Evening star., 1948-08-08
Contract Work
On Increase in
Farming Areas
By John M. Kouffmonn

e. NJ. P0llen, VINO ldIIIlS fUV acre.
near Rockville, Md, stood in hi.
fields and watched the hay baler.
and thrashing machine at work
machinery that did not belong tt
him, but which came at his call te
harvest his crops.
For Mr.. Pollen Is one Of thou.
sands of farmers in the countie.
surrounding Washington who de-
pend on what is called custom" Of
contract farming to do their work
and he likes it.
Custom work is the only way
farmers can survive now" he said
1T is absolutely essential. There Il
no other way to get the work done
Small farmers depend on it,"
Men who know the agriculture
situation hereabouts say that guam
titles of individually owned equip
ment is feasible only on large farms
At the same time, modern agricul'
ture demands methods giving Z
high rate of production. With the
present scarcity and expense o1
labor, farmers cannot go back tc
old methods. With the size of the
average Maryland and Virginia farm
near here shrinking. most cannot
profitably own all the machinery
needed for modern farming. Custom
work is their only answer.
Machines Paid for Quickly.
That is why the custom farmer
the man who owns machinery anc
does his neighbors' work for hire
now stands at the center of the
agricultural scene hereabouts anc
keeps it going.
He is usually a veteran farmer
with a flare for machinery who see!
a profit and a needed service In
doing other farmers work for them
Many are practicing farmers who
have more equipment than they car
keep busy and who make the ma
chinery pay by working for others
Many have paid for machine ir
one season through custom work
But there are number of men who
make custom farming their sole
vocation, and they're pretty busy
too.
Everything that goes on in thu
city in the way of contracting /!
going on in this county" said Jo'
seph E. Beard. county agent 10
Fairfax. Besides men who do al
types of farm cultivation and har'
vesting, there are those who do bull
doing, land clearing. spraying
painting and other tasks" Harvest
ing, however, bulks largest on Gus
tom farmers schedules, for 1t in
wolves machinery that is too expen'
sive for most small farmers.
Half the farmers in Fairfax
County depend on custom work TO
part of their farm operation" de
clared Mr.. Beard. "Of these, q
per cent hire all types of work done
so per cent hire about half of thei
work and the remainder contrac
for an emergency job or two. TIT
first quarter includes small farmer
and those who farm on part-tlm'
basis or for pleasure" There ar
l,l25 commercial farms in th'
county, Mr.. Beard said.
The Montgomery Story.
And in Rockville, Montgomer!
County Agent o. w. Anderson alst
testified to the important placs
custom farming holds today.
This year." he said, with tnt
scarcity and cost of labor, at leas
rs per cent of Montgomery county
farmers will have one or more loo'
done by custom work
IT'S cheaper to hire than to own,
said Mr.. Anderson, and other farn
men pointed out that cost. malnte'
nance and depreciation Of mschln'
ery is more expensive for small
farmers than custom work.
Take a combine, for example
raid Mr.. Beard. 1T costs aoou
$1,000 and may depreciate at TN
rate of s225 a year. A farmer witt
SC acres in grain can get 1t custom
combined for 81 per acre, or $500
IT, seems cheaper to own, but on
must consider the terrific overhead
the maintenance, the money tied W
in the combine all the days it's no
used, the price Of hired man II
help run it and, most OF all, TIT
possible damage to the machine b.
inexperienced operators.
So the small farmer. who, II NJ
had all the machinery he needed
would "have more tied up in equip
ment than in his farm" looks u
the custom farmer to give him th'
speedy production methods that art
synonymous with modern farming
Not a New Custom.
What is the history OF custom
farming hereabouts? 1t has beer
going on long time. j. B. Horn
backer of Herndon, Va, has been II
business for 40 years, starting ou
with some mules and a steam en-
CINE. In the early days, he said
thrashing and wood-sawing were hi
principal activities, and thrashlns
has long been a contract activity II
most rural areas. Now, with his tive
sons to help him and two or three
hired men in the summer, he take'
care of about 80 farmers and covers
most of Fairfax County.
Then there is George Cockerlll
also of Herndon, who has been doing
custom farming since 19l9-when M
was "old enough to work.
There's hardly farm within II
square miles that I don't do worl
for" he said ''One season
threshed for SO farmers; now de
jobs for about 100 farms MI
Cockerill has about $4,000 worth O
equipment, he estimates, includin;
four tractors, two balers, a thresh
ing machine, cutting box. truck
plow and disc, sawmill and cutof
saw.
Booked Up Far Ahead.
In Montgomery County there /
Frank Counselman and Joseph Har
ris of Potomac and Paul Mills O
Travilah, to name some of the Gus
tom farmers of that area.
II started out in 1887 with
tractor 1 bought with $500 of Dor
rowed money" Mr.. CounSelmal
said. Now I guess I have $4,000
worth of equipment and do every
thing from land clearing to cuttin