Polk County observer. (Monmouth, Polk County, Or.) 1888-1927, 1917-02-09
OTHERS OPINIONS
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Analyzing Farm Business.

That the farmers of the country
are adopting more and more the prac-
tice Of analyzing their business and
using this analysis in keeping books
was brought out recently in the hear
ings on the agricultural appropria-
tion bill before the Committee on
Agriculture of the House of Repre-
sentatives. The Office of Farm Man
agement of the United States De-
partment of Agriculture has provid-
ed in Farmers Bulletin No. 661
blanks for use in analyzing farm
business in such way that the farm
er can readily ascertain the various
sources from which he derives his in
come, the ways in which he spends his
money, the total income from the
farm, and the amount which should
be charged off for interest on his in
vestment.
County agents, it was said. make
much use of this bulletin. They take
it to the farmer, sit down with him,
and work out with him complete
analysis of his business, so that he is
able to see exactly in what respects
he IS losing money and in what re-
spects he is making it. Furthermore,
these blanks are frequently used when
farmers write to the department for
advice and assistance. In such cases
it is customary to send the inquirer
the bulletin, with the request for
him to analyze with its aid his bust
ness The information thus obtained
is compared with similar information
on gle in the department and the
specialists in the Ofce of Farm Man
agement are thus enabled to point |
out the mistakes which are causing
trouble in any one individual case.
1t may be found, for example, that a
dairyman is spending from three to
four times as much money for labor
as other farmers conducting business
on a similar scale
To secure the necessary data that
enables the department to determine
whether or not a farmer is conduct
ing his business as efficiently in any
one respect as he should, extensive
farm surveys are made in represen-
tative localities. A group of from
800 to 200 contiguous farms is Sc
lected, and detailed analysis of the
business of each one of these made
by trained experts. They ascertain
what the investment is, how much Of
it is in land and buildings, and how
much in live stock, machinery, feed,
etc. The production of the
farm in crops and live stock is next
and the returns from the
sales of all products ascertained. The
survey also includes an estimate of
the amount of depreciation of the
buildings, work stock, machinery, etc.,
on the farm. With this information
it is possible to determine approx ;
mately what the average farmer in ,
that section is doing, and when this
average is compared with individual
cases it is possible to throw light on
why the prosperous farmer is sue
ceeding and why his less fortunate ,
neigfbor is not.
Approximately one-third of the ,
farmers who have been induced to ,
analyze their business in this way,
it is said, are now keeping books.
many farmers have been ,
discouraged from this by the apparent
of the systems employed.
By simplifying these systems so that
he farmer can tell what the figures
are all about and how to use them,
he department is greatly increasing
he amount of bookkeeping being
lone on the farms of the country
Corvallis Gazette-Times.