The Fayette falcon. (Somerville, Tenn.) 190?-current, 1921-12-23
FARMERS CAN LEARN
MUCH BY STUDYING
NEIGHDOR|NG FARMS
BY ]. C. McAmis, Agronomy Specialist
Division of Extension, University
Of Tennessee.
eome Of The Things That indicate The
Success or Failure Of Any Farm
Operations Pointed Out.

ouCCe9B VI Y duuTU UI my TatfU
Operations Pointed Out.
Every farmer has an opportunity to
Iearn much about the management Of
his own farm by the careful study Of
the operations Of neighboring farmA
In general most farmers do talk farm
Ing to their neighbors, and II they are
the right kind of neighbcrs they get
many helpful suggestions. However,
It will be worth while for most farmers
70 90 about this matter with little
more patience and system. II is Of nj
most as great Importance to study
thoroughly poorly managed farms n
II Is to study well managed farms
Certainly it is essential in every case
70 keep in 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 truck farm ana
another a general farm, the points OF
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 a 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.
iness 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 10
determined by crop yields per acre.
live stock returns; the quality OF pro-
ducts produced; and utilization OF the
labor OF both men and teams.
Almost any successful farmer 10
growing one-fourth to one-third more
crops per acre than his neighbour hc-
cause Of the manur1al treatments OK
the land such as the use Of lime, phOe-
plate, legume crops, stable and green
manures. Knowing the Treatments in
these respects you could predict In
Tennessee about what the crop yields
would be without seeing the crop or
having a record. II the farm Is hill
farm one would be fairly safe in pre-
dieting good yields If the soil has not
been allowed to wash away An ex-
animation Of the corn fiel0 will show
NJ once whether best use is being made
Of the soil by high yielding variety.
In the same way that crop yields In.
fiuence profits so do returns per heal
OF livestock. The relative importance
of the two will depend upon the per
cent OF farm receipts from each. One
msy be fairly safe, though not abso.
lute,y so, in jcdging on these points:
Whether O. purebred sire Is in use;
whether animals are properly and
economically fed, as judged by sucn
points as pasture for hogs, silage for
dsiry COWS, etc. keeping of records,
such as dates Of breeding, milk yields,
| ~tc.
The returns from both the crops
and livestock will be somewhat In
| fiuenced 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 b in direct proportion
20 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
leans work one-third Of the time,
while others work two-thirds OF
more. The number Of acres Of titled
crops per man and team to the
thoughtful farmer, would Indicate the
same thing. A man and team should
handle about fifty cultivated acres
n wear or better. The distribution OF
labor throughout the season can b
seen at a glance at the rotation and
diversity of enterprises, and theAI
connection one with the other
Another sigsboard On every farm =
the implement shed, which tell some
what whether the farmer Ia substitute
ing horse labor for man labor and
how much horse power he is able ts
get with4each man. The layout Of thu
farm, such as arrangement OF thu
felds, their distance from the build
ings, etc. may be prime reason fol
the success of one farm as compares
with another, because II controls ex
pense Of labor, although It may in
fiusnce the character of the animals
crop yields, etc, indirectly.
n~u,.,.a4iax, 20 EARN As Unit