The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1918-02-21

and answers from the short course, as
prepared by A. j. Mcclure of the
University Farm:
Is may farm as a business pay
ing? Am not only making expenses
but wages, and also each member of
my family who work with me? 1.-THE
farm is not paying just what is the:
true reason that it is not? If it is
not paying well, is there a practical
way that it can be made profitable ?
How many acres in the farm
What kind of crops are grown ans
how many acres of each? How many
cows kept on the farm? How many
dollars worth Of butterfat is sold per
cow year? How much should be
sold for the cows to be profitable !:
What was the average price received
for bS;:.terfa during the year? Was
it above or below the average OF the
state? How many steers sold during
the year? What was their average
weight? How much should steer
weigh at two years old? What was
the price received? How does the
price of steers or beef compare, with
the price of butterfat? Is the farm
ers market for the meat animals he
sells all that it should be? How does
it compare with the markets the farm
ers have for butterfat?
What was the total sales of the
farm last year? How much the total
expense? How much was the sales
OF grain, of dairy products, of beef
products, of pigs, of poultry? Are
the eggs mostly in one. basket, or is
the business of the farm pretty well
balanced up through the different de-
partments mentioned?
Should a farmer employ book
keeper? No, but he needs to be
something of bookkeeper himself.
When lands reaches $500 an acre or
even $50 an acre, farming becomes a
business mans job and the farmer
who does not regard himself as a
business man, places too little import
ance upon the value of his work.
On the farm of 200 acres or more
the crops on the start are generally
all grain. Then comes some corn.
The growing of corn in connection
with grain is big step in advance.
Con is wonderful crop. Corn is the
most wonderful plant in the world. 1t
is the Creators greatest gift to the
farmer. But corn is not the end.
Following it must come clover. The
successful corn grower calls corn king,
but clover is the queen of the fields.
There are all too many farmers in
western part of the state who have
not made the acquaintance of the
fair plant clover, that is the third
stage of our farming. With clover
aesyrproftable live stock raising,
dairying and the upbuilding of the
soil. A rotation of grain, clover and
corn and good number of cattle on
the farm and a fair amount of good
old fashioned hard work coupled will
q AAttAC SOOu UuSlllCSS IIl0I1xGH1Gut
and success will come to you.
I did not say in a year or two.
have been held responsible for the
success of farm too long to say that.
was on one farm for ten years and
| made it farm that you would have
been proud of. I have been managing
another farm (the old home place) for
the past seven years and YOU may ask
the neighbors about it. Nothing
wonderful at all but paying all the
bills and a little interest to the estate
and a big herd Of cattle there now
where there were only few on the
start, and number of improvements
that make farming a lot easier.
| How can you tell when you are
making good on the farm? Well lie
US take the cows to start with. 4
common COW is worth $50 under nor
NAL times. The feed she consumes
during the year is worth from $50 to
$35 (the past year lot more.) The
labor Of caring for her (if she had to
| pay for it in cash) taxes, shelter, in
terest and other minor expenses
amount to another $50 to $35 year.
To be sure that you are making
money from your cows you should
sell pretty close to $50 worth of bit
terfat per COW year. How much did
you sell last year? We sold a little
over $40 per COW. We MIXED Is
cows last year. Eight of them were
common cows and ten, their daughters
from pure bred dairy sire. We are
| not satisfied with that $40 per cow. It
should have been 500 and we are go
ing to make it that. Let us see: How
much was your sales per cow?
Raising steers? Well that is all
right. If I was not a dairy man
would be beef man. The term
Cattle in olden times meant money.
They always have but there are men
who forget the fact. Any kind of
cattle are good only some are better.
But there is a standard for tn oeef
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