The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1922-02-24
FARM COST ACCOUNTS PAY
Clemson College.-Every man Y

keep some kind of cost accounts,
| Without a knowledge of the detailed
costs and profits on a farm it can
hardly be properly called a business.
There are three broad classes Of far
mers ~ Men who farm with the
main objective Of making a home;
(2) Men who farm for pleasure; (3)
Men who are trying to farm as a
business. We have these three classes
of farmers in South Carolina, and
here as well as elsewhere the last
class is composed of the best and
most businesslike farmers, while the
pleasure farmers are the least bust
ness like, so far as their connec-
tons with the farm itself is concern
ed.
To the farmers in the last class,
the business farmers, we look for
our progress in agriculture, says
Prof. w. C. Jensen, specialist in
farm management. Most of these
men keep a record of some kind
ether in the head or in a simpe diary,
both of which methods, however,
are inconvenient or nor or less in
accurate. Only a very small percent
age of farmers in South Carolina
keep cost accounts, and many Of
those who do not keep accounts con-
slider only the farm in a general way
and when little or no attention to
cost of production.
This condition should change and
is slowly changing. Some states have
many farmers keeping accounts in
the correct manner. This work has
been promoted largely by the agri-
cultural colleges and the farms are
laid off on regular route system, so
that the books on each farm are CIV
en- frequent inspection by represen-
tatives Of the college.
The facts brought out by accounts
are surprising. In a county in one
Southern state it was found that
many farmers were actually losing
money on their farms as a whole,
but were enabled to just live on &C
count of the cows and the poultry.
In accounts on about sixty identical
dairy farms in Wisconsin, labor in
comes ranging from about $2500.00
to minus 100000 were discovered.
Although there are several kinds
Of accounts that farmers should
keep, we may define cost accounts
simply and in a general way as
means of determining the financial
status of one or more enterprises,
such as cotton, corn, small grain,
hogs, cows, poultry, the household,
etc. All accounts may be placed in
two broad classes as to purpose or
usefulness, one class being the rec
ord on a farm as a whole, and the
other class including records or &C
counts of the separate industries,
one or more. The first class of &C.
counts indicates to the farmer what
his labor income for the year is on
the farm as a whole, but he is quite
largely in the dark as to whence his
loss or gain comes. He can not say
intelligently whether it comes from
cotton, cows. garden, nor which en-
terprise paid best.
The second class of accounts con-
siders more in detail an industry
alone, is very valuable and more
business-like than the general farm
account; and when the farmer keeps
such an account with each and every
industry on his farm and then bal
ances his books, combining all the
accounts of the separate industries
to show the status of the farm as a
whole, he is practicing good bust
ness methods. Then, If as much time
is given by the farmer to study Of
the complied accounts and to plan
ming for better organization and
more efficient management, as was
given to keeping the accounts, prog
ress is bound to be made and in
creased profits will eventually flow
inc his pockets. The study and the
planning accruing from Study are the
important factors, the results, of
! co,,rse ~denendinp a great deal UPON