Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-05-31
MAKING FARMING
PAY IS BIC TASK
ny RALPH BARTON
Ueased Wire Service to The Journal.)
i0hf

Copyright. 1921
WASHINGTON, May 2S.-Making
farming pay is one Of the big jobs
ahead of the national administration
just now. The help of the federal
government is likely to be necessary
in a great many ways-in improving
highways and other facilities for
reaching markets, in helping farm
ers through methods so long fea-
ture of the work of the department
of agriculture, and in adjusting rail-
road rates so that farm products can
be sent to markets more prohtably.
A new line of govern governing -so Seanfe.
studies of efficient farm management,
which are being made available to
practical farmers with the idea that
they may be helped in solving their
own problems.
The department Of agriculture has
just. made known certain results OF
Ozark region of Missouri, and al
though some allowance must be made
for local conditions, much of the
work will be of value in all parts
of the United States. One very def
mite conclusion which the. depart
farms with less than forty acres In
crops do not pay, and a logical ed
velopment of the inquiry may lead
to data which will make possible
something like a Standardization or
farms, such that farmers may. by
nutting proper amounts of land into
crops of various kinds, have better
assurance of making comfortable
living than they have now.
"Rule of thumb methods In agri-
culture have been pretty much DIS
credited already, so far as the rals-
l.
cerned, and now the government Is
endeavoring to supplant these meth,
DDS in farm management by SOUND
business principles. Too many 1arH-
ers even now have little training Tor
their work. and many OF those VINO
are technically well equipped lack
the administrative ability that IS req
uisite to make the most out of their
resources. 1t is partly because the
farmer, particularly the small farmer,
has failed as a business man that
his present condition is so deplor-
able.
Experts of the department OF agrl-
culture have examined tnoIousi1Sg
many farms. part of them valley ana
level farms and others located In
rolling and billy uplands. Roughly,
the results of the investigation
showed that farms Of either class
which had forty acres or more IN
crops returned falr income t tIat tn the
labor expended upon it, but that the
other did not. AS might be ex-
pected, the labor return is greater
for valley than for hill farms. Inc
average return for the farmers Ia
Dor in the hill group of farms with
less than forty acres in crops was
only S165 a year. and for valley farm
only 1904. On the other hand, val
lev farms averaging fifty-two acres
in crops-a group between forty ana
seventy acres in crops-showed Ia
Dor return of 1891 year. and those
with more than seventy acres IN
crops showed an average laoor re-
turn of SLOT a year: The correspnneeo9
and aas sos. ,. ,.ot,,r,
The remarkably low labor return
cannot be compared with the wage
of city dweller, for the farmer, IN
most instances, obtained a great part
of the living of himself and his ram
lily from the farm, in ADDITION TO
oilarters. Interest on his lnvestmenI
and other charges were deducted
from the total farm income as Wen,
SO that labor income perhaps more
nearly conforms to pront than VASES.
However, the year was exceptlohaliy
favorable to farming, and IN less
prosperous timesUano ,a WIN i ineome
fiated moneys, the LABOR INCOME
would probably be less;
Careful study of the records OF
seventy-nine farms has lnolcateu
that forty acres in crops is mini
mum for successful and proItapIe
agriculture and that valley farms
are much better prospects than those
on the hills. The family income, in
Guiding amounts left from total farm
receipts after deducting expenses,
averaged only 1888 for the hill farms'
but was 1881 for the valley farms.