Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1918-08-07
INCREASING THE EFFICIENCY
OF FARM LABOR AND TEAMS
BY COMMUNITY COOPERA-

In the present world 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 produc-
ton of food and clothing for our allies
and ourselves. The aim on every
farm should be to confine all efforts
to those crops and livestock, which
are contributing directly to the food
program and to dismiss all possible
the crisis in food production is safely
over.
The most essential farm operations
are necessarily the preparation Of the
land the planting and the harvesting.
1t is perfectly evident that facilities
for accomplishing this work are much
more satisfactory and efficient on
some farms than on others within a
given community A plan, therefore,
whereby all farmers in a community
would consider these necessary Oper-
atoms as a whole for the region, and
whereby all would work toward COM
pleting these operations before en-
gaging in less essential work, should
result in marked increase in food
production.
~
operation of the kind here suggested,
the following cases may be cited. In
a group of fourteen farmers situated
in a community in one OF the best
farming regions in the corn belt where
records were kept of every detail of
farm work, one year it was noted 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 as steadily at that opera
ton as had their neighbors but they
were delayed by one cause or another,
such as lack of labor, or were hand
ling a larger acreage than their
equipment would allow them to ham
die satisfactorily. In this same COM
munity were three men who complet-
ed all their planting operations be-
fore the goth of May and five others
who completed their work by the 18th
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 neighbors were engaged for
two weeks after they had finished.
IF all of these men had considered
that corn planting was a national ne
cessity 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 very much earlier than 9TH
ers and that several days elapsed be-
tween preparation and planting dur
ing which time their men and teams
could have been utilized to excellent
advantage by the neighbors who were
less fortunate in having the prepara-
ton for planting fully made.
When it comes to harvesting, the
pooling of community farm interests
is even more beneficial because on
such work the greater efficiency gain
ed through larger crews and larger
machines is most important fac
tor. For instance, in neighbOrhood
there may be one farm having $50
acres Of hay to harvest, surrounded
1y three farms having rs to 80 acres
each. The present custom is for each
man to do his own work. The small
armer has two horses and one now
ing machine. He may do his haying
tn the aid Of one man or Of his wife
and children, but it takes him the
larger part Of the haying season to
accomplish this work. The same is
tue Of the other small farmers. The
farmer with the large haying has to
hire extra laborers from outside
sources and these with his larger
equipment, do his haying in about the
same time as it takes the small farm
er3, or in q period Of from two to
three weeks.
By pooling their interests the three
small farmers could assistOne another
ard do the haying on each farm in two
or three days by reason Of more equip
ment, more teams and more labor, to-
eether with the greater efficiency
from larger crews in haying opera
tons. In this same way this group
OF small farmers, having been able to
complete their harvest in a much
assist the farmer with the large hay
ing, either by hiring out to him or by
an interchange Of work. Such an ar
rangement would permit all of the
harvest work of these four farms to
be carried out without hiring addi-
tionaI labor which has been the usual
custom in a great many instances.
These are only few examples of
how community efforts on the part
OF farmers can materially increase
the efficiency of their available re-
sources. Heretofore this universal in
terchange of labor on farms has not
been common. IL mas Deen cOnllneu
to only few operations such as silo
filing and threshing. It is true that
there are disadvantages connected
with this interchange of labor in that
the crops of one farm may have to be
cut little too early or the harvest
may be delayed a little on another.
AGAIN, it is difficult to find number
Of men who are of one opinion con-
corning just how the work should be
carried out on any particular farm.
However, in this great crisis the in
terests Of the individual are second
airy and those OF the nation, Of which
each community is a part, are Of first
consideration.
Wherever such a plan as that sug-
stcd can be used it will be particu-