Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1915-05-06
WHAT is THE
FARMERS REAL INCOME7

JnaJ lne amount OF money VHlCn Ine
average farmer receives for his
years work is little more than that
which he would be paid if he hired
himself out as a farm hand to one
of his ncighbors. In other words,
though the farmer is in business for
himself, the average farmer gets
little or no money reward for his in
telligence ar, skill with which he
has managed hig aT,;;:.s or the risk
and responsibility he has assumed.
But he must get something in return
or no one would trouble to farm for
himself. A recent study conducted
by experts in the United States De-
partment of Agriculture shows that
in many cases this reward NAV h"ot.
be found in the products vii. .....-i
his farm furnishes him directly.
When farm is nearly, if not quite,
self-sustaining, say agricultural ex-
perts, when it supplies the family
that lives upon It with most of the
necessities of life, a large money in
come is not necessary to prosperity.
A greater sum derived from a farm
which yields nothing for home con-
sumption may leave the occupants
much worse off.
Under the title cf Farmers Bulle
tin 635, What the Farm Contrib
utes Directly to the Farler'c Liv
ing" the Department of Agriculture
is about to publish the results &C a
survey of conditions on large nIm-
ber of farms in the ten states of
North Carolina, Georgia, Texas,
Kansas, Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio,
Pennsylvania, New York, and YER
mont. The farms selected for study,
though possibly little more pros
porous than the average, were fair
ly representative of their sections
which, it will be noted, included
three corn and cotton areas, two
states in the corn and VIII, at belt,
two regions where general farming
was carried on, and three different
!
of the chief necessities of life
food, fuel, oil, and shelter-used
each year by the farm family the in
vestigators found to be S595.08. OF
these necessities, estimated in
money, the portion contributed di-
rec'ly by the farm was s42I.17, leav-
ing s173.9l to be purchased with the
cash obtained from the sale of prod
uctj In considering these figures
it must be remembered that if the
farmer had been compelled to pay
city prices for his home grown ne
ces: tiles, this S421.17 would have
represented much less comfort.
OF the food consumed 63 per cent
was furnished by the farm. This
proposition varied greatly in the diff
ferent sections, but was greatest in
the locality studied in North Caro-
lima, where the farms supplied S2.3
per cent of the food consumed while
the average in the New York locality
was only 504. In view of the pres
ent economic crisis in the south this
fact is regarded as of particular sig
nificance since it demonstrates the
extent to which with proper sys-
tenn of agriculture southern farms can
be made self-sustaining. Concentra,
ton upon one cash crop, cotton, has
proved disastrous and agriculture
authorities are now trying in every
way to induce the people to adopt 6
system which will lead to conditions
similar to those now prevailing il
this particular area Of North Caro-
lima.
In this connection the investiga
ton revealed some interesting fact:
in regard to the four items of gro
ceries, animal products, fruits, ant
vegetables in the average farm fam
ily's food bill. Of the value of tn,
food consumed groceries constituted
practically one-quarter, animal prod
ucts more than one-half, vegetable
11.6 per cent and fruit only 60
Practically all of the groceries wer
bought; on the other hand the guam
tity of fruits and vegetables use
was in direct proportion to the guam
tity raised on the farm and wher
this quantity was great the grocer
bill was correspondingly low. Thi
was also found to be true of anima
products, including of course, no
only butchers meat, but poultry
eggs, milk, cheese, etc. Where thes,
were abundant on the farm fewe
groceries were purchased. Since th'
grocery bill was found to be ordinar
lily two-thirds of the entire amoun
expended in cash for food, one yer!
obvious and effective way of econo
MIXING appears to be to raise NOR
vegetables, more fruit, more mill
and eggs. In many cases, experts