The Fayette falcon. (Somerville, Tenn.) 190?-current, 1921-12-16
FARMERS CAN LEARN
MUCH BY STUDYING
NEIGHDOUING FARMS
ny ]. C. McAmis, AgronOmy Specialist
Division OF Extension. University
OF Tennessee.
Some Of The Things That indicate The
Success Or Failure Of Any Farm
Operations Pointed Out.

Every farmer has an opportunity 70
1ean much about the management Of
mis- own farm by the careful study Of
the operations Of neIghboring farmG
in general most turner's do talk farm
ing to their neighbour, and II they are
the right kind Of neighbOrs they get
many helpful suggestions. However.
II will be worth while for most farmers
10 90 about this matter with little
more patience and system. II is Of al
most rs great Importance to study
thoroughly poorly managed farms ~
II Is 10 study well managed farms
Certainly II is essential In every case
TO keep M mind the controlling factors
and To weigh carefully their relative
importance in the success or failure
Of the farm under study.
While one may be'a truck farm ana
another a general farm. the points Ut
judgment would be the same, except
that the different points may be given
more weight in one case than in the
other.
Some of the general things that in.
dictate the success or failure OF any
farm operations are: The quality Of
the farm business, the organization OF
the farm as whole, the size Of the
business and the system OF marketing
Each point should he studied, begin
ming first with the quality Of the bus
mess as il is affected by crop yields,
returns per head OF livestock, quality
OF the products and use OF labor Of
men and teams.
QUALITY OF THE FARM BUSINESS
The quality of the farm business ID
determined by crop yields per acre,
live stock returns; the quality Of pro-
ducts produced; and utilization Of tie
labor of both men and teams.
Almost any successful farmer 10
growing onefOurth to One-third mora
crops per acre than his neighbors lie
cause of the manurial treatments Of
the land such as the use Of lime, phos-
phate, legume crops, stable and green
manures. Knowing the treatments In
these respects you could predict Ia
Tennessee about what the crop yields
would be without seeing the crop or
having a record. II the farm Is a hill
farm one would be fairly safe In pro
dieting good Yields il the soil has not
been allowed to wash away. An ex.
animation Of the corn field will show
OF once whether best use is being made
Of the soil by q high yielding variety.
In the same way that crop yields In
huence profits 50 do returns per heal
OF livestock. The relative Importance
Of the two will depend upon the per
cent OF farm receipts from each. One
may be fairly safe, though not abso-
iutely 30, in jcdglng on these points:
Whether D. purebnd sire Is in use;
whether animals are properly and
economically fed. as judged BY sucn
points as pasture for hogs, silage for
dairy cows. etc. keeping OF records.
such as dates Of breeding, milk yields,
etc.
The returns from both the cr"s
and livestock will be somewhat IN.
nuenced by the quality Of The products,
on two apparently similarly managed
farms.
The labor of men and teams is the
most expensive single Item In the cost
Of the production OF crops for market
or for feed. Therefore the quality
Of the business Ia in direct proportion
to the efficiency In use Of men and
teams. This can be estimated by the
number of days Of productive labor.
an item which will be hard to obtain
accurately on most farms. Some
teams work one-third OF the time.
while others work two-thirds or
more. The number Of acres Of TILED
croos per man and team 10 the
tlpughffui farmer would Indicate the
same thing. A man and team shonid
handle about fifty cultivated aeras
a year or better TM distributions Of
labor throughout the season can be-
seea at glance at the rotations aHo
diversity OF Enterprises and theft
connection one with the other.
Another signboard Oh every farm .
the implement shed, which tell some
what whether the farmer 10 substitute
ing horse labor Cor. man labor and
how much horse power he IS able to
get with each man. The layout OF the
farm. suce as arrangement OF the
fields, their distance from the build
ings, etc. ~ be a prime reason foo
the success IT one farm rs compared
with another. because IL controls en-
pense OF labor. although II may in
duence the character>of the animaiA
crop yields. etc, indirectly.
oruanlzation Of Farm A. A UNI
The organization Of the farm ~
whole may be the key 10 success %
failure on any particular farm Diver
,..ss.- a. ,,-o,s aod llvaxf0rk IN ns,f