The Watertown news. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1917-1919, 1917-12-05
many FARMERS HEAR
FARM MANAGEMENT
ABLY DISCUSSED

Farm management in all it's phases
was discussed at we'll attended meet
Ing OF farmers and local business
men in st. Henry's hall on Tuesday
afternoon, and at the conclusion a
number of those present were in
duced to try the record keeping sys-
tenn now in practical and successful
use among the North Lake Farm
Management club. The meeting was
arranged by the Jefferson County
Council of Defense and the Business
Mems association of this city.
Prof. ID. H. Otis of the University of
Wisconsin spoke, as did Mr.. knight,
enc of the North Lake farmers who is
member of the association. Both
talks were informal and were we'll put
and showed clearly the worth of the
project
The attendance though fair could
have been much larger, for when a
dozen farmers come twenty-four miles
in the weather we had Tuesday to
show our farmers the benefit they re-
celved from their records through
their own enthusiasm and desire to
give others the benefit of their good
fortune, it is an example that would
be well to follow
Hon. VIM. F. Voss in introducing
the speaker, told of the purpose of the
meeting. He said that it was for the
purpose of getting the farmers to-
gether, to mutually help each other,
and the most important thing was to
get books of account on the farm, and
when there to keep them straight
There is not doubt as to the use
fulness of this move for the proof is
here in the way of twelve North Lake
farmers who have tried for a year
and found it profitable, and there is
no reason why Watertown should not
do likewise" concluded Mr.. Voss.
Farm Management.
ITO be successful in farming it
must be run under the same condi-
lions as any other business" said AS
sistant Dean D. H. Otis, of the College
Of Agriculture of the University of
Wisconsin, who spoke shortly and to
tlO pOIuI Ou dI LII MdudS0ul0uC.
Prof. Otis pointed out that the aver
age young fellow who intends to en-
ter the profession of farming or has
entered, naturally asks these ques-
tions: How much capital do I need !?
How much should l invest in cattle?
How much profit should I make? Can
| use more capital? These questions
are only natural and can be answered
only by those who have kept. a sys-
tematic record of all income and out
go of the year. Even then the results
may be all that are not wanted for the
management of the one farm may be
such that it would not be true basis
to judge what other farms may do. 1t
is then necessary to take a number of
farm records of surrounding farms,
and go over them carefully to see
what relation the different farm items
bear to each other. This will give them
true insight into all conditions on
the various farms that affect profits,
explained the professor in a general
way.
To show the results obtained from
a study of this Prof. Otis pointed out
on a chart, taking the North Lake
Farmers association as a basis, the
benefit of having true, accurate farm
records. Each individual can get
some pointers that will enable him to
make more money. There were twenty
farmers who had records at the end
OF the year. One poor record, sixteen
average, three exceptional Three
groups of figures represented the
classification and Prof Otis made his
first point clear in the chart that "the
percentage of profit is in relation to
the percent of operating capital
house is permanent and plow is in
the operating class. To make the def
milton still clearer, if farmer had a
ten thousand dollar farm and a rake
and pillow he wouldn't make very much
profit, because he had no operating
capital. In the first group or the C
form as Prof. Otis designated it, the
profits were 1858, with a 20 per cent
operating capital fund, while in the
exceptional class the profit was $155S
with 35 per cent operating capital.
He also showed that while the ex-
penses and tho three exceptional
forms had doubled the profits had
tripled. So without farm records the
farmer will not know whether it
would be advantageous for him to in
crease his expenses and make more
profits for he has no record
Prof Otis also showed that "voI-
ume OF business under profit, a farmer
with one COW cannot make a profit nc
matter how hard he tries When il
cost SIS to keep a COW a year. it is
poor business to keep one that is only
producing SoS. Farm records will
show the cow up
1.-The farm with the most COWS
makes the most profit, if the COWS are
above the SIS class" said the profess
sor. "The better the COWS, the more
money" he concluded. He also pre-
scented chart that showed conclus