Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1924-06-05
Plan to Organize
Eighty-Acre Farm
High Standards and Man
agement Are Maintained
on Tracts of This Size.

qpreparsd by the United States Department
of Agriculture.)
Many farmers in central Indiana are
making good on 80-acre farms, say rep
resentatiyes Of the United States De-
partment of Agriculture who have re-
Gently completed a study of small
farms in that region. Farms larger
than so acres offer greater opportuni-
ties for profit to capable managers,
but the fact that 8C-acre farms are
numerous in central Indiana prompted
farm management experts in the de-
partment to inquire what conditions
are necessary to success on farms OF
that size.
Crop Rotation Systems.
They found that in general the more
successful 8O-acre farmers have def
mite crop rotation systems OF corn,
small grain, and clover and timothy.
They increase their corn acreage
whenever that is practicable. Over a
series Of years, yields as high as 81
bushels Of corn, 45 bushels of oats, 30
bushels of wheat, and 1.5 tons of hay
per acre have been obtained on the
more successful farms. Profitable 80
acre farms are those on which COM
parativeIy high standards Of organiza-
ton and management are maintained.
Usually these farms have from three
to five cows, with enough young cattle
to maintain the herds. II most cases
there are from to s brood sows,
raising from 80 to 20 pigs a year.
Commonly the farms have three work
animals and about 100 hens, Though
the farmers have enough machinery
to work their land efficiently, they do
not invest in more equipment than
can be put to economical use.
The labor requirements on these
sized farms are such that the farmers
themselves are able to do most Of the
work, with help from their families In
doing chores. In rush periods the
families help in field work, or help is
hired. Family labor or hired labor.
on the average, is employed to the
equivalent of from two to four months
of man labor year. Farmers operat-
Ing on these lines often have comfort
able homes with modern conveniences,
and are able to give their children
good educational opportunities.
Some Of the neighbors of these sue
cessful farmers were not getting good
returns from their land and la
Dor. High crop yields did not always
insure success. While all the more
successful farms had crop yields above
the average, many farms with crop
yields above the average were unsuc-
cessful because the crops were not
efficiently marketed through live
stock
Stock to Consume Crops.
The SO-acre farm in central Indiana
that is profitable over a period Of
years usually has enough live stock to
consume all the corn grown on it, and
some purchased corn. Four successful
farms for which records were OBJ
tanned for eight years had "a per cent
more live stock than the four least
successful farms. Differences in the
returns from live stock accounted for
greater variations in the farm incomes
than any other items.
In Clinton county, for example, the
most successful SO-acre farmers raised
an average Of 9.3 pigs per sow each
year, compared with six pigs per SOW
per year by the least successful farm
ers. In both cases two filters year
were raised. On the four most success
full farms in Clinton county, one calf
was raised every II months for each
cow, compared with one calf every 10
months for each COW on the four least
successful farms. In proportion to the
number Of hens kept, twice as many
chickens were raised to sell or replace
the fiocks on the four most successful
farms.
The cows on the four most success
full farms averaged 172 pounds of but
terfat per COW, which is low for good
dairy cows, as compared with 81
pounds on the four least successful
farms. Egg production per hen on the
most successful farms was SO per cent
higher than on the least successful
farms.
1t was also found that the most sue
cessful S0-acre farmers pay great at
tention to producing their own table
supplies. The value Of the products
furnished by the farm for family liv-
ing was greaer than had been realized.
On the four most successful farms in
Clinton county, for example, the farms
contributed the following supplies:
-Four hogs for meat, so chickens, 70
dozen eggs, dairy products to the
equivalent Of 100 pounds of butterfat,
and the products of an acre of orchard
and garden.