Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1918-06-06
INCREASING EFFICIENCY
OF FARM LABOR


In the present work crisis only
those efforts should be carried on
which have a direct bearing on the
successful conduct OF the war. These
efforts, in the main, are confined to
military preparations and the pro-
duction of food and clothing for our
allies and ourselves. The aim on ey-
cry farm should be to confine all eff
forts to those crops and live stock
which are contributing directly to
the food program and to dismiss all
possible work which can be post
poned until the crisis of food pro-
duction is 2tely over.
The most essential farm opera
tions are necessarily the preparation
of the land, the planting and the har-
vesting. II is perfectly evident that
the facilities for accomplishing this
work are much more satisfactory
and efficient on some farms than
others within a given community. A
plan, therefore, whereby all farm
ers in a community would consider
these necessary operations as a
whole for the region, and whereby
all would work toward completing
these operations before engaging in
IA.
marked increase in food produc-
ton.
As an instance of the need for CO.
operation of the kind here suggest
ed, the following case may be cited.
In group of fourteen farmers sit
uated in q community in one of the
best farming regions of the corn
belt, where records were kept of ev-
lot Df 90, ,rl- -.
it was found that five men out of the
fourteen failed to get all of their
corn planted by the last week in
May. They had worked as hard and
steadily at that operation as had
their neighbors but they were delay
ed by one cause or another such as
lack of labor or teams. or were ham
ding a larger acreage than their
equipment would allow them to ham
die satisfactorily In this same COM
munity were three men who COM
pleted all their planting operations
before the Goth of May and five
others who completed their work be
fore the 25th of May. 1t is true
that these men who finished their
planting work early had plenty of
other farm work, but none of such
great Importance as the planting of
corn, on which some of their neigh
bors were engaged for two weeks
after they had finished. If all these
men had considered that corn plant
ing was a national necessity and had
pooled their efforts. all of the corn
on all of the farms could have been |
planted within the most favorable |.
time
Again, it was found that some of |
these same men had their corn land |
prepared much earlier than others |
and that several days elapsed be- !
tween preparation and planting dur
ing which their men and teams could |
have been utilized to excellent ad- |
vantage by the neighhors who were
less fortunate in having the prepar-
alton for planting fully made.
When it comes to harvesting, the |
pooling of community farm interests |
is even more necessary and benefit |
cial, because on such work the great .
er efficiency gained through larger f.
crews and larger machines is a most .
factor For instance, in a .
neighborhood there may be one farm
having $50 acres of hay TO harvest,
surrounded by three farmers having
rs to 80 acres each The present |
custom is for each man to do his .
own work. The small farmer has
two horses and one moving machine.
He may do his haying with the aid