Mountain Home maverick. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1906-1911, 1911-04-20
FARMER AS A BUSINESS MAN


Certain agencies have been devot-
ing considerable attention to the
farmer as purchaser, in which
capacity the friendship of our coun-
try cousins is not to be treated light
" by any manner of means, but why
not treat the farmer as a businss
man? Does he not conduct the most
important business" in the coun-
try? Should his business languish
or suffer, all other business, includ-
ing that which apparently feels that
It has copyright on the very name
would suffer instantly.
Moreover an industry which can
increase the value Of it's product and
Of its stock in trade as the farmers
have done in the last ten years is
certainly entitled to consideration
as among the very best businesses
of the country
The value Of wheat per acre, for
instance. has been increased from
$3.50 in 1899 to 1854 in 1910;
the value of oats per acre has in-
creased from $7.94 to $12.27 and
other similar grains in proportion.
Horses have jumped from S48.25 to
1864: milch COWS from s23.35 to
S32,36 sheep from $2.23 to $3.43
and swine from S4.81 to $6.55
Now is that not about as good
showing in a business way as the
dry goods merchant can show for
his calico. his linen, his silks, or
other goods; or as the hardware
merchant can show for his nails, his
shelf goods or any of the line that he
carries? Then if one is a business man
why should the other not be regard
ed as a business man also?
But it is not alone here that the
farmer has demonstrated his ability
TO make advancement in material
wealth In the permanent value Of
his place of business, his farm. he
has shown even greater progress,
and this is particularly true with re-
gard to this Idaho business dealer
in agricultural products"
Fortunately in this line we are
able to make comparisons showing
Idaho's progress alongside the pro-
gress of other states. According to
census statistics of last year, the
value of farm land per acre has in
creased in Massachusetts, 30 per
cent; in Maine rs per cent; in Penn
sylvania. z per cent; in Indiana, "a
per cent; Illinois 100 per cent; Mich
igan 33 per cent; Wisconsin 33 per
cent; Missouri 1O4 per cent; Mont
ana 205 per cent; Kansas IT'S per
cent; South Dakota $50 per cent.
But remarkable as has been this
increase in value per acre of some
of these states, Idaho still is able
to head the list with an increase of
2f6 per cent. That means that the
business of the farmer. that is, his
plant has increased in value two and
three-fourths times in its value ten
years ago in this state. 1t means that
his products has increased in value
on an average of rs per cent more
than it was; is that not a pretty
good business" showing. and is not
the man who can make such a snow
ing in ten years entitled to be classed
pretty well at the head among bust
ness men of the state?
The purchasing power of the far
mers' product has been greatly in
creased also in this time. That is,
not only has the value of his pro-
duct increased in dollars and cents
even though those dollars would not
buy him back as much as before
thus leaving him worse off than ev-
er, but these products measured in
the things the farmer has to buy
have greatly increased. We mean by
that that in 1899. for instance. if a
farmer wanted to buy a stove. it re-
quired him to sell the average pro-
duct from 81 acres to make the pur.
chase. Ten years later he could buy
the same stove with the sale OF the
product Of only 1.3 acres. A bug.
gy in 1909 could be bought with the
money received from the sale of the
average products Of Az acres, where.
as ten years before that it required
Az acres to make the trade. Ter
years ago it took the average pro
duct of AS acres to buy a mower
but in 1909 he could buy the same
mower with the sale of all the crops
averaged from 20 acres. Take it il
wheat alone. it took an acre and Z
half ~ rvboaf 70 b,,,v a ,1o,,, IN 800