Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1925-09-17
THE PENCIL MAKES
A FARM PAY BETTER
Farm Accounting Reveals Losing
Methods and Points Way 10
Bigger Profits.

A farm cannot properly BE- called
successful unless Il pays Z fair rate
OF interest on the Investment and re-
turns fair wages for the farmers -
Dor. Agriculture h considered b. al.
odds the most important industry IN
the world. and yet IN no other indus
nv y the business end 20 neglected.
II y common Ia nnd farmer with
an Investment of fifteen TO twenty
thousand dollars. yst does he keep
booksf Perhaps he may iot down
note now and then 81 an important
deal. but this Ii OF no vAlus IN an
analysis Of his bunlness a. q whole.
No other Industry. however small. II
carried on without books Of some
sort.
Farming IL q business and to BE-
successful must BE- conducted In q
businesslike way. the business man's
mind should have indelIbly printed
upon Il two questions: what profit h
my business makingi How can that
profit BE- increaseds TO know the lat.
ter. one must and out the former; and
70 nnd out about profits requires the
keeping Of books.
\ Il not necessary for { farmer to
have . course Ia bookkeeping. Al
most every agricultural college In the
country has issued simpiinsd farm
accounting book which II sells II cost,
and only few minutes are required
each day TO jot down the days hap
psnings.
Accounts lHersass Profits
Instances number q thousandfoid
where farmers have pronted By know
Ing their business. Accounts kept by
nineteen farmers In Illinois led them
to improve the organisation and oper-
alton Of their farms IN ways that add
Cd approximately $3.50 10 their aver
age net income In lsx2. the seventh
year they had kept accounts.
An Iowa farmer found at the end Of
the first year he kept books that crops
fed to livestock brought more money
than when sold outright. His fgures
showed that his cows were poor:
compared with other farms In the
state. he found the number OF acres
cultivated per man on his farm. a.
well a. the number Of acres per horse.
we're below average. He rented more
land and repianned his folds, 90 that
the crop areas per man and horse
we're increased. He sold some OF his
scrubs and bought good cows. The
second year his income from the
farm. after paying all expenses and
interest on the money invested. had
been increased over $3.50.
(. Costs Can Bs Regulated
Il have discovered" says one farm
bookkeeper. that the kind OF man
You have on Job. as we'll ~ the
particular team, often makes quite .
variation In the cost Of performing
certain tasks. have learned from
the pages Of my book that II ! could
have increased the yield Of my wheat
field by two bushels and my corn BY
ave bushels ! would have realized .
substantial profit from them"
I While the farmers may not be able
to Ak prices on their products. they
do have . voice In determining the
costs Of production. To reduce this
cost they must nrst know what tho
costs are.
The number OF farmers who are
keeping books on their business has
increased remarkably In recent years.
but the number OF businesslike farm
ers IL woefuliy small when listed
alongside the sum total Of the farm
ers In the country.
Inventory 10 Indispensable
The basis Of any system Of farm &C.
counting Is the annual property list
or inventory. II Is the starting point
OF the farm records. One must tai Z
into consideration decreases or In
creases In the value Of all property
owned to gauge tho progress Of the
business. Lacking facts as to the
value OF his property, no business man
can form an accurate estimate Of how
he stands financially. Increased cash
may DO due to property which was
sold, or Increased debts may be due
TO improvements made. II farmer
10 falling behind, the inventory will
emphasize this fact. OFTEN when .
man 10 discouraged and thinks he 10
making no progress. his Inventories
win tell him that be II better on than
he thought
At the end Of each year financial
statement is drawn Oh. This is the
farmers rating and no farmer with .
good financial statement need fear
walking into bank and asking for .