CHAPTER XIII

CHAPTER XIIITHE COST OF FARMING OPERATIONS

Several millions of the inhabitants of the United States, not to mention those of other countries, are engaged each year in the preparation of the soil for the cereal and forage crops and on the work of seeding and harvesting them. The welfare of one-third the population is directly and that of the other two-thirds, although less directly, is quite as surely dependent upon the effectiveness of this effort. If, for example, as sometimes happens, one-third the population receives on account of untoward seasonal conditions but four-fifths of the usual product, everyone must suffer on account of this unrewarded labor. Many, perhaps most, financial panics have their origin in crop failures aided, doubtless, by an improper financial system.

Although widely and sometimes bitterly discussed, little is really known concerning the relation between the effort expended andthe returns obtained in producing the great staple farm products; yet one of the most important and vital considerations in the organization of a farm enterprise is the income, both gross and net, which may be expected from the different crops contemplated. Obviously the yield and price of the several crops will vary with the locality and with the season. It is, therefore, impossible to predict for any year either what yield may be obtained or what price will be secured. If, however, a sufficient number of years are selected, an average may be found which will form a basis for calculating the probable result for another series of years. The following table gives the yield and the average farm values per acre for five staple crops for five years, 1905-1909 inclusive, for the United States and for four widely separated states, viz., Pennsylvania, Iowa, Texas and Oregon.

AVERAGE YIELD PER ACRE, 1905-1909.

AVERAGE FARM VALUE PER ACRE, 1905-1909

Such figures as the above may be compiled by anyone at any time for any year or series of years from the yearbooks of the United States Department of Agriculture. They form a fairly sound basis for calculating the gross income which may be expected from the staple farm crops, particularly for the cereals, potatoes, hay, cotton and tobacco. Five questions, however, present themselves, which should, as far as possible, be settled before applying them to an individual problem.

(1) How nearly do the conditions, especially those of soil and climate, of the given location correspond to the averages of the state? The question can be settled only by a thorough study of soils and their crop adaptation. It is a matter requiring study, experience and judgment.

(2) How much larger yields may be expected on account of better methodsemployed? It is here that most mistakes are made in estimating possible farm profits. Necessarily, all statistical averages of production are much below those which an enterprising farmer considers an average crop and habitually produces. Not more than 50% increase upon these figures, however, should be anticipated by reason of the improved methods which one is going to employ.

While the average yield of maize, even in the so-called corn states, is not far from 30 bushels an acre, and while it is quite common for good farmers to produce 60 to 75 bushels of maize per acre, it would not be safe to assume a yield of more than 45 bushels unless the conditions are more than ordinarily favorable.

The application of the averages given on pages149-150to an individual farm enterprise may be illustrated by calculating the possible results which might be obtained on 80 acres of arable land in Iowa and Pennsylvania with the four great soil products of northern United States.

If 50% is added for the increased yields which may be expected on account of the employment of better methods, the total yield from 80 acres of arable land would become for Iowa $1,428 and for Pennsylvania $2,169. This does not mean that farming is necessarily more profitable in Pennsylvania than in Iowa. Not only may the cost of cultivating an acre of arable land be greater in Pennsylvania, but usually a larger territory must be owned in order to obtain 80 acres of arable land. Eighty acres of these four crops is probably as often grown on a farm of 100 acres in Iowa as on one of 160 acres in Pennsylvania. The total farm acreage in Iowa is, in round numbers, 35 millions; in Pennsylvania, 19 millions. In Iowa about one-half the farm area is in thefarm crops under consideration, while in Pennsylvania these four crops occupy only one-third the farm area.

Mr. R. D. Maurice Wertz, after several years in railroad offices, took charge of his fathers farm at Quincy, Pa., in 1891, and converted it into a fruit farm. He now has about 220 acres in peaches and apples. It is understood that he has sent from the above shipping station and one other about $200,000 worth of fruit in the last six years.

Mr. T. E. Martin, Rush, N. Y., is one of the most successful potato growers in the United States. He has a farm of 57 acres of the Dunkirk series of soil. He has three 18-acre fields in rotation consisting of potatoes, wheat and clover and alfalfa. Mr. Martin has increased the yield of potatoes from 60 bushels per acre in 1892 to 417 bushels in 1906. In 1906 he produced 7,510 bushels on 18 acres. In 1907 he sold $2,807.89 worth of potatoes from 18 acres, or $160 per acre. He attributes his large yields mainly to drainage, thorough preparation of the soil, good tillage, spraying, clover and alfalfa, manure and commercial fertilizers.

(3) Will there be a general increase or decrease in the price of crops during the coming years?

The following table gives the average farm price for Missouri by five-year periods.

THE AVERAGE DECEMBER FARM PRICE BYPREVIOUS DECADES COMPARED WITHAVERAGE OF FIVE YEARS, 1906-10.

THE AVERAGE DECEMBER FARM PRICE BY

PREVIOUS DECADES COMPARED WITH

AVERAGE OF FIVE YEARS, 1906-10.

An examination of the last column shows that the average price of these staple farm products has been considerably greater during five recent years than during the previous thirty years. Will this increase in price continue, or will there be a series of years of unusually low prices which willbring the average price of the decade down to that of the previous three decades? Few persons will care to venture an answer to this question, which is of the utmost importance to all farmers and especially to the beginner.

(4) The figures employed are taken from the yearbook of the United States Department of Agriculture and are the estimated farm price on December 1 of each year. Can the commodities be sold for the December farm price? Will potatoes sold at the time of digging bring less than the December price? Will wheat or maize held until May bring a higher price? To what extent, by the judicious holding of products, can advance in price be obtained?

(5) Will the products be sold for cash, or may they be turned into animal products at an increased profit? In some sections of the United States animals are reared primarily because of the increased profit due to manufacturing soil products into animal products; in other regions, however, they are kept primarily for the purpose ofmaintaining the fertility of the soil and only incidentally on account of the increased profits.

COST OF PRODUCTION

For a number of reasons it is difficult to determine the cost of growing farm crops. One reason deserves to be especially emphasized. In any business enterprise it may be necessary to run at a loss, because to stop would entail a still greater loss. This is particularly true in farming, where men are employed by the month in order that they may be had when needed. Since they are receiving pay, it is better that such men should be employed some days at farm operations which return only a portion of their wages rather than not to have them employed at all. Under such circumstances, therefore, the cost of producing a given crop may be greater than is indicated by the time actually employed in its production.

Many other factors also enter, as the average number of hours per day which itis possible to work. This is greatly influenced by weather conditions. The Minnesota station determined that the working day on about thirty farms in that state varied from seven and one-half to eight and one-half hours, with two to three and one-half hours on Sunday. The average length of the working day for horses varied from 3.1 to 3.3 hours.

The cost for labor of cultivating a given area of land will depend not only on the crop or crops to be raised, the climate, the topography and character of the soil, the size and shape of the fields and the system of cropping, but also upon the mans ability for organization. It is said that the European farmers, and even the farmers from eastern Canada, are several years in adjusting themselves to farming in western Canada. When the farmers from Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska or surrounding states move into western Canada with their three-horse teams and other suitable equipment, applying their thorough knowledge ofprairie farming, they are at once successful. The man is thus an important factor.

TIME REQUIRED FOR CULTURAL OPERATIONS

The following table will be helpful as showing time required to perform certain operations, since it is a record of labor actually employed on a field of 18 acres of easily tilled land in central Ohio. All labor was employed at prices named, board for man and food for horses being furnished in addition at the prices estimated. The owner of the land furnished the horse for the harvester.

According to these figures the cost for labor of raising the crop and the cost of harvesting was almost exactly the same, each being a little less than $3 an acre.

THE COST OF PRODUCING FARM CROPS

The Minnesota station has determined the cost of growing the staple farm crops on 45 farms in different sections of the State. The total expense per acre for an average of six years is shown in the following table, not including land rental or cost of marketing.

COST OF PRODUCING FARM CROPS IN MINNESOTA.

Some years ago the writer made an estimate of the cost of producing maize, oats, wheat and clover hay in a four-course rotation on a tenant farm in central Pennsylvania. The soil was a heavy clay and required plowing for each crop, except, of course, the hay crop, one acre a day being considered a good days work.

Counting the expense of man and team at $2 per day, the labor cost per acre was found to be $7 for maize, $5.10 for bothwheat and oats, and $2.30 for hay, or an average of about $4.90 per acre for the four crops. The interest on the capital invested in operating this farm, exclusive of the land, was estimated at $1.45 per acre.

INFLUENCE OF YIELD UPON THE COST OFPRODUCTION

INFLUENCE OF YIELD UPON THE COST OF

PRODUCTION

The Illinois station has prepared a set of estimates upon the cost of producing an acre of maize, showing variations in cost due to differences in yield. In these estimates, instead of making a charge for the actual cost of manure or fertilizer applied, an estimate is made of the value of the plant food removed.

COST OF PRODUCING ONE ACRE OF MAIZE INILLINOIS AS MODIFIED BY YIELD.

COST OF PRODUCING ONE ACRE OF MAIZE IN

ILLINOIS AS MODIFIED BY YIELD.

The average yield per acre in Illinois for 12 years preceding date of this estimate was 35 bushels per acre; the average price per bushel during the same period was 32 cents.

LABOR COST OF PRODUCING A BUSHEL OFGRAIN

LABOR COST OF PRODUCING A BUSHEL OF

GRAIN

Not counting rent of land or interest on capital invested in equipment, nor depreciation of soil fertility, it has been shown that under favorable conditions, the labor cost of growing and harvesting an acre of wheat or oats may be as low as $4.50, and that of maize as low as $5 per acre. Assuming the average labor cost of producing an acre of wheat or oats at $5.50 and of maize at $6 per acre, and taking the average yields per acre for a series of years to be 13.8 for wheat, 30.9 bushels for oats and 24.9 bushels for maize, the average labor cost per bushel will be: Wheat, 40 cents; oats, 17-1/2 cents; and maize, 28 cents.

The data given in this chapter are to be accepted as suggestive rather than as determinative.The chief purpose in presenting them is to place before the young farmer an appreciation of some of the problems involved in the production of the chief and basic agricultural commodities. The young farmers success will be modified by the role which they occupy in his farming system and by his ability to adjust them to the economic conditions in which he may find himself placed. A thorough understanding of the principle underlying the data submitted will go far toward enabling him to make this adjustment, although none of the illustrations given may have been obtained under conditions identical to his own.

CHAPTER XIVTHE PLACE OF INTENSIVEFARMING

The doctrine of the survival of the most fit applies equally to the field of biology and to the field of economics. The general introduction of vegetables and fruits into the human dietary has, by banishing the loathsome diseases of the Middle Ages, greatly increased human efficiency. It follows that those peoples or nations who employ vegetables and fruits in abundance, other things being equal, will be most fit to survive and must outstrip others less fortunately situated. We may for this reason alone look forward to the increasing importance of vegetable growing and fruit raising; but there is a more obvious and perhaps more direct reason. There is in the production of vegetables, at least, a method of satisfying the dietetic needs of an increasing population. The employment of a part of the area now in cereals and forage cropsfor the production of potatoes, cabbages, legumes, roots and tomatoes is one of the most ready means of increasing the food supply. Whether such substitution will be advantageous to the human race depends, however, not so much upon the food returns from a given area of land as upon the products from a given amount or unit of labor.

KINDS OF HORTICULTURE

In that form of intensive agriculture to which is given the designation horticulture, there may be recognized several more or less distinct divisions, as fruit growing, market gardening, truck farming and floriculture. Each has its own special problems, based upon conditions of culture and market. While, as in all classifications, there is more or less overlapping, the tendency is for them to become more and more distinct. The market gardener is the producer of vegetables for a local market, while the truck farmer produces similar products for a larger or wider distribution.The former grows a great variety of products, disposing of them in relatively small quantity, not infrequently directly to the consumer. The latter raises a few highly specialized crops which he sells in gross, usually through a commission merchant. Truck farming has developed since 1860, in consequence of the growth of large cities, which require enormous supplies of vegetables of fairly uniform quality, and on account of the continuous demand for fresh vegetables as nearly as possible throughout the year. Watermelons and sweet potatoes can be raised in the southern states and laid down in New York City or Boston more cheaply than they can be raised in the suburbs of these cities, and, what is equally important, they will be of superior quality.

The extension of railway facilities, the introduction of refrigerator cars and the building of cold storage plants has made it possible to grow in one climate products to be consumed in another. Cold storage has enabled the fruit growers of California to supply the eastern markets withpeaches and other fresh fruit. Chicago, to give only one example, begins to receive strawberries, cabbages and tomatoes from the shores of the Gulf of Mexico early in the year and continues to receive these products, until finally they are being shipped late in the summer from the shores of Lake Superior. It is estimated that the change of locality from which these products come, travels northward at the rate of from 13 to 15 miles a day.

IMPORTANT FACTORS IN INTENSIVE FARMING

In the neighborhood of large cities, notably in the environs of Paris, market gardeners often produce their vegetables in made soil. The local character of the soil under such conditions is a matter of comparative indifference, since a board floor would answer every requirement as a resting place for the artificial soil. The large expense in preparing and constantly renewing the seed bed is only economically possible, however, where proximity to a large city out-weighs all other considerations.

Ordinarily climatic and soil adaptation are prime factors in successful horticulture—much more than in any other branch of agriculture. Each fruit has a restricted climatic range, and in most cases the number of soil types on which a given fruit can be made a commercial success is likewise limited. Thus, in general, apples and pears require heavier soils than peaches. Success in commercial apple growing requires even greater discrimination, since different varieties of apples demand different soil conditions. Thus Baldwins are grown the most successfully where a northern climate is modified by proximity to the Great Lakes. Rhode Island Greenings will succeed on soils too heavy for many other varieties. The York Imperial has not yet achieved a great commercial success save on one type of soil. Some varieties of apples are much more restricted in their adaptation than others. Thus, while the King is quite restricted, the Ben Davis has a fairly wide cultural adaptation. No one should plant an orchard until he has made a thoroughstudy of his soil and climatic conditions and has received the highest possible expert assistance in choosing the varieties best adapted to his conditions.

There is an increasing tendency to specialize in vegetable growing. The production of celery, onions, muskmelons, watermelons, cabbages, cauliflowers, tomatoes and sweet corn, to mention only some of the most striking examples, are becoming more and more localized. Even where vegetables and flowers are grown under glass, not only is each house devoted to a single species, but, notably in the case of roses, growers are restricting themselves more and more to a few varieties. This is due to the fact that it is impossible to give in one house, or even in one establishment, the special set of conditions required for the most economic development of each species or variety of plant, just as in the open air the natural conditions are best adapted to a limited number of horticultural products.

So much being admitted, it follows that it is folly to attempt to grow plants underunfavorable climatic and soil conditions when competing in the same market with those possessing favorable ones. It is true, of course, that where one man fails another often succeeds, but this is no reason why a man should apply his talents under unfavorable circumstances. In fact, one of the important attributes of most successful men is their ability to recognize and apply their energies under conditions which will give them the most effective return for a given effort. There is no virtue in unnecessary toil. Progress in any enterprise, as progress in the human race, can be accomplished only in reducing the amount of labor required to produce a desired result.

All this is axiomatic. The purpose of emphasizing it here is that it is fundamental to the success of those who attempt to produce horticultural products. The necessity for the emphasis lies in the fact that these factors are so often disregarded. They are of most vital importance to the man who attempts to raise tree fruits. A mistake in the planting of celery, cabbage, or onionsmay be rectified the following season, but if a mistake is made in planting tree fruits, it may, as in the case of apples, require ten or even 20 years to discover the error.

The growth in commercial orcharding is due in part to the need of special knowledge and facilities for combating fungous diseases and insect enemies and to the better markets which a large production of uniform quality makes possible. While these are extremely important considerations, there is a more fundamental reason, which may in the long run exercise an even more potent influence. The location of the ordinary family orchard, so called, has been determined in almost every instance by the location of the farm buildings. There is no necessary relation between a good site for a farm dwelling and a suitable location for an orchard. It happens, therefore, that family orchards, taken as a whole, are not grown under as favorable conditions as are commercial orchards. This is a sufficient reason in itself, even if the other reasons above mentioned did not exist, why thecommercial orchard must, in time, supplant these accidental plantings.

ADVANTAGES OF HORTICULTURE

The advantages of this intensive form of agriculture as compared with the more extensive forms discussed in Chapter XII may be stated as follows:

(1) A large gross income per acre may be obtained. An investigation of truck farming made some years ago indicated a gross return per acre about 40 times as great as that obtained on an average from all forms of agriculture.

(2) There is a large opportunity for the use of skill in raising and preparing products for market and an equal opportunity for the exercise of judgment in choosing the best markets.

DISADVANTAGES OF HORTICULTURE

(1) It requires considerable capital, particularly for machinery and labor. In the investigation in truck farming above mentioned the capital per acre invested in land,buildings, implements and teams was eight times that in the more general forms of agriculture.

(2) The products are for the most part readily perishable, requiring special facilities if held for any length of time.

(3) Growing out of above-mentioned fact, the market is easily overstocked at any given point, and hence prices often fluctuate widely.

(4) The yield is also quite variable, this class of products being especially influenced by seasonal conditions and particularly subject to insect attacks and fungous diseases. Since large capital is invested in labor, the horticulturist may be involved in financial ruin through causes which he is unable to control.

(5) The labor question, in certain forms of horticulture more than in others, involves difficulties, among which is need of large quantities of cheap labor for short periods of time.

CHAPTER XVREASONS FOR ANIMALHUSBANDRY

Animal products in the United States nearly equal in value those of all other farm products. Those soil supplies which constitute the food of domestic animals are not implied. Practically every farm in the United States keeps domestic animals, either for their labor or their products, and nearly every household in both city and country keeps one or more animals for companionship. The domestication of animals has been a prime factor in the civilization of the human race by furnishing man with motive force by which he has been able to increase his productive power; by giving him a larger, better and more regular food supply; and by furnishing the materials for clothing, making it possible for him to inhabit temperate and even arctic climates. Animals have not been less important in advancing the spiritual welfare of thehuman race, by inculcating habits of regularity and kindliness, which the care of domestic animals imposes.

INCREASE IN ANIMAL PRODUCTION

During the last half century animals have not increased in numbers as rapidly as have the inhabitants, but the value of animals has increased much more rapidly. While a part of this increase in value is due perhaps to a greater cost of production, a couple of illustrations will suffice to show that part of this increase in value has been due to increase in the individual merit of the animals. In 1850 sheep in this country produced 2.4 pounds of wool per fleece; in 1910 they produced 6.9 pounds per fleece. Thus, while in 50 years sheep have not quite doubled in numbers, the production of wool has increased more than five times. This is a striking example of the value of improvement in breeding, because the improvement in wool production is due to the influence of heredity in far greater degree than to the effect of improved feeding.Wool, like the hair on ones head, is not greatly influenced by the food supply, assuming it to be reasonably ample. Beef cattle offer another illustration of the way in which animal products have been increased without increasing the number of animals. Formerly beef cattle were matured in their fourth and fifth years, or even their sixth year. They are now placed upon the market in their second and third years. If animals can be matured in their third instead of their fifth year, it is obvious that a much smaller number of animals must be kept upon the farm in order to provide an equal annual supply for slaughter.

The increase in the size of our horses and the increased production of butter fat per cow which have occurred in the past half century are hardly less important factors in increasing the value of domestic animals and their products.

THE FUTURE OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS

One of the most striking features of recent progress in domestic animals is the largeincrease in the number of horses and the still greater increase in their value. There are those who have believed that the invention of many beneficent forms of mechanical power would in time, if not in the very near future, supplant the use of animals as a motive power. The fact seems to be, however, that they merely augment mans resources and increase his opportunities without lessening his need for animal power.

It appears reasonable to suppose that there will be witnessed in the United States a gradual shifting of live stock centers. During the past half century, the great central West has been noted for the production of live stock, particularly for beef, mutton and wool, as an incident of its pioneer development. Already the production of large herds of cattle and flocks of sheep has disappeared for the central West, and is now confined largely to Texas and the mountain states. The northeastern states are unrivaled in the production of grass, and have considerable areas less fitted for tillagethan the prairie states. In time, therefore, the tendency will be for the regions best fitted to rear animals to increase their numbers of breeding animals. On the other hand, those states which produce grain in relatively large abundance may give more attention to fattening animals and to the production of dairy products which can be shipped long distances. As time advances, the history of other countries will doubtless be repeated. A greater distinction between the breeding and rearing of animals, and their fattening and preparation for market will occur.

ADVANTAGES OF KEEPING LIVE STOCK

Since animals occupy a place in practically all farm organizations, it is desirable to state briefly the advantages and disadvantages which may accrue to any individual enterprise. The most striking advantages affecting the farmer are:

(1) Animals make it possible to use land that would otherwise be wholly or partly unproductive. Hillsides and mountainslopes, soil too stony to cultivate, fields traversed by winding streams, and land partially covered with trees, are familiar examples. As previously mentioned, only about one-half the farm area in this country is improved land, and only two-thirds, even of the improved land, is in cultivated crops. The other third of the improved land and a considerable portion of that half of the farm area known as unimproved land are utilized as pasture for domestic animals.

(2) They make use of farm crops which would be entirely or partially wasted. Straw, the stalks of maize, clover and alfalfa hay and other leguminous forage crops would not have sufficient value to pay for raising if animals were not kept to convert them into useful products. In fact, the usefulness of a given animal may be judged by the economy with which he converts these otherwise useless products into food or other materials for the use of man. The most profound studies are being made to determine the conditions under which this takes place.

(3) In thus acting as machines in manufacturing raw materials into finished products animals convert these coarse and bulky materials into those which are much more concentrated, thus making their transportation economically possible. A pound of beef has required food containing ten pounds of dry substance, and a pound of butter has required thirty pounds of dry matter to produce it.

These refined products may be shipped around the world, while the raw materials may not be profitably transported beyond the county in which they are raised. Moreover, the farmer has the profit which comes from manufacturing the raw materials into refined products.

(4) In the production of these finer products much of the essential materials of plant growth are left upon the farm. The experiments of Lawes and Gilbert show conclusively that in fattening animals more than nine pounds out of ten of the essential fertilizing ingredients of the food reappear in the solid and liquid excrements. Protherosays: Farming in a circle, unlike logic, is a productive process.

The fiscal policy of one of the great nations of the globe is based upon this idea. Everything possible is done by Germany to encourage the keeping of live stock, because the more live stock that is kept, the more productive will be the soil. The larger the crops raised the more people will be required to harvest them and the larger will be the population to recruit the army and navy. The Kaiser and the German scientist recognize that the fighting force of the Empire is related to the number of domestic animals reared. The meat supplies of the people are, therefore, taxed to bring about this end.

(5) The rearing of live stock makes it possible to arrange a better rotation of crops. A five-year and, even better, a six-year rotation, is more effective than a four-year in maintaining the crop-producing power of the soil and enables the farmer to reduce his cost of production. It is possible to keep a larger proportion of the farm in grass andother forage crops, thus reducing the amount of land plowed annually and at the same time decreasing the exhaustion of the land, provided the forage crops are fed to live stock upon the farm.

There is an old Flemish proverb which reads:

No grass, no cattle;

No cattle, no manure;

No manure, no crops.

The point of this proverb is that good grass is the basis of good agriculture. Investigations have shown that one may go farther and say that one of the most ready means of increasing the crop-producing power of the soil is by adding fertilizers to grass land. The large number of plants per acre enables the plants to utilize the fertilizer to the highest degree, and plowing under the resulting dense sod is one of the most effective methods of enriching the soil.

(6) Animals require constant care, thus making possible a more constant use of labor and other capital. The wheat farmer of North Dakota sows his wheat in April andMay and harvests it in July and August. He usually threshes it immediately, and is practically without employment for himself, his teams or his men from September until April. On live stock farms the labor employed in the summer in the field is needed in the winter in paddocks and stables.

(7) The management of live stock, including the rearing of poultry and the manipulation of dairy products, may be made to require a higher skill than the production of farm crops as ordinarily practiced. The communities which have given the most attention to dairying and to the rearing and fattening of animals have generally been the most prosperous.

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