Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1913-01-17
A PROFITABLE FARM.
A. J. Mcclure Makes Money
on Farm South of Morris.

Alfred Carlsted, county farm agent
for Swift county, had the following
article on business management on
the A. j. Mcclure farm in last
weeks Swift county papers. The
Mcclure farm lies about ID miles
south of Morris. just over the line in
Swift county. Mr.. Carlsted says
Farming is a business and must lie
handled as such if it shall be pro-
1itabIe. The failure of farms to pay
interest on the investment can, in
most cases be traced back to poor
management. If the owner manage
it himself it may be that he works too
hard and neglects the business or
managing end of it. When hiring our
manager or our hired man the only
thing we pay any attention to is if
they can and are willing to work and
forget to find out whether they can do
things in systematic way or not.
We ought to pay cash for brains and
not only for labor, especially in pick
ing our manager In hiring our men
we are too apt to consider the price
rather than the efficiency. The i'm
portance of good management was
Impressed on the writer very striking
ly while visiting Mr.. A. j. McGuire's
farm quite recently.
MIR. McGuire's farm is located in
Hegbert township, Swift county. 1t
is a 48O acre farm, of which about
400 acres were under cultivation last
year, the 80 acres being in pasture.
a school house and church lot and the
farmstead, which is located in the
center of the farm The land is level.
easily titled and has black loan
soil. Mr.. Mcclure keeps moderate
number of cattle, his herd being head
ed by very pure bred Holstein bull.
He has also a few cows, and in a few
years will have Holstein herd. His
hogs are exceptionally good and bring
him very good profit. Owing to
small buildings the farm does not yet
contain the stock that it should, but
through the proper methods of hand
ling the manure. growing of clover.
rotation of crops. the fertility of the
soil is maintained as the high yiel9s S
will show. During the coming season
new modern barn will be built and
the number of cows increased.
Mr.. Mcclure does not stay on the
farm himself. but has a5 manager.
Mr.. L. P. Evans, who gets salary
$50. 90 per month and expenses fol
himself and family. Mr.. Evans is 6
man who can work and work hard il
needed but his work is always done
in systematic way. He has a sy,
stem of doing things so that every steK
he takes counts. He is not only sy'
-stematie in doing the work, but he
takes time and is equally careful il
managing the business end of the
farming. He keeps an exact accoun
of every cent that goes out of th'
business and very cent that come
in from all of the different enter
priges. He sends a report of this t.
Mr.. Mcclure at the end of every week
so he can see exactly how the business
stands. Mr.. Evans is doing all thi
and accomplishes just as much as tw'
men where there is no system.
1t did not take Mr.. Mcclure NOR
than two minutes to show the write
what the farm had brought in. il
cash, and what the expenses of oper
ating it had been for the past year ant
by taking little inventory we coul
tell exactly what the business ba,
netted for the year of 1912. The fol
lowing are the figures as they wer
taken from his record: