor stock. He is running efficient
uel through poor machinery.
Our work in such case simply con-
lists in adjusting the running of the
putting the successful
rops through profitable stock. doing
way with the wornout or hard run
ing machinery and putting in kind
r quality that can be kept at a profit.
iell two of the boarder cows and buy
M tbof will return n pood incoma !