The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1912-05-17
HOW TO EXTRACT MORE
MONEY FROM THE SOIL
Lessons in Farm Management;
Taught BY Experts.
Isnecial to The Free Pressl

TSnecial to The Free Pressl
Washington, ID. c.. May 10.-Oi
unusual interest to Minnesota farm,
ers is a recent bulletin issued by the
department of agriculture devoted
to farm management. 1t is all the
more interesting because the facts
published III this bulletin of some
eighty-five pages, are based upon
various lines of work in the Mime,
sofa Agricultural Experiment Sta,
t!on. The title of the bulletin is
Research and Teaching, No. 236, Bp
reau of Plant Industry" The pub,
LEGATION has been prepared by Pro,
secretary of agriculture. but for.
merly connected with the Minnesota
College Of Agriculture; Andrew Boss,
a. ID. Wilson and Thomas p. Cooper.
The lines of work cover investiga-
tons to determine the best meth
DDS of crop rotation for Minnesota;
investigations in the cost of produe,
ing farm products in Minnesota, and
efforts at devising methods of teach
ing farm organization and manage
ment.
The department of agriculture
takes the view that farming is a
business, the management of which
requires as much thoughtful care
and rightly-directed effort as the
business of the grocer, or the mer-
chant in town. In fact, an analysis
of the average farm will show that
it consists of a number of separate
enterprises or projects, any one
of which is business in itself. 1t
often happens that each of these
enterprises overlap the other, SO
that the business of farming is rem
dered exceedingly complicated. The
object sought in research in farm
management is to secure such Gle
mentary facts, to be utilized in or
ganizing and conducting the bust
ness of the farm so as to give the
maximum of products. profit and en-
ioyments to the owner and to the
family on the farm, to supply farm
products in the best way to all who
need them, and gradually increase
the yield. .....
The authors of the publication
point out that various factors en-
ter into the business Of the farm
for instance, the factors Of man
and horse labor: of cash expendi
lures, of machinery values; of taxes
and interest; of depreciation of soil
fences, buildings, machinery, and
live stock. Then there are various
other items, any one of which may
by becoming relatively too large,
cause a loss for the farm business
in part or as a whole. BY way oil
illustration, the case of the farme,
cultivating land worth SIS an acre
is given. Wages of farm labor are
worth from $25 to $40 per month
Under these circumstances the prob
lem of making profits by raising
stock is much more complicated, as
well as difficult, than when land
and labor were both cheap. The In
vestigators found that in Minnesota
it costs from $40 to $35 per year
10 feed COW, from So to $12 pei
year to milk COW, from So to "a
per year to market the product, be
sides care, shelter, interest on in
vestment, and insurance against
loss. 1t can easily be figured ou'
that this makes a charge against
each COW of from $50 to SIS pei
year. .... ,.... s, .
From this it follows that 'oui
friend the COW to be profitable must
be on the job night and day. In
fact. the farm experts say that un
der high labor and cost items to
be profitable she must yield gross
product considerably above the av
erage. In these piping times of high
cost of commodities, including but
ter. the statement of these same ex
merits that farmers can secure bu'
small margin of profit from the
butter yields will undoubtedly brlne
solace to the dairyman, falsely ac
cused of getting exorbitant prices
for the product Yes, this is VIVA
the book says: Profitable yields
of butter and milk are possible, bu
with the average cow, given aver
age care, the margin of profit il
likely to be small. To realize
safe margin of profit, as many farm
ers are now doing, the cows mus
be so bred, selected, fed and care'
for as to yield large product, ant
the cost of feed and the labor re
quired must be kept well below tn
value of the product. A satisfactor.
solution requires both carefu
study of conditions and good buSl
ness management.
The rotation of crops is one 0
the simplest, least expensive am
most practical means known
keeping the soil in high state o
productivity. The bulletin covers
wide field and has much to say II
regard to the planning of fields 10