Jackson County sentinel. (Gainesboro, Tenn.) 1914-current, 1922-01-12
FARMERS CAN LEARN
MUCH BY STUDYING
NEIGHDORING FARMS
by ]. C. McAmis Agronomy Specials.
DIVISION OF Extension, University
of Tennessee.
Some Of The Things That Indicate Tn,
Success or Failure Of Any Farm
Operations Pointed Out.

Every farmer has an opportunity to
Rarn much about the management OF
his own farm by the careful study OF
the operations Of neighboring farms
In general most farmers DO talk farm
Ing to their neighbors, and II they are
the right kind of neighbors they get
many helpful suggestions. However,
il win be worth while for most farmers
10 10 about this matter with a little
more patience and system. 1t Is OF al
most as great importance to study
thoroughly poorly managed farms 10
It Is to study well managed farms
Certainly 1t is essential In every case
to 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 ann
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 tho
business and the system Of marketing
Each point should be studied, begin
ming first with the quality Of the bus
mess as 1t 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 Is
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 IL
growing one-fourth to One-third more
crops per acre than his neighbors, be
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 In
Tennessee about what the crop yields
would be without seeing the crop or
having a record. II the farm Is u 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 field will show
at once whether best use Is being made
of the soil by high yielding variety.
In the same way that crop yields In
ffuence profits 80 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-
lutely so, In lodging on these points
Whether purebred sire Is in use
whether animals are properly and
economically fed, as judged by sucn
points as pasture for hogs, slage for
dairy COWS, etc. keeping OF records,
such as dates of breeding, milk yields,
etc.
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 h the
most expensive single item In the cost
Of the production of crops for market
or for feed. Therefore the quality
Of the business is 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-thlrd Of the time
while others work tw0-thirds or
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
a year or better. TE distribution OF
labor throughout the season can be
seen at a glance at the rotation and
diversity Of enterprises, and their
connection one with the other.
Another signboard on every farm 70
the implement shed, which tell some
what whether the farmer is substitute
ing horse labor for man labor and
how much horse power he Is able 10
get with each man. The layout OF the
farm, such as arrangement OF the
fields, their distance, from the build
ings, etc. may be prime reason for
the success of one farm as compared
with another, because II controls ex-
pense Of labor, although II may in
fiuence the character Of the animals,
crop yields, etc, indirectly.
Organization Of Farm A. A Unit
The organization Of the farm al
whole may he the key TO success o.
failure on any particular farm. Diver
u. a.. .-o,,s arA iivoaforLr In rsrf