The Kennewick courier. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1905-1914, 1913-01-10
In Orchard and Field
gHappenings Of Moment to the Man Behind the Plow
FARM BOOKKEEPING

have been wondering how many
farmers who read these columns
keep set OF farm books. OF course
every successful farmer keeps an
itemized account of his receipts and
expenditures; that is one of the
essentials of success in any business.
But how many keep an account that
will show the net gain or net loss
from each sort of farm industry into
which he enters?
The dairy experts who have been
with us lately have said great deal
about getting rid of the star board
ers' that cut down the profit of our
herds. Instances were given in
which a dairy herd had been kept,
unknown to its owner, at an actual
loss. How many of us know how
it is with our herds?
How many of US know what is
the net income from our hogs, our
peaches, our apples or our straw
berries? Is it more profitable to
feed our alfalfa to COWS or hogs? Or
is it better to sell it at IS to $40
per ton, delivered?
These and dozens of similar ques-
tions can only be answered by those
who keep accurate records. Nor
will the records of a single year tell
the whole story. Those of this year
of grace 1912 would not be sufficient
to determine whether potatoes may
be made profitable crop; and the
same is true of peaches, apples and
grapes. Only the average of a series
of years of work carried on intelli-
gently and scientifically will solve
the questions.
The man who would succeed in
the intensive farming necessary on
the high priced lands of this valley
must mix good lot of brains with
his labor. He must learn the how
and the why. And much of this
he must learn from his own study
and observation of his own work.
Hence comes the necessity of &C
curate records of all his work and
especially of the financial end of it.
I have but one COW. I mean to
have more. You will see the reason
when I give the report of her work
this year. Though she is not at all
an extraordinary COW, yet she is not
a "boarder. :" After deducting from
the cash returns for milk and butter
sold the cost of hay and grain fed
during the year and also the cost Of
butter and milk bought when she
was dry, we have a balance of 1885.
| Besides this she has given us all the
milk and butter and cream we have
used, has furnished skim milk for
our chickens, and several wagon
loads of manure for our orchard.
Our peaches do not show so good
a profit. After deducting from the
returns all the cash outlay for spray
ing, labor in harvesting, boxes, etc.,
I find the peaches net me but 9 cents
per box. If that were all we were
to get for our labor and overhead
charges, it would be evident at once
that it does not pay to raise peaches.
But if this be averaged with the
years when the net returns were 40
to so cents per box the showing
would be much better.
The close of the year is the time
to balance up our books. make our
reckonings, find out whence come
our gains and whence come our
losses; and, taking all into considera-
ton, determine what lines of work
to cut out, what to press harder and
what new ones to introduce.
Probably we will wish to follow
the advice of our teachers and di-
versify more. But whatever we do
there should be nothing haphazard
about it. We should know what
we are doing and why. These
cannot be known unless accurate
records are kept. | wish it were
nossihle for a hundred farmers of