Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1914-02-10
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SAY Federal EXPERTS
DEPARTMENT or AGRICULTURE
HOLDS VIEWS COUNTER TO
PREVAILING IDEAS.
LESS THAN 100 ACRES;
HELD INEFFICIENT UNIT.
Investigations in Three States, In
Guiding Iowa, Basis Of Investigations
and conoIusions-Profit Shown in
Every Instance, Both For Tenants
and Owner Operated Acres.

and Owner Operated Acres.
80 -----
Special to Times
Washington, Feb. Shat the Amer
lean type Of farming needs large areas
in contrast to the European type. and
that modern machinery with the use
Of more horses and fewer men has
made the small farm an inefficient
unit, are conclusions Of scientists Of
the department Of !; agriculture. who
have recently completed a farm man
agement survey In the corn belt.
Summary Of the results Of this survey
are now published in bulletin No. Al,
entitled "A Farm Management Sur
vey of Three Representative Areas in
Indiana, Illinois and Iowa"
The states in the corn belt were
chosen for this survey because they
excel almost all other regions In wealth
of farm products. On rich soil with
ample rainfall, a system agriculture is
found that Is unequaled as an example
Of the. expansive type Of farming. This
type is developed on the basis of the
farm work horse as the means of mo-
tive power Data from about 700
farms in this rich area have been
taken as basis for the new bulletin,
and, Saltho this represents relatively
small portion Of the farms Of tthe
United States, the information gath
cred furnishes almost conclusive proof
with respect to many phases of farm
organization.
Owners Make Good Profits.
In the region studied the owners
made good profits. The average labor
income Of the farm owners operating
their, own farms was $40S and of the
tenants $3.50. In addition, the oper-
ators had a house to live in and those
products which the farm furnished
toward their living. This gives an
idea Of what may be expected from the
utilization Of high priced land under
an expansive system Of agriculture.
Other results Of the departments in
vestigations are given below.
The landlords on the average, re-
ceived 3.5 per cent on their invest
ments. The size Of their investments
had no appreciable bearing on the rate
Of income.
Assuming that the year in which
this study was made was normal one,
q labor income of $50 to the operator.
whether owner or tenant and return
OF SIS per cent on the capital invested
may be expected.
The tenants income is in direct pro-
portion to his capital and the size Of
the farm he operates. Men owning
small farms often materially increase
their incomes by renting additional
land. This affords better utilization
of their equipment without much in
crease in capital.
The tennnt's income is in proportion
to the risk he assumes On the cash
rent basis his income is greater In
good year and less in a poor year than
when he rents on the share basis.
The farmers making the lowest labor
incomes are on big farms, but fail thru
inefficient management. Poor crops,
low prices for products sold, poor stock,
failure to work, and unused capital
are the main cases contributing to their
failure.
Modern machinery. with the use Of
more horses and fewer men, has made
the farm of less than 100 acres In this
region an inefficient unit. Further
establishments In area will occur, which
viii tend to lessen the number Of per-
sons needed and at the same time in
crease the net production Of the farm.
In thescorn belt states the family
size farm Is the most desirable. 1t
provides work for the farmer and his
sons and permits the best use of men,
horses, and machinery. If the small
farm has q place 1t must be near city
and should be highly diversified in its
organization.
Size Controlling Factor.
:. The size of farm is the controlling
factor in the efficient use of farm la
Dor and machinery. The old hand Ia
Dor methods practiced by our fore
fathers, which are still common in
Europe, were suited to a small area
Under those conditions q man needed
only as much land as he could proper
" cultivate alone. A family was able
to raise only q small amount above
that needed for their own living. If
these methods still prevailed in this
country, the present number Of farmers,
would be entirely inadequate to sup
port our urban population.
The adoption Of modern, MACHINERY
has enormously increased the efficiency
Of the farm worker. 2FeWerun men. are
now needed In the farming districts.
and those not needed are able to devote
themselves to useful work in the cit
les and towns AS q result Of this
condition more Of theebeneffts Of civil
ization are available Ito the farmer.
altho the farmers are fewer in number.
the production per man Is increas-
Ing.
3 II hand labor could compete with
machine work, farm wages would be
much less and the product per man
proportionately smaller Our agricul-
tural civilization would then gavitate
toward the peasant conditions existing
In some parts of Europe. where the
agriculture is developed on the basis
Of the maximum product per acre OF
land instead Of the maximum product
per man.
How Type Of Farming Effects Income.
All the farmers in the regions stud
led are following the same general ex-
pansive system Of agriculture, devel-
oped on the basis of maximum product
per man. Within this system two I'M
portant types are found. One Is the
crop farm where 50 per cent or over
* SAN{xvA