The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1920-10-12
FARMERS INCOMES
AVERAGE SMALL
Investigation Shows They Average Less
than $500 Cash a Year Above
Food and Shelter


WASHINGTON, Oct. l2-Figures on
farm prohts, covering seven years in two
areas and five years in a third, were
made public by the United States ce-
paftment OF agriculture yesterday These
hgures purpOrt to show that compare
lively few of the farmers IN the groups
studied have been making large profits
during the recent years of comparatively
high prices; that most of them are max
ing less than $500 cash per year over
and above the things the farm furnishes
toward the family Swing, which, however,
constitute a very important factor
Speclalls,s I the office of farm manage
ment ana ld2m economics, who have con-
ducted these Investigations, say that
while the results will not justify fiat gen
ordinations as to what farm profits are
Tor the country as a whole, they believe
they should have weight in the consider
alton of tn general problem, as indica-
tive of the trend of farm returns in rep
resentative farming sections.
The three groups of farms studied are
! located, respectively, in Washington
/ county, Ohio Us farms, hill country,
years.; Clinton county, Indiana 600
farms, coTnbelt, Z years.; and Dane
ion, 5 years. Representatives of the de
partment visited these farms year afte
year, taking records covering the farm
business under the following heads:
DlsLrDutIOn OF farm area.
Crop yields.
Amount of work stock and of other
livestock
Amount of labor used.
Amount and distribution of farm CAPT
tai
Amount and distribution of receipts
and expenses.
Valns Of the family living obtained
from the farm.
Amounts of the more important pro
ducts sold, and prices received
The average farm income of the 25
| farmers visited in Washington county,
O., for the seven years 1928, was 500:
the labor income, 1915: the return on in
vestment, 46 per cent. In addition to
the farm income, the farmers had food,
fuel and house rent, estimated to be
worth, on the average, 1869 per year. For
1912 the farm income of these farms aver
AGED S456, and for 1918 the average was
S1l9. These farms are in a hillv sec
ton, where the soil IS not especially fer
tile
The 100 farmers in Clinton County,
| Ind, being on better land than the Ohio
| farmers, made a cOrrespOndingly better
showing. Their farm incomes averaged
$l.S56 for the seven years, 1910 and 1913
| Is, and their labor incomes S55S. Return
on capital was 81, and food, fuel and
| house rent furnished by the farm, 1925.
! The AVERAGE farm income OF these farms
| increased from 81 ,282 in 1910 to S2,978 IN
1918
The farm income OF the so Wisconsin
! farms averaged 81 ,293 fop the five wears,
! I9l3-lS, the labor income S40S, and re-
/ turn on ment-determined by de
! Quoting from the farm income the value
of the farmers labor-47 ner cent The
! average farm income ranged from Sl,079
in 1913 to 1890 in 1918 On most Of
! these farms the principal source Of in
come is dairying.
OF the 1875 farmers in the three areas,
none made a labor income of $1,000 for
every year of the study, but Is in the In
diana area and seven in the Wisconsin
area made labor incomes averaging over
ST 600 per year for the period. Four
farmers p per cent Of the entire numRerl
made over $500 labor income every year.
Averaging labor income and loss ever the
whole time. Is per cent of the farmers
failed to make any labor income at all.
Ten ner cent failed even to make per
cent interest on investment in any year
of the study.
Department specialists Doint out that
though farm incomes in most cases
showed a marked increase during the
wears l9l6-l8, as compared with incomes
for 1925, these increases are more ap-
parent than real, in view of the decrease
IN the purchasing power of the dollar. The
turnover for the recent years was larger
than for the earlier years. but the re
turns were relatively little larger, It
measured in terms Of the things It would
buv rather than in terms of dollars and
COTS