Pine Bluff daily graphic. (Pine Bluff, Ark.) 1893-1942, 1919-05-04
FARM MANAGEMENT
EXTENSION WORK
Old Adage Applies To Farm and
Farmer as VOL as Any
thing Else.

aRement, u. 3. Department OF Agrl-
culture, Cooperating with Exten-
sion Division, U. of A.
There is an old saying that good
management is more important than
hard work" and this applies to the
farm as we'll as to anything else. Not
that work is unimportant, for 1t IS
not, but without good management,
work is inefficient
Farm Management is one Of the
newer sciences, though it has long
been an art that has been highly de-
veloped by some farmers. 1t is al
ways true, historically that art pre-
cedes science as, for instance, Hero
dotus tells us that the science or ge-
\ ometry grew out of the art of meas
uring land in the valley of the Nile.
So the best farmers from the palmy
days of Roman agriculture to the
present time have learned the art or
good farm management, but 1t is on.
ly within the last few years that
more or less successful efforts have
been made to create science Of
Farm Management and to teach It's
principles.
1t is often said of certain men that
their success is due to good manage
ment but this statement does not an:
alyze the matter-does not tell us OF
what good management consists, but
1t is found that management, in q
large degree, is capable of being an
alyzed. We can say that 1t consists
partly of this and that and the other.
Il Farm management Investigations in
various parts of the United States
have set forth the actual business
! and economic facts OF large numbers
Of farms. The writer, with the neip
of certain county agents and others
! obtained such facts from 220 farms
year of 1916 and '''this investigation
! has been repeated on 50 OF those
farms for the last two years.
The facts obtained cover such
things as the size of the farm, the
tillable area, the acres and produc-
ton of each crop, the inventory Of an
imals, implements, feedstuffs and
supplies at the beginning and at the
end OF the year, the receipts from
the sale of crops, animals, animal
products, wood, timber and work
done outside the farm, the expenses
for labor, for repairs on buildings,
fences and machinery, for horse shoe
ling and veterinary bills. for fertilizer,
seeds, plants, trees, spray materials,
threshing, ginning, fuel, oil and gaso-
line for farm purposes, insurance on
farm buildings, taxes. rent and any
other thing that is properly charge
abel to farm expenses. Also the de.
!. probation on buildings, implements
and animals is taken into account and
a balance is made showing how much
each man has made or lost.
All this, however, is preliminary to
the extension work which follows.
These studies give us the diagnosis
Of the farmers economic condition,
end on the basis of the diagnosis the
ure are pointed out so that each far
mer may benefit thereby
The results of the investigations on
ITO farms in Arkansas were publish
ed in series of sarticles printed In
the Arkansas Gazette in 1918, and,
they showed that the two largest fac
tors Of success were the yield Of the
crop and the size Of the farm. The
yield of the crop Is always important
1 and good yields should always De
aimed at, but these studies also show
that farms ON such size as require
four, FIVE and six work animals are
more profitable than those which re-
quire one. two and three-that it re-
quires certain size of farm to make
good use of implements, machines,
etc Various other things which have
| bearing on good management are
pointed out to the farmers. such as
the Importance of growing food for the
family and feed for the stock. but
space is too limited to discuss them
in this article.
4 Teaching Farm Accounts.
II A very important phase of farm
management extension work Is to
teach farmers not only how to keep
4 accounts, but how to make out inyen-
tories and how to balance up &C
counts at the end Of the year, taking
Inventories into consideration. Self
help is the best help in the world
and when farmers keep accounts and
A study them, they will see the leaks
4 and the weaknesses and the strcnx
i points Of their Unsatisfactory win
Il see more clearly the things vhiNN
constitute good farm management.
u Two hundred farmers representing
7, 50 counties in the state are n " keep
ing farm accounts under the instruo-
ton Of the writer and many of these
/ are keeping 4 record Of the time
spent by men and mules on varions
crops and other enterprises ana a
Few are keeping records Of the Feed
stuffs consumed by their animals, al
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