Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1921-01-13
Inefficiency and NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
Types but True Ones.

these same farmers could make more
money with higher yields. Profits in-
crease at least until yields are OBJ
tanned considerably above the aver
age for the region, but beyond this
limit very high yields are liable to be
obtained at the expense Of farm prof
it's
Quality of Live Stock Important.
On farms where live stock is an i'm
portant enterprise, the quality OF the
stock is very important. On a major
ity of farms, except in the South and
certain of the Western states, more OF
are sold direct. On many farms the
animals are the market for the crops,
hence the production of these is
most important factor in farm profits.
The best Of corn and hay crops will
count for little when fed to animals
that make returns below the market
prices for these crops. On the other
hand, good live stock on the individual
farms may not be profitable if not fed
and cared for economically.
The exceedingly diverse nature of
farm operations makes wide opportun-
ity for inefficiency to enter into their
performance. In a factory with mod
ern machinery man is expected to do
a certain amount of work, and in
many instances the machine sets the
pace for him. Generally the worker
on the farm must be his own boss and
must set his own pace. He must also
ditions at certain times. Often a
great deal of work must be devoted
to things which add little or nothing
to the profits of the business. 1t re-
Quires twice as much time for some
men as compared with others to do
certain kind of work Work may also
be so organized that a given amount
of effort accOmplisheS more than the
average. The efficient use of horse
labor is also very important and bears
On the One-man farm the horses must
necessarily be unemployed every time
the farmer finds it necessary to do
work not requiring horse labor. On
the larger farms the work can be so
arranged as to have one man keep the
horses busy while others attend to
the work where horse labor is not
needed.
WeII-Balanced Farm Profitable.
A well-balanced farm business is
nearly always profitable. The farms
that are as good or better than the
average of their community in all four
of the factors here mentioned seldom
fail to make good profit. Thus, if
a farm is devoted to- type of farm
ing adopted to it's conditions, if it is
as good or better than the average in
size Of business. yield of crops, produc-
ton of live stock, and efficiency in the
use of labor, and is adequately and
economically equipped, it is almost
certain to be profitable. The weak
est factor is the one that needs atten-
ton in improving the business. If the
quality of the live stock is high, great
err improvement in the farm business
can usually be obtained by devoting
attention to developing the size of the
business or sale Of cash crops, or in
creasing labor efficiency, rather than
by further improving the quality of
live stock.
The Department Of Agriculture has
recently prepared bulletin" A Meth
cd of Analysing the Farm Business"
which contains valuable information
for farmers who wish to organize their
operations on an economic basis. This
bulletin and other printed matter on
the subject may be had by interested
narSonS free