_ OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY
_ Contribution from the Office of Farm Management
W. J. SPILLMAN, Chief

MONETT, MO.

. By W. J. SPILLMAN, Chief, Office of Farm Management.

CONTENTS.

Page. Page.

in the survey was made........... 1 | The proper status of the strawberry industry
eee et ee caer wei= osinc eae ns 2 imsouthwest' MIssouUrl...5..222-2.cce-8 eee 10
classified according to type of farming. 4 | The speculative nature of fruit enterprises. - . 10
Soe DOCU Sc Ree Coes eee 5 | Maintenance of soil fertility.................- 12
ge of area in different crops......... ‘5 | Organization of some typical farms........-. 14
fruit and their local importance. ... 6 | Organization of dairy farms.................. 17
of type of farming to size of farm.... 7 | A well-organized two-man farm.............- 19
eS eee ees oe Se ones eee oe MIMMCCETITHOS 52 See tar are ones ate stce nee sce eee 22
bleness of the various UVES 225 25 (i255 SI IMORCLUTOS 2 42 SasS. baa a2 Seco en cee eats 24

uring the summer of 1915 an analysis was made of the business
“4 farms lying within a radius of about 5 miles of the town of

the as between Barry and Lawrence Counties. This locality is
ical of a considerable area lying along the western margin of the
rk area and the eastern margin of the western prairies.’ In gen-

he surface would be described, for the most part, as gently roll-
. A small stream flows from east to west through the town of
onett. The bottom lands bordering it form a tract from a quarter
a half mile wide, flanked on each side by a moderate rise of land
‘dly prominent enough to be described as bluffs. Beyond is gently
ing upland originally covered, for the most part, with blackjack
ber (a species of oak) and extending back to the prairie areas
ering the ridges between streams.
1 The farm analyses on which this bulletin is based were made by Messrs. Walter J.
bs, Ivan Allen, C. BE, Allred, and F. D. Crum, under the direction of Mr. F. H.
Mr. R. D. Jennings has rendered material assistance in tabulating the data

id computing the tables. Acknowledgment is also due to the many farmers who kindly
nished details concerning their farm business, thus making this study possible.

18027°—18—Bull. 633——1

Monograph

Py) BULLETIN 633, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

The soil of this region was formed mostly from limestone in which
was imbedded a considerable amount of flint, sometimes in rather
large masses. The limestone itself was dissolved out by rain water

carrying small quantities of carbonic-acid gas in solution, leaving
the impurities of the limestone (consisting mainly of small or large
particles of flint) to constitute the resulting soil. On the slopes,
where the finer particles of soil have been washed away, the land is —
rocky, the rocks consisting of angular fragments of flint, for the most —
part from 1 to 3 or 4 inches in diameter. Elsewhere, especially —
where the land was originally covered with blackjack timber, the —
soil is rather gravelly. The alluvial soil of the bottoms contains more —
or less gravel. On the higher ridges, which were originally prairie, —
the soil is somewhat finer in texture and less inclined to be gravelly.
These prairie soils were formed in part from shales. On the whole, —
the soil may be described as gravelly loam or gravelly silt loam. —
Like most medium to heavy-soils, it is fairly fertile, especially when —
abundantly supplied with decaying organic matter such as manure Z
and the refuse from crops. .

The first settlers who came into this region came mainly from 3
wooded regions and took up land along the streams. Most of the —
stream bottoms have been in cultivation for about three-quarters of —
a century. About 40 or 45 years ago farmers began to come into the
region from prairie districts, especially from Illinois. These settled
on the prairies. The prairie lands have thus been in cultivation
somewhat less than half a century.

The wooded slopes between the prairies and the bottom lands have _
been cleared and put into cultivation mainly during the last 30 years,
the amount of woodland left being scarcely suflicient to supply local.
farm needs. |

THE LOCAL AGRICULTURE. 9
2
Wheat ; is decidedly the most impor tant of the local crops at the 4

present time, corn being second in importance. The percentage of
the crop area devoted to wheat for the crop year 1913-14 on the —
farms included in this survey was 48.8, or practically half of —
the entire area. Corn occupied 25.1 per cent. The position of
these two crops, so far as acreage is concerned, has been practically
reversed in the last 20 years. In 1890, according to the census for
that year, corn occupied 46 per cent of the crop area in Barry County |
and 41 per cent in Lawrence County. In the same year wheat occu- _
pied 24 per cent of the crop area of Barry County and 33 per cent in
Lawrence County.

The reason for this change in the status of wheat and corn in this
locality is not known definitely. The present high price of wheat is _
not responsible for it, for the crop to which this survey relates was_

$

eit A) 5!” 5
MAR 1 1918 j

ae

cccoiil

FACTORS OF SUCCESSFUL FARMING NEAR MONETT, MO. 3

sown in the fall of 1913, when the price of wheat was still moderate.
It is probable that the frequent occurrence of hog cholera in this
region may be partly responsible for the decrease in the acreage of
corn and the increase in the acreage of wheat, as the number of hogs

‘kept on these farms has decreased considerably in recent years.

The oat crop occupied 10.8 per cent of the crop area on these

farms, which is about a normal acreage for this crop. A great many

farmers here do not grow oats. In general, the crop is not satisfac-
tory, it being too far north for winter oats and too far south for
spring oats. Not infrequently the crop is an entire failure. The
reason for the persistence of the oat crop under such unfavorable
conditions is its value as feed for horses and the scarcity of other
kinds of roughage. For the most part, the oats are cut and bound
and fed in the sheaf. A portion of the crop may be thrashed and
fed as grain.

Various hay crops occupy about 9 per cent of the crop area of the
farms surveyed, which is approximately the status occupied by such
crops for the last quarter of a century. About two-thirds of the hay

land is in timothy or timothy and clover, the rest being in millet,

sorghum, oats, rye, ete.
FRUITS.

The town of Monett is the center of one of the most important
strawberry-producing regions in this country. The acreage of berries
is not large when compared with that of wheat and corn, or even hay,
but it is very considerable when the intensity of the strawberry enter-
prise is taken into consideration. Of the 244 farms? included in this
bulletin, 1.5 per cent of the total crop area was in strawberries, two-
thirds of which were in bearing. Other fruit crops also are more or
less prominent. Apples occupy 2.6 per cent of the total crop area,
and other fruits six-tenths of 1 per cent. While small areas of fruit
are found on farms of all sizes, it is mainly the smaller farms that
make fruit growing a specialty.

YIELDS PER ACRE.

The average yield of corn on these farms for the year 1914 was 25
bushels per acre, which is approximately normal. The yield of this
crop in Barry County at the last three censuses was, respectively, 26,
95, and 17 bushels. In Lawrence County it was 26, 21, and 24
yield of oats for the year of this survey was 24 bushels,
as compared with census figures of 21, 22, and 23 for Barry County,
and 22, 25, and 26 for Lawrence County. This again is a normal

hod

yield.

1 Thirty farms operated by owners who rented out a part of their land are omitted in
most of the discussion which follows.

4 BULLETIN 633, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

The yield of wheat for the year of the survey was somewhat above
the normal, being 16 bushels as compared with Barry County yields
of 13, 10, and 12 bushels at the last three censuses and Lawrence
County yields of 14, 12, and 14 bushels. This higher yield of wheat
is believed to be due to a recent marked increase in the use of com-
mercial fertilizers rather than to climatic conditions for the year.

The yield of hay was about half a ton per acre. This is a little less
than half the normal yield according to the census figures. But the
minor place occupied by hay crops in the agriculture of this locality
renders this low yield of hay relatively unimportant.

The average yield of strawberries the year of the farm survey was
74 crates per acre, as compared with Barry County yields of 62 and
50 crates for the last two census years, and Lawrence County yields
of 90 and 56 crates. Considering the marked variability in the
yields of this crop, the yield for the year of the survey may be con-
sidered as practically normal.

FARMS CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO TYPE OF FARMING.

The 244 farms included in this study may be divided into five
groups according to type of farming carried on, though in most
cases the line of division between the various types is more or less
arbitrary. One hundred and sixteen of them may be classed as grain
and live-stock farms. They consist of farms on which the principal
income is from grain, in nearly all cases wheat, with more than 10 per
cent of the total income from some one type of live stock, usually
cattle or hogs.

On 66 of the farms grain (wheat in most cases, corn in a few
others) constituted the only source of income exceeding 10 per cent
of the total receipts. These are classed as grain farms. Forty-one are
‘classed as grain and fruit farms. They include farms on which both
grain and fruit are important sources of income, with no other income
from any one source exceeding 10 per cent of the total.

Seventeen of the farms are classed as fruit farms. The average in-
come from fruit on these farms is about 60 per cent of the total.
About half of these fruit farms had 10 per cent or more of their in-
come from cattle.

There were four farms which made the dairy business an impor-
tant feature. On two of them dairying was the only important source
of income; on the other two grain was about as important as dairying,
but these four farms were grouped together because they were the
only ones on which the dairy business was a principal feature of the
farming. Because of the small number of dairy farms they are
omitted from most of the tabulations for the reason that averages of
only four items have little meaning.

FACTORS OF SUCCESSFUL FARMING NEAR MONETT, MO. 5

SOURCES OF RECEIPTS.

Table 1 shows the sources from which these 244 farms obtained
their income.

TaBLe 1.—Sources of receipts (244 farms near Monett, Mo.).

{Figures represent percentage of total receipts. ]

|
ean _ | Grain : a Grain
ees Grain} and | Fruit lve Grain} and | Fruit
Source. inet farms | fruit | farms Source. Sistas farms | fruit | farms
: fers (66). | farms} (17). ards (66). | farms] (17)
(116) (41). (116). (41).
Perct.| Perct.| Perct.| Per ct. Perct.| Perct.| Per ct.| Per ct.
SRAM Sets tc Noss = 4.3 8.0 1.6 He) || MEOPSES eno oc hoe ek 6.5 5:2 Seu BG
(OD ee eee .8 1.0 -6 FO) || MOO Mer Sac ania e geese MME ES oa etaeton | Seerenese
VS ie a eee 48.2] 60.7] 34.9 Leia | ERO R Sse eae Peon Gell 20 3.6 Dall
Small fruits. .....-... 2.3 1.8] 30.1 50h? || *Poultryo. .4.4-2 2. 2 5.0 4.9 4.5 4,2
Other friits....:-...- 1.3 .3 7.7 825 || (Other stock. 3. +s... - 4 a ay vk
Othercrops. ......>:,- el 1.6 2.2 2.651 All stock: 26.-)- sono: 34.5 | 19:0) 17.2 25.4
SMUELODS A 2. se25-' 58.0} 73.4] 77.1] 65.6 || Miscellaneous.....-.- 7.5 7.6 5.7 7.3
Si ee ee 15.4 Gad 5.4 11.9 3

It will be seen that there is a considerable degree of diversity in
the farming of this region. Wheat is decidedly the most important
source of income on the grain and live-stock and on the grain farms,
about equal to small fruits on the grain and fruit farms, while on the
fruit farms there is no other important source of income from crops
than small fruits, especially strawberries. Among the various classes
of live stock, cattle lead as a source of income in all the groups.
Poultry furnishes from 4 per cent to 5 per cent of income in each
group. Hogs are unimportant, except on the grain and live-stock
farms, where the income from them constitutes about 7 per cent of
the total receipts.

PERCENTAGE AREA IN DIFFERENT CROPS.

Table 2 shows for the four principal types of farming the per-
centage of land devoted to various crops.

TABLE 2.—Relation of type of farming to percentage area in different crops (244
farms near Monett, Mo.).

[Figures represent percentage of land devoted to crops specified. ]

{
Gait as ep ee
an F rain P an ; rain :
: Grain Fruit : Grain Fruit
Crop. live and Crop. live |< and |;,..
P stoele farms. fruit farms is Sina farms. fruit farms.
farms. farms. farms. farms.
Perct.| Per ct.| Per ct.| Per ct. Per ct.| Per ct.| Per ct.| Perct.
( Cis i eee a ae 26.9 | 26.0] 19.6 33.9 || Other forage....:...- 1.3 1 Ba! 0.4 5.8
Wheat s 123). ceases 2 48:5) +53. 1.) 50.2 9.0 || Strawberries........- a) 4 5.1 9.3
ACen aie 11.3 8.8 7.4 || Other small fruits... alee ce LEZ 10.8
EEK eee eee 6.8] 5.1] 5.0 Telly Applesxdate2 seas. PY CRAG CES: 5.8
UIT (2) 6, 9 payee 9 eS 1.0 4 | 6 2,6 || Other fruits... 5.2. < 3 | Aart) wend PD 3.2
BorehwMs soesepe,- 2b ay / 3 | .6 2.9 || Other crops........-- 5 4 1.2 1.6

6 BULLETIN 633, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,

On the grain and live-stock farms and on the grain farms corn
occupies about one-fourth of the total crop area, wheat about half,
oats about 11 per cent, hay 5 to 7 per cent, with no other crop occu-
pying as much as 2 per cent of the area except in the case of apples _
on the grain and live-stock farms. On the grain and fruit farms
the area of corn is smaller, and that of wheat is about the same as
in the two preceding groups, while strawberries rise to 5 per cent
and apples to 6 per cent of the entire crop area. On the fruit farms
corn occupies one-third of the total crop area, wheat oats, and hay
are about equally important, occupying from 7 per cent to 9 per cent,
strawberries occupy 9.8 per cent, and other small fruits 10.8 per cent,
while apples are nearly as important is in the preceding group.

KINDS OF FRUIT AND THEIR LOCAL IMPORTANCE.

Of the 17 farms here classed as fruit farms, strawberries were pro-
duced on all but one, and on this one there was an acre of new plant-
ing of strawberries. On three of these farms the area of bearing
strawberries was 1 acre; on four it was 14 acres; on one it was 2
acres; on four 24 acres; on one 38 acres; on one 4 acres; and on two
6 acres. The total sales of strawberries on 16 of these farms
amounted to $8,251, an average of $516 per farm.

The next most important fruit is blackberries. They were grown
on 12 of the 17 fruit farms. One of the farms with 6 acres of straw-
berries had also 12 acres of blackberries. The other farm having 6
acres of strawberries had 10 acres of blackberries. Two farms had a
quarter of an acre of blackberries each, 5 farms had from 1 to 14 acres,
and the remaining 3 from 3} to 5 acres. The 2 farms having large
acreages of both strawberries and blackberries also had large acre-
ages of raspberries, one 10 acres and the other 7. Three other farms had
from 1 to 24 acres of raspberries. Theré were 5 acres of dewberries
on one farm and a quarter of an acre of grapes on each of Y farms.

Of the tree fruits, nearly all fruit farms had apples; but only five
derived any income from this source, the largest amount being $250.
Seven farms also had small acreages of peaches, in only two cases
more than 14 acres, the area in these two cases being respectively 45
and 6 acres. The sales of peaches on the two farms last mentioned
were respectively $300 and 600; on the other three farms $15 to $75
per farm. Two farms had small incomes from cherries, one from
plums, and one from pears, in no case exceeding $100. One farm had
three-quarters of an acre in nursery stock, from which sales amount-
ing to $170 were made. The total acreage of blackberries on these
farms was 41 acres and the total acreage of strawberries 43; but
more than half the blackberries were on two farms, so that straw-
berries may be considered by far the most general fruit crop of the
region. |

FACTORS OF SUCCESSFUL FARMING NEAR MONETT, MO. 7

RELATION OF TYPE OF FARMING TO SIZE OF FARM.

In Table 3 the 244 farms are divided into groups based on area in
crops. The table shows for each of these size-groups the percentage
of farms that follow the different types of farming.

TasBLtE 3.—Percentage of farms in each of six size-groups, devoted to type of
farming specified (data from 244 farms in the vicinity of Monett, Mo.).

Acres in crops.
Type. Number.

200 or
39 orless.| 40-79 80-119 120-159 | 160-199 more:

Per cent. | Per cent. | Per cent. | Per cent. | Per cent. | Per cent.
19 4 59 66 60 67

Grain and live stock............ 116

be Bees eee ee 66 19 34 24 23 20 33
NOM ATUNG o-n0 22. <ncccie nino 41 24 20 12 8 20) taeaceao ses
LEU pete Le iets Ae ee 17 38 2 De ee sahara | tate ie ters | lair ciate mts
Ye Sec en seen be seb ass. te ce | eae ee 1 3 Be [Se ee es ae

oe Se Se eee 244 37 -103 58 35 5 | 6

It will be noticed that of the farms having less than 40 acres in
crops 88 per cent are fruit farms and 24 per cent grain and fruit
farms. In this group there are also 19 per cent of grain and live
stock farms and 19 per cent of grain farms. These figures bring out
the important fact that among the small farms fruit is a predominat-
ing enterprise. This is as it should be, for these farms are too small
to give full employment in the production of corn and wheat, the
staple crops of the region, and it is necessary, in order that their
owners shall make an adequate living, that they introduce enter-
prises that give more work per acre than corn and wheat.

In the next size-group, consisting of farms having from 40 to 79
acres of crops, the largest percentage consists of grain and live-stock
farms, with grain farms next, followed by grain and fruit farms.
Only 2 per cent of these farms are fruit farms, while one of them is
a dairy farm.

In the third size-group, containing farms with 80 to 119 acres of
crops, more than half of them are grain and live-stock farms. This
is true of each of the three remaining groups. In these last four
groups there is still a considerable percentage of grain farms and a
few grain and fruit farms. There is a single fruit farm in the third
size-group. ‘Two of the dairy farms are in this group, and one in
the next higher group:

The last line of the table shows the number of farms in each size-
group, while the first column shows the number of farms in each
type-group.

INVESTMENT.

Table 4 shows the relation between size of farm and the total in-
vestment and the relation between type of farming and total invest-
ment. One of the fruit farms is omitted from this table and from

8 BULLETIN 633, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

Table 5 for reasons that will be given later, but this makes only :
slight change in the figures.

TABLE 4.— Average total investment on farms of different size the type (248
farms near Monett, Mo.).

Acres in crops.

Type. 4
65 or less.) 66-95 96-125 oe All sizes. | Average.
Acres.

Grainvand live stock... 2. c..c2cececine sss $5, 926 $9,335 | $12,875 | $17,386 | $11,015
(CO OSE RE Sadana Sane aeeeeneAteeseaatce 5, O84 7,824;| U2, 251 \oc2eseseee 7,395 76
(unmmlandikiite nt. hae. toe ean coe oe 5 1000|" 210, Tanne 7, 594 68
Wapiti ttt 28 | deena os kw eit se Mee eee Wises SOLD fs noe eee 4,919 36
oA ig SS ee Ss Se one eet 65 Sas oS Sepossolosseemeae| yess jem sa 9,033 81

196 and over. 2 66 and over. 3 Not including one exceptional farm

PROFITABLENESS OF THE VARIOUS TYPES.

Table 5 shows the relation between labor income and size of farm,
and the relation between labor income and type of farming. It may
be explained here that labor income is what the farmer gets for his
labor and managing ability. It is found by deducting from the net
income of the farm a fair rate of interest on the investment, which in
this case was taken to be 5 per cent. In addition to labor income as
obtained in this manner the farmer has what the farm furnishes
toward the family living.

TABLE 5.—Labor incomes on farms of different size and type (243 farms near
Monett, Mo.).

Acres in crops.

Type. + l
E 125 and
65orless.| 65-95 96-125 oven All sizes.
Graimandilve stock Tarmis.. 2.2. 2 cee ces sees $117 $321 $617 $759 $438
Gy sTt JATIN SE lertas doeuisaset Sacer eee a9 oo essa. 41 313 ALANS. sheets 192
ist ANGIE CaS nc aoe ce ankeots onal Denison 232 DOG lore, Scarier ee eRee 410
Fruit farms }...... aStcicincidaiae on nie Seine = ese ne esalawentanecacleeE eee cee AE me estar coe 294
BUCY DOS ce a elatee aan ane oa can cia cana etes sama Mee eraceacesccteees| soeme cee |\cedcscacee|as so eeeeee 370

1 Not including one exceptional farm.

As previously stated, one of the fruit farms is omitted from this
tabulation. It was a very exceptional farm. It had 6 acres of straw-
berries, from which the sales amounted to $1,468; 10 acres of black-
berries, with sales of $1,650; 10 acres of raspberries, with sales of
$900; 5 acres of dewberries, with sales of $175; 10 acres of apples,
with sales of $180; and 6 acres of peaches, with sales of $600. There
was also 1 acre of young cherry trees. This farm is thus seen to be
a highly specialized fruit farm. That its owner was an expert fruit

‘
‘/
a
}

>
‘es

FACTORS OF SUCCESSFUL FARMING NEAR MONETT, MO. 9

grower is attested by the fact that his labor income amounted to about
$2,500. That is, the net income of his farm was $2,500 more than 5
per cent on his investment.

The relation between labor income and the size of farm as indicated
by the area in crops is brought out very strikingly in Table 5. Tak-
ing first the grain and live stock farms, those in the group having 65
acres or less in crops each made only $117 more than interest on their
investment. As the area in crops increases the labor income increases,
averaging $709 for the group having 125 or more acres in crops.
The grain farms and the grain and fruit farms tell the same story.

In all the surveys that have been made by the Office of Farm
Management the results have shown conclusively that men of average
ability must farm rather large areas in order to secure a satisfactory
income. It is only the exceptional man that can realize the ideal of
the “little farm well tilled.” The average man should not try to
do so. Just how large a farm should be for best results it is difficult
to say. A good deal depends upon the type of farming. A farm of
an intensive type—that is, one which requires a great deal of labor
and working capital for each acre in cultivation—may be smaller
than one devoted to enterprises requiring less labor and working
capital.

The two-man farm has many advantages as opposed to a one-man
farm, for in a great many farm operations two men are needed. So
far as profit of the owner is concerned, there appears to be no upper
limit to the size of farms except the managerial ability of the opera-
tor; but when farms are larger than fair-sized two-man farms—that
is, farms that will give two men constant employment throughout
the year—certain important disadvantages to the community appear.
Tn the first place, the community is filled up with a class of hired
labor which is not an addition to the permanent citizenship; farm
houses are farther apart; there are fewer children for the district
school; and it is more difficult to secure good roads. The two-man
farm may, for many reasons, be considered as approaching the ideal
for American conditions.

There is room in every community for a few farms devoted to the
production of vegetables and fruits, and these may well be small
farms because of the intensive labor such farming involves. This is
especially true when the markets for the products of such farms are
local. But when the farmer must depend upon distant markets and
is thus thrown into competition with other regions engaged in similar
types of farming, the small, intensive farm is placed at a serious dis-
advantage. Only about 4 per cent of the total crop area of the entire
country is devoted to fruits and vegetables, yet this area supplies
approximately the entire demand for products of this class. A rela-
tively slight increase in the production of fruits and vegetables re-

18027°—18—Bull. 683-2

10 BULLETIN 633, U. 8S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

sults in flooding the market and thus lowering prices below the point
of profit. Farming based wholly on vegetables and fruits to be sold

in distant markets is thus decidedly a speculative business. In general |

it is an unsafe kind of farming, though in some years it may be
highly profitable.

THE PROPER STATUS OF THE STRAWBERRY INDUSTRY IN SOUTH-
WEST MISSOURI.

A farm that is large enough to give full employment to the labor
available to the owner in the production of wheat, corn, and live-
stock products can be made profitable in this region without depend-
ing on fruit as a source of income. Yet even on these farms a small
acreage of strawberries properly tended is a desirable enterprise. In
some years the income from them will be small, but in other years
it will be considerable. Even if the crop is an entire failure, the
farmer is not crippled financially.

On farms that are too small to give full employment in the pro-
duction of wheat, corn,,and live-stock products there is greater need
of some intensive crop like strawberries as a means of giving em-
ployment to farm labor; that is, of increasing the magnitude of the
farm business. The force of this remark is shown by the experience
of farmers in this community, for by far the greater portion of the
strawberry area is on the smaller farms, as should be the case. How-
ever, Table 5, showing the average labor income from different types
of farming, shows that the very small farms devoted mainly to fruit
are not as satisfactory as larger farms on which grain and live stock
are the main sources of income.

In this connection it may be noted that the average value of man
labor per crop-acre on the grain and live-stock farms was $5.16, on
the grain and fruit farms $7.45, while on the 17 fruit farms it was
$14.92, or nearly three times as much as on the grain and live-stock
farms.

The number of acres of crops per man on the four types of farms
was as follows: Grain and live stock, 59.38; grain, 54.3; grain and
fruit, 42.5; fruit, 22.8. This shows the greater intensity of fruit
farming as compared with the other types prevailing in the region.

THE SPECULATIVE NATURE OF FRUIT ENTERPRISES.

Fruit crops of all kinds are occasionally a complete loss from un-
timely frost. This has been the case with the strawberry crop in
the vicinity of Monett, Mo., once in the last 10 years.

In occasional years also prices are so low that no profit is made
in the business. These are years when the crop is unusually good in

oil

FACTORS OF SUCCESSFUL FARMING NEAR MONETT, Mo. 11

a number of the leading fruit-producing sections of the country.
This region has experienced two such years in the last decade.

These occasional years which produce no profit and sometimes re-
sult in rather heavy loss make fruit growing a speculative business.
In the long run the good crops or the high prices, or the occasional
combination of a good crop with high prices, will bring in enough
money to make the business profitable in localities that are well
adapted to it, as this region undoubtedly is to the strawberry crop.
But the uncertainty of a profit in any particular year renders it
unwise for the farmer to depend entirely on income from such enter-
prises. On farms devoted largely to fruit growing this uncertainty
may be obviated partially by having several kinds of fruit, for it is
hardly likely that all of them will fail to produce a profit in any one
year. The most successful fruit farm found in this survey was really
a diversified fruit farm. It must be remembered, however, that it
takes a man of very unusual ability to make a success with a business
of this character. Where fruit is a minor enterprise, such diversifi-
cation is not so necessary and may even be quite undesirable.

If there is a good local market which renders shipping to distant
points unnecessary, there is considerable advantage in growing sev-
eral kinds of fruit; but where shipping is necessary the saving from
shipping in car lots is so great as to place the producer of small lots
at a disadvantage. Diversification in fruit growing as a means of
insurance against crop loss must therefore be undertaken only after
careful consideration of the marketing problem.

Another factor which must be taken into consideration is the dan-
ger from disease and insect pests to which fruit crops of all kinds
are exposed. Occasionally a disease gets a start among strawberries,
appears in the nurseries, and is spread over a large region before its
presence is suspected. This causes heavy loss, not only to the nurs-
eryman, but to those who have bought plants from him.

With all these disadvantages, however, the facts indicate that the
strawberry business is a good one for the farmers of this region. It
seems to be clear also that in the vast majority of cases the proper
place of this crop is represented by a few acres. The smaller the
_ farm the larger the acreage of strawberries required to fill in the
labor schedule. The fact that the largest acreage of strawberries
on any one farm was 6 acres is significant. This is about what an
ordinary farm family can take care of except at harvest time. On
the larger farms 1 or 2 acres of strawberries would generally be de-
sirable.

Nothing has been said here about the amount of labor required in
harvesting the strawberry crop, since no particular local difficulty
appears to arise in this connection. The work is made more or less
a festival, and thousands of people from the surrounding towns come

12 BULLETIN 633, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

into camp near the fields for the few weeks when there is a rush of
work of this kind. The amount of labor required for harvesting
the crop is therefore not really a limiting factor in the acreage that
the farmer can grow. The limit is represented rather by. the area
which he and his family can tend at times other than harvest.

MAINTENANCE OF SOIL FERTILITY.

The systems of farming which prevail generally in this region are
not such as to maintain satisfactorily the fertility of the soil. Asa
result the yields on most farms are low. The three more important
factors in maintaining crop yields are the use of manure, the plow-
ing under of sod crops or green manure crops, and the use of com-
mercial fertilizers. On most of these farms the amount of live stock
kept is small compared with that kept on farms farther north. The
amount of manure produced on the farm igs not sufficient to maintain
the fertility of the soil at a satisfactory level. Furthermore, on ac-
count of the general mildness of the climate, farm animals are not
kept indoors much of the time, and a good part of the manure thus is
not available for distribution on the tilled fields. Farmers therefore
get relatively little from the manure actually produced on the farm.

In order to determine the results actually obtained from manure the
farms in this survey were divided into two equal groups, the first
consisting of those farms having less live stock than the average per
hundred acres of crops, and the second of those having more than the
average. A comparison was then made between these two groups of
farms with respect to the average yield of each of the more important
crops. The difference in favor of the farms having the more live
stock was as follows: Corn, 14 bushels per acre; wheat, 0.6 bushel;
oats, 2.5 bushels; hay, 0.1 ton.

. When the relative acreage of these crops and the average price of
their products for the last 10 years are taken into account this
difference in yield in favor of the farms having more live stock than
the average amounts to $5.14 per year for each animal found on the
farms having most live stock over and above those found on farms
having least live stock. In other words, under the average condi-
tions which prevail in this locality the farmer, on the average, ac-
tually gets in crop returns $5.14 from the manure of each. 1,000-
pound animal or its equivalent in smaller animals. This is a very
low valuation for manure, a fact which undoubtedly is due largely
to the small proportion of the manure that is actually applied to the
fields. By taking the best possible care of manure, by distributing
this manure in the fall of the year on land that is to be devoted to
corn the next year, and either disking it into the land or plowing

FACTORS OF SUCCESSFUL FARMING NEAR MONETT, MO. 13

shallow before cold weather it is probable that these farmers would
get practically double the result they now get from this manure.

In this connection it may be stated that in Chester County, Pa.,
where the live stock consists mainly of dairy cows which are kept in
stables practically all winter and at nights during most of the sum-
mer and where the manure is managed with unusual care the value
of manure per cow was found by the method above outlined to
‘amount to between $15 and $16 a year.

Table 6 shows the average yield of corn and wheat on the two
groups of farms designated as grain and live-stock farms and grain
farms. This table shows that on the average the grain and live-
stock farms obtained 3.7 bushels more corn per acre than did the
straight grain farms. On the other hand, the grain farms obtained
an average of 0.6 of a bushel more wheat per acre than the grain and
live-stock farms. This difference is due to two causes. In the first
place, manure is applied mainly to corn land on both groups of
farms. The grain and live-stock farms, having more manure, get
larger yields of corn. But wheat gets comparatively little benefit
from the manure, dependence being placed on commercial fertilizers
for this crop. Table 6 shows that the grain farmers used more
fertilizer than the grain and live-stock farmers.. Hence they get
larger yields of wheat. The figures of this table show that, for those
farms using commercial fertilizers, the grain farmers used $11 worth
more per 100 acres of crops than did the grain and live-stock farmers.

TABLE 6.—Yield of corn and wheat on grain and live stock and on grain farms
(182 farms near Monett, Mo.).

Fertilizer bought
per 100 acres of
crops.

Type. Corn. Wheat.
Farms
reporting. All farms.
Bu. Bu.
Keranaiaric), Live: StOGk Taps). crs <a 28 4. beak f Seulteta ck Seeks fe 26.8 16.1 $44.5 $33.0
REM MALTI Sees nee tee ene cn cekise ec acess ecco sce eabeee seca 23.1 16.7 55.5 40.3

Studies of methods of maintaining good yields have shown that
the plowing under of sod crops is very important. Crops of this
character are not much grown in this region, almost the only sod
crop being a few acres of timothy, and usually this is left down for
many years and pastured rather closely, so that even when it is
plowed up not much effect results from the sod plowed under. In
the absence of sod crops and of abundant manure the plowing under
of crops especially sown for the purpose becomes important. But

14 BULLETIN 633, U. 8. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

this is a practice very little followed in this region. This phase of
the problem of maintaining soil fertility will be referred to again in
discussing the organization of farms in this area.

To show how important from the standpoint of profit good crop
yields are, the data given in Table 7 will be of interest. In order to
make the meaning of this table clear, it is necessary to tell what the
crop index is. To say that the crop index of a particular farm is 90

means that the average yield of crops on this farm is 90 per cent of :

the average of the community. The farms included in this survey
were divided into three groups, the first consisting of those on which
the crop index was 90 or less, the second those having a crop index from
90 to 110, and the third those with a crop index of more than 110.
There were 88 farms in the first group, 86 in the second, and 70 in
the third. The average size of farm was nearly the same in each
group. The average of the crop indexes of the first group was 76,
the second 100, and the third 129. The average labor income of the
first group was $122, of the second $377, and of the third $676.
These figures show the outstanding importance of keeping the land
fertile. It is one of the most important problems confronting
farmers in this region.

Tapie 7.—The effect of crop index on profits (244 farms near Monett, Mo.).

Groups based on crop index.
Item.
90 and 90.1to | 110.land
under. 110. over.
Non ber offarmiss: Asser saa caost an acetone ee SEC One eee eee 88 86 70
AVOTAPOCTOP INGOs apc tiieine oe ae asinine aot eae ain eetaeee eee ee ree 76 100 129
AVerar OA DON ICOM ems oe soem ts tans oe aaron ae ae eee eee meee $122 $377 $676

ORGANIZATION OF SOME TYPICAL FARMS.

The organization of three typical grain and live-stock farms is
shown in Table 8. Each of these farms has from 1054 to 107 acres
in crops. It happens also in each case that the operator owns part
of the land and rents additional land. The first one rents 62 acres,
the second one 40, and the third one 38. These farmers have recog-
nized the fact that it is easier to make a satisfactory income on a
large farm than on a small one, and have chosen a very satisfactory
means of enlarging their business in the absence of sufficient capital
to own all the land they can till. It will be noted that they have
almost exactly the same amount of live stock, the investment in this
item being about $1,100 in each case. On one of them the value of the
buildings, other than the dwelling, is very low. This is due to the

fact that the buildings are very old and practically ready to be
torn down.

FACTORS OF SUCCESSFUL FARMING NEAR MONETT, MO. 15

TABLE 8.—Three successful grain and live-stock farms (designated I, II, and
III) operated by owners renting additional land (Monett, Mo., area).

Rs THE FARM. -

Item. , ite tte 00G
oi VE DENIC DS eee Se eS oe eS ee a ne acres. . 1053 106 107
Area in pasture.......-....-.- BedoraGGn2 2003 cc SENS Pose AS sage eerse dol 34 15 37
PP oPljodl 2253- SE pease eae SeRSCoE dora 62 40 38
Investment of operator. ......-...-.---.----.----- Scio cose goeee dollars..| 9,493 7, 568 10, 493
MeliMprOnreaLeSlate PEL ACIO... 2.2.2.5 ones cece ee eee eee apieceene nop 56 48 61
MeRIOMIVE SLOG. 202 -can: - a2 72s 0 once ee cee sc lessees. --do....) 1,127 1, 132 1,094
7 Value of implements and machinery = 215 305 168
_ Feed and supplies on hand ee 111 101 191
Cash for current expenses..... aoe 40 30 40
\EELTS Tig hee 2 Un a SS ee oe re Secceeaae RoE 750 800 500
Malice taphombmuildings, 26.2: 5. 13252 2235! 44st, 4ofsies- les aA salle 75 400 500

CROPS.
Acres. Yield per acre.! Sales.
Kind. l
ne II. TI. Me TI. Il. I. i To.
Worst, Ck eee eR I 41 27 49 35 33 37 $340 $55 $589
\ hCG A ene 59 64 58 16 14 22 700 623 874
(OLS aS EA © eh ee 5 EO | erate once 15 27. |clohilatee = lab = 2 GkE | ncet= = acl nee
Strawberries, new.......-----|-------- Go || SocdccraseAsSSel :eoeosdolececs65-| Apes aace| Reeser eee
Blackberries..........-..---- || Ape Be EES ae DOM pee ate ols settle 223i) Serie pees Ss
BITES cede reas Seon eee teres bee ome ty ||soscode Slee Sees 33] Seececeel | eebneee eaenpbde eer er asa Beaeaaae
(oD Gate O SIS See Ege Eee ool ee Oe Re ees Beane aoe 1, 062 678 1, 463

1 Yields given are: For corn, wheat, and oats, bushels; for berries, crates; for grapes, baskets.

LIVE STOCK.

Sales and increases in

Number. aralria

Kind.

RECEIPTS, EXPENDITURES, AND PROFITS.

Item. ile iid Til.
bang lai an ish, oS eee eee Oat ane) ee ek cones Oe a re ae $1,835 | $2,604
Mente... ees s2 3 322 294
Other expenses . i 582 433
IY PETE E PEA Se Sek Ml ct tet A LS TS 931 1, 857
EERSTOS WOM OSEMONL Abo POMOC a. o oo oe ro aiee cine cede sed bees os sfesee we 475 378 525
LOWE EAT Ore Sete ge oe cec eae gs eg 810 553 1,332

q

TABLE 8.—Three successful grain and live-stock farms (designated I, II, and
II1) operated by owners renting additional land (Monett, Mo., area).—Con, _

FACTORS AFFECTING PROFITS.

16 BULLETIN 633, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

Item. do nL iD
Income per cow from sale of dairy products............-- 2.22.22 222 eee e eee cene $46 365 $45
ReedtMougt-e. os. ccs ate e ~~ sacs ee ene eee ence ee See ae ns an Seema e eae 75 105 tee
Hoertilizers bought...< =). coi.23 diocisac sabes tse arc c =a amas nas ee mre © ace = seca 10%. “Vo eae 20
Valasor family labor’. <...-2.-.- -teeeeerc cess =. 5. se ceaeeee sees ce cine ace eee 30 6 54
Costioblabomhired . . -\...<).<s0csseananeesoeect as se eseen ee ees ase bees eee 45 182 93
Moamiistot tabor’ on the:farm 22 Stesceees see ae snes ee eee aon eee ce een e cea 14.5 18.6 17.2
Average crop yields in percentage of community average..............-.-------- 111 103 140

The second section of the table shows the crops grown on these
farms—first, the acreage of each crop; second, the yield per acre; and
third, the sales of crop products. Each farm has approximately 60
acres of wheat. The second farm has only 27 acres of corn, but the
other two have between 40 and 50 acres. It will be seen later that the
second farm is not as successful as the other two. Too much land
is in wheat. This is shown by the yield of crops on these farms.
On the second farm the yield of wheat is only 14 bushels, while on the
third it is 22 bushels. Two of the farms have small acreages of oats,
none of which is sold. The second farm has undertaken to increase
its income by adding 4 acres of strawberries, which is probably wise
in this case, though the acreage is a little large for the conditions.
The first farm has a small patch of blackberries, from which there
was an income of $22. The second farm has a small patch of grapes,
but with no income from this source.

A study of the results given later in this table leads to the con-
clusion that the second farm is not so well organized and managed
as the first and third. It has too much of its land in wheat, too little
in corn, and too much in oats. The presence of grapes on the farm,
a crop not well adapted to the region, confirms this conclusion. It
will be noticed that the total income from the sale of crops on the
second farm is only two-thirds to one-half as much as on the other
two.

The next section of the table shows the live stock on these farms.
Each farm has from four to five cows and from two to six head of
young cattle. One of the farms reports a steer, which was a calf
raised on the farm. The total income from cattle on each farm was
from $323 to $360, of which $225 to $260 was from the sale of cream.
These farmers were patrons of a creamery. The second farm raised
two colts, and the third raised three. The third farm has too many
horses for its size, but this defect is balanced by the raising of colts.
The income from hogs varies from $95 to $175, and from poultry
from $59 to $96. Both of these sources of income could be made
more important with profit.

The total receipts on these farms, shown in the next section of the
table, vary from about $1,800 on the second to $2,600 on the third.

ae a Oe

FACTORS OF SUCCESSFUL FARMING NEAR MONETT, MO. 17

The amount of rent they pay runs from about $300 to $400. Other
expenses run from about $400 to $600. The high expenses on the
second farm are due to the large amount of labor hired, which comes
to $182. On the other two farms this figure is less than $100.

The net income, after deducting rent and other expenses, varies

on these three farms from $931 to $1,857. This represents interest

on the investment and wages for the labor and managing ability
of the operator. Deducting interest on the investment, these three
farms have labor incomes of from $500. to $1,300. These are con-
siderably above the average for the region. Especially in the case

of the first and third farms the labor incomes are very satisfactory.

The last section of the table shows a few of the factors which
affect the general results obtained on these farms. The most im-
portant figures are those relating to the average yield of crops on
these farms, given in the last line of the table. On the first farm the
average yield of crops is 11 per cent above the average for the
farms surveyed in the community, on the second 8 per cent above,
while on the third farm it is 40 per cent above. It will be noticed
that the labor income is approximately proportional to these figures
expressing the average yield of crops on these farms.

Two of the farms obtained incomes from the sale of cream amount-
ing to about $45 per cow. The other sold $65 worth of cream per
cow. The amount of feed bought is small, the third farm, with its
good yields, spending nothing for this purpose.

The total amount of labor on these three farms was equivalent to
from 14.5 to 18.6 months of labor for one man. In other words,
these farms are intermediate between one-man and two-man farms.
Undoubtedly it would be profitable to convert each of them into full
two-man farms by the addition of a little more live stock, a small
acreage of forage crops, and a small acreage of strawberries.

The organization of the grain farms in this region differs from
that of the grain and live stock farms mainly in the smaller amount
of live stock kept, the greater acreage of land devoted to wheat, and
the smaller acreage devoted to corn. On the grain and fruit farms
the organization differs from that of the grain and live-stock farms
by the introduction of a few acres of fruit, usually of strawberries,
and by the smaller amount of live stock kept.

ORGANIZATION OF DAIRY FARMS.

As previously stated, four farms were found in this survey hav-
ing considerable income from dairy products. The smallest number
of cows on any of these four farms was 13 and the largest number
28. The income from the sale of dairy products on the four farms

18 BULLETIN 633, U. 8. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

was, respectively, $1,840 from 28 cows, $1,125 from 17 cows, $600
from 20 cows, and $624 from 13 cows. The farm having 28 cows .
raised 12 acres of corn and 10 acres of sorghum fodder; also 4 acres
of millet and 3 acres of rye for hay. It had only 52.5 acres of crops,
there being only 14 acres of wheat. The other three farms had from
100 to 135 acres of crops, including from 40 to 60 acres of wheat.
One of these farms had 30 acres of corn, 15 of which was cut for
silage. Because of the large number of cows on these farms it was
necessary to supplement the corn by other kinds of forage. As al-
ready stated, one of the farms did this by growing 10 acres of
sorghum fodder, 4 acres of millet, and 3 acres of rye hay. An-
other, which had 20 acres of corn, grew also 20 acres of sorghum”
fodder. The farm which had 15 acres of corn for grain and 15 acres
of silage had 12 acres of clover for hay and 15 acres of rye pasture.
The other farm had 40 acres of corn, 5 acres of cowpeas, and 25
acres of oats. é

Two of these farms sold all their milk at retail in the town of
Monett, the retail price being 44 cents a quart. The income per cow
for milk sold on these two farms was, in both cases, $67. A third
farm obtained $200 for retail milk at 5 cents a quart and $400 from —
cream sold to the creamery at an average of 25 cents per pound for
butter fat. The fourth farm sold only butter, the average price being
274 cents, and the income from this source being $624. The labor
incomes on these farms were $1,691, $552, $663, and $1,299, re-
spectively.

A good dairy cow should produce 4,000 or 5,000 pounds of good
milk a year. The average pounds of milk per cow on these four
farms, not counting the milk consumed on the farm, was as follows:
3,188, 3,748, 2,030, and 2,268. On three of them the cows were all
Jerseys, some of them pure bred and others grades. One of the
farms had Jersey grade cows with a Hereford bull. It also had four
pure-bred Hereford cows and was probably changing from the dairy
business to the beef-cattle business. It would be a great mistake
for a dairyman to use a bull of a beef breed if he wishes to continue
in the dairy business.

Judging by the experience of the majority of farmers here the
proper status of dairying in this region, except for the few farms
that are needed to supply milk to the town, is represented by the
keeping of a few cows mainly as a means of converting roughage
and other unsalable materials into a salable product, the cream
being sold to creameries and the young stock being raised mainly
on waste products of the farm. These cows should be either good
dairy cows or good animals of a beef breed, the principal income
from them in the latter case being from the sale of young stock.

FACTORS OF SUCCESSFUL FARMING NEAR MONETT, MO. LO

A WELL-ORGANIZED TWO-MAN FARM.

These studies indicate that a satisfactory business can be conducted
on a well-organized farm in this region. The most important diffi-
_ culty confronting the farmers here appears to lie in the fact that the

system of farming which seems to be best adapted to local economic
conditions does not provide satisfactory means of keeping up the
fertility of the soil. The most important factors in maintaining
fertility are sod crops, manure, and fertilizers. The area of sod crops
_grown on these farms or needed in the local farm economy is very
small and has very little influence on the fertility of the soil. Par-
ticularly is this the case when the sod, which usually is timothy, is
kept for several years and pastured rather closely before being
plowed up.

The amount of live stock kept on these farms is not only small, but
such animals as are maintained are kept out of doors a very large
part of the time and a great deal of the manure is lost, so far as
the field crops are concerned.

Aside from the loss of manure from unconfined live stock, the prin-
cipal wastage on these farms is in corn fodder and wheat straw.
There is every reason to believe that if cowpeas were planted with
all the corn at the time the corn is planted, using two cowpea seed for
every grain or corn, and then cutting the corn for fodder, it would
pay these farmers to keep enough live stock to consume these corn
stalks with the cowpea vines on them. If the stock kept for this pur-
pose are dairy cows it will be necessary, of course, to buy considerable
quantities of mill products to feed with the roughage. Whether this
will pay will depend on the dairy quality of the cows kept. Con-

ditions are not highly favorable to the dairy industry here. They

are rather favorable to the raising of beef cattle. A considerable
herd of cows of a beef breed could be maintained on these farms
largely on roughage in winter and pasture in summer, and as this
roughage is now available it would seem that this business ought to
add considerably to the farm income in this region. Particularly
would this be true if the cows were such as to produce $45 to $60
worth of dairy products per year in addition to a good calf.

In this connection it may be mentioned that in recent years quite
a number of farmers in-this general region have stocked their farms
with pure-bred beef cattle, and the results are proving to be very
satisfactory. This is a type of cattle farming that does not require
a great deal of labor and that provides an outlet for the wastes
which now occur on these farms. At the same time it does not re-
quire the purchase of large quantities of mill stuffs, for these ani-
mals can be maintained very well on cornstalks and cowpea fodder
of good quality, a little straw, and a little corn, with perhaps an

20 BULLETIN 633, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,

occasional feed of bran or shorts. If good pastures are provided for
the summer season, the expense of keeping a mature herd of this kind
will be rather small. :

These studies indicate that a well-organized two-man farm in this
region might be based upon the following crops: Corn and cowpeas,
40 acres; wheat, 60 acres; miscellaneous forage crops, such as soy
beans, sorghum, oats, alfalfa, each in small acreages, say 2 to 4
acres; half an acre of garden; 14 acres of apple orchard, mainly for
home use. There bach also be 3 acres of strawberries, 2 2 in bear-
ing. This would give 117 acres of crops. .

Two men, with four good horses, and with all the Kent work done
with four-horse implements, could tend all these crops easily and
do all the work, except at harvest time, without additional help;
and they would have time to spare.

A good complement of live stock for such a farm would be two
mules and four high-grade brood mares, these four mares doing the
full work of two horses, and when bred to a sound pure-bred stallion
or the same type or breed should raise two colts each year. These
two colts, when sold at a year old, should bring at least $100. Since
the two mares not at work could be maintained rather cheaply and
could help to consume some of the wastage on the farm, it is believed
that this $100 income from colts would more than justify the keep-
ing of the two additional mares.

Five cows, either of a dairy breed or of a beef breed, with five
young cattle constantly on hand, would, with the help of the horses,
consume the larger part of the waste of the farm, together with the
small areas of miscellaneous forage crops mentioned above.

Two good brood sows, each raising two litters a year, amounting
to at least 20 pigs during the year, would be about the right com-
plement of swine, though if proper means were taken to guard
against cholera, and if the relative price of corn and hogs should jus-
tify it, the number of brood sows kept might be larger than this. As-
suming that five hogs will be needed for home use, this would permit
a sale of fifteen 200-pound hogs a year.

Such a farm could maintain 150 hens easily, with very little
cost. ‘These hens, if handled with a little intelligent care, should
sasily bring in a dollar apiece annually, in addition to poultry prod-
ucts used on the farm.

Such a complement of live stock as outlined would consume most
of the corn, all the corn and cowpea fodder, the miscellaneous forage
crops, and a portion of the straw. The remainder of the straw
should be used very liberally for bedding for the live stock.

An organization such as this could be established on a farm of
160 acres, provided there is not over 10 acres of waste land, which,
in the nature of the case, must be devoted to the growing of timber.
This would permit, in addition to the 117 acres of crops, 26 acres

FACTORS OF SUCCESSFUL FARMING NEAR MONETT, MO. 21

_ of permanent pasture, 5 acres for roads and fences, 2 acres for yards

and lots, and 10 acres for woods. If much of the farm is rough land,

the area would have to be proportionately larger.
Such a farm would be particularly advantageous for a farmer with

one or two growing boys large enough to take part in the farm work;

also for the farmer who is growing old and is no longer able to make
a full hand at the heavy work on the farm. With one dependable
hand hired by the year and the use of four-horse implements as far
as practicable, the hired man could do nearly all the field work of
such a farm, leaving the owner to look after the live stock, the straw-
berries, garden, and orchard, and to keep in repair the buildings
fences, implements, etc. The farm family could tend the poultry.
Such a farm would have the equivalent of about eighteen 1,000-
pound animals. These animals would produce approximately 180
tons of manure in a year. The bulk and value of this manure could
be increased greatly by the liberal use of straw as bedding. By
proper management:100 tons of mixed manure and straw could be

b]

distributed on the fields every year. This would give an average of

24 tons for every acre of corn on the farm. Such use of the manure
should have a very important influence in keeping up the fertility of
the soil.

The wheat straw produced on this farm should be returned to the
land in some way. As much of it as possible should be used as bed-
ding for the farm animals, and in this way be put into the manure.
This gives a chance to rot the straw before it is put back on the
land, a very important matter, since partially rotted straw is much
better for the land than fresh straw. Such of it as can not be used
in this way may be scattered directly on the fields. A very thin coat-
ing of straw can be spread upon wheat during the winter. A better
plan is to scatter straw in the fall of the year on land that is to be
devoted to corn the next year and then disk it into the soil before
winter sets in.

Each field will be in wheat three times in succession, the first time
following corn. After the third crop of wheat has been harvested
from the field it would be a good plan to. sow some crop immediately.
It would not be necessary to plow for this crop, but it would be ad-
visable to run a disk harrow over the land. The crop might consist
of corn or sorghum sown thickly, or it might be cowpeas or soy
beans. At some convenient time in the late summer or early winter
this crop should be plowed under. It might be pastured for a while
before plowing. By using all these means of adding humus-making
material to the soil, and then by the use of such fertilizers for wheat
as local experience has proved to be most profitable, the yields of
corn and wheat might easily be raised considerably above the average
for the region.

22 BULLETIN 633, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

LEGUMES. 2

From the standpoint of the farmer the most important character-
istic of the legume crops, like clover, alfalfa, cowpeas, soy beans, ete.,
is the fact that each of them has the power of supporting in their
roots a kind of bacteria that gets nitrogen out of the air, and thus
crops of this kind enrich the soil in nitrogen —one of the most im-
portant elements of soil fertility.

Clover has been grown more or less in southwestern Missouri since
the country was settled. In some localities it is well established and
holds a place in the cropping system. But, generally speaking, the

experience of the farmers of this section with the clover crop has not _

been satisfactory. In those regions where clover is grown regularly
the common practice is to sow it in the spring on winter wheat or
with some spring grain crop. This method has been tried many
times by the farmers of this region, sometimes with complete success
but more often with more or less complete failure. The trouble is
that in many years the moisture is not sufficient for both the grain
crop and the young clover crop, and the clover dies either before the
grain crop is harvested or immediately thereafter.

A few farmers of this general region have been successful with
clover by sowing it alone in the spring cn well-prepared land. It
makes a small crop the first year and a good crop the second year:
but this takes two years’ use of the land in order to get a crop of
clover, which is not satisfactory to most farmers. If the farmer could
depend upon securing a good stand of clover by sowing it in the
spring on winter wheat, the clover crop undoubtedly would be stand-
ard in this section; but since this method is not dependable, clover is
of very small importance here.

Most of these farmers have tried alfalfa. Generally speaking, the ;

crop has failed, though a few farmers in these two counties have
grown it with greater or less success. It can not be recommended
generally as a field crop here, though it is probable that with a little
special attention a few acres of it might be grown to advantage on
almost any farm. In this region it should be sown only on the
richest land, and the land should be thoroughly limed and thoroughly
inoculated either with dirt from an alfalfa field or from a sweet
clover patch or with pure cultures of the alfalfa bacteria. If then
the land is well prepared and harrowed frequently enough to kill the
weed seeds in the surface, and the alfalfa sown at a time when the
land has proper moisture in it late in the summer or in very early
fall, the chance for a good stand of alfalfa is fair.

The only legume which is grown from time to time with success by
practically all these farmers is the cowpea. All the land in this
region appears to be inoculated for this crop; that is, it contains the

an
te

er

FACTORS OF SUCCESSFUL FARMING NEAR MONETT, MO. 23

particular kind of bacteria that the cowpea crop requires in order to
thrive. A few farmers grow a considerable acreage of cowpeas for
hay. Relatively few plant cowpeas in their cornfields. But in view of
the fact that the system of farming which prevails in this region is

-one which does not maintain soil fertility, it is advisable for farmers

generally te give more attention to the cowpea crop. It has already
been suggested that it is a good plan to plant the cowpeas with the
corn at the time the corn is planted. When this is done the roots of
the cowpeas will leave considerable nitrogen in the soil, and the
cowpea vines, which will be harvested with the corn fodder, will ulti-
mately be converted into manure and returned to the soil. In case
the corn is not to be cut for fodder, it is just as well to plant the cow-
peas in the corn at the time of the last cultivation of the corn and
then plow the vines under either early in the winter or the next
spring. This, of course, is not practicable where wheat is to follow
corn, but it can be done where corn or any other spring crop follows
corn.

The soy-bean crop deserves more attention than it has received
from farmers in this region. It has been tried frequently here, but
not always with satisfactory results, for the reason that some farmers
do not understand its requirements. Cowpeas have been grown in
America for 150 years, and the soil all over the eastern half of the
United States appears to be thoroughly inoculated for this crop.
Soy beans, on the other hand, were brought to this country rather
recently from Japan and Manchuria. They will not thrive unless
the soil has the proper kind of bacteria in it, and these bacteria are
not yet generally spread over the country. Hence, in order to grow
soy beans successfully the soil must be inoculated for them.

There are several methods of inoculating the soil for soy beans.
Soy-bean seed carry some of the inoculating material, but very
little. If a small patch be planted to soy beans for two or three
years in succession it will become well inoculated, and the soil from
this patch may then be used for inoculating any other part of the
farm where soy beans are to be planted. Another method is to
moisten the soy-bean seed with water in which a little glue has been
dissolved, sprinkle a little dirt from a soy-bean field over the seed, let
it dry, and then plant the seed. Great care must be used in this
method not to let the sun shine on the seed, for sunlight kills these
bacteria very quickly. Another method is to use the pure cultures
of the soy-bean bacteria such as those furnished by the United States
Department of Agriculture.

Soy beans have several very distinct advantages over cowpeas.

_ The most important is that they ordinarily yield from half as much

again to twice as much seed per acre as do cowpeas. They can be
made into hay more easily than cowpeas, and this hay, if fed with a

24 BULLETIN 633, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

proper mixture of coarser material, such as corn fodder, is just as
good as cowpea hay. Another very important point is that soy
beans can be used for hog pasture at any time, for hogs will eat the
leaves on soy beans greedily, while cowpeas are good hog pasture only
when the seed is ripe. Soy beans are also excellent human food.

The subject of legumes is discussed here somewhat in detail be-
cause of the great need for means of building up soil fertility in this
region. In view of the fact that clover is not satisfactory, it is
believed that it would be very distinctly advantageous for these
farmers to sow cowpeas or soy beans, or at least some crop that will
make a growth that can be turned under after wheat that is to be
followed by corn.

TENURE.

One hundred and thirty-two of the farms studied in this survey
were operated by their owners; 88 were operated by owners renting
additional land; 24 were operated by tenants. Of 30 of the larger
farms, part was rented out, the owner having more land than he
could operate satisfactorily. Of the 88 owners renting additional
land, 53 were in the group of grain and live-stock farmers and 18 in
the group of grain farmers. Exactly half of the tenants were on
grain farms, 9 on grain and live-stock farms, 2 on grain and fruit
farms, and 1 on a fruit farm. Less than 10 per cent of the farms in
this region are operated by tenants. This is much lower than the
general average of tenant farming in the Middle West, or for that
matter in any large area in the country. This is due partly to the
average small incomes made on farms in the region. A tenant farm
ordinarily must contribute to the living of two families. Hence
tenant farming is not common outside of the plantation system in
the South except where the farms are fairly large and productive.

_ Table 10 gives some interesting facts about land tenure in this
region.

TABLE 10.—Relation of tenure to projits (1382 farms near Monett, Mo.).

Owners, | Owners,

renting part
Item. Owners. | “4, age rented Tenant. /Landlord.

tional. out.
Number offarms Se -s402 2-2. oaks eee gt eee e soe 132 88 30 | 24 24
COD STOR aac a: aatnbe aad cas ate ae tg ee acres. . 76.5 87.8 89. 2 83. 4 83.4
Cap lialeees 2c PSE EC ED GL OCS Fe dollars. . 9, 130 6,519 | 10,370 1,061 7, 144
an NGOMIO 2 aa e a te ee a. Poem eat ene doz: 765 748 603 477 232
Percentage on investment 1_............... per cent. . 5.2 5.8 3.5 18.7 3.2

1 After deducting operator’s labor from farm income.

Tenant farms, on the average, have a larger crop acreage than
owner farms. Tenants, with a capital only one-ninth that of the
owners, obtained an income more than half as large. By deducting

<
y
F
.

FACTORS OF SUCCESSFUL FARMING NEAR MONETT, MO. 25

from the farm income the value of the farmer’s labor and converting
the remainder into percentage of the investment of the operator, the

results shown in the last line of this table are obtained. The average
income on the investment of owners is 5.2 per cent. Farmers who

own some land and rent other land have only about two-thirds as

much capital as those who own all their land, but they make 5.8 per
cent interest on their capital. Those farmers who have more land
than they can till properly and rent part of it out make only 34
per cent on their investment. The tenant, whose capital is all in-
vested in live stock, implements and machinery, and other working
capital, makes, in addition to his wages, 18.7 per cent interest on his
investment. The owners of the tenant farms make 3.2 per cent net
income after deducting their expenses.

The facts in this table are of interest to the young man who is
just starting out with a very-small amount of capital. They indicate
that his wisest course is to farm a few years as a tenant, for by so
doing he can make more money than if he invested his small capital
in land. ;

TABLE 11.—Relation of a given amount of capital to farm income of owners and
tenants (220 farms near Monett, Mo.).

Owners. Tenants.
Capital group. . s a _
= | arm arm arm arm
Number. | area. | income. Number.| ‘rea. | income.
DD) SERUERSS aes so gaat sence Hae OS reer) ECHEE EEE) se ers 3 52 $337
Seen OREM NER ee Sarat er am aicha a(n ciniw ais wiela aicieveaaicl|eeeciele ae celesaseecees 10 99 363
ene MN eee Rem ce et ae canis sinc ee eis Oclc cteisisctealeclsccinawec|ceevcecess 9 122 436
DEANE S55 el er re ae 23 54 $337 2 317 1, 442
al ADLSCTE (CU eae eat a a 50 72 FUN aed aeihtlol bii| | MeL Se
VS UD ae SEA eae el ET SS a a 32 94 HIE SIT cRoe St Ae ae [We RR
“COCO UTES: ee ee ae ae 38 131 QB ares cit as ae ec yt eee ee
2 HUU SD ECS ESCO 0 54 156 (els bylbcdac veece eoeene aealemame aaeer
CONCH USAT a Et el ene 23 250 a5 bene eran is ctctell aioe ware oe ecco ee aau
PREMPATINSS 5 ic cece ates cs Prarie rats eis Basar! 220 123 834 24 120 447

This fact is brought out still more strikingly in Table 11. Con-
sidering only owners and tenants, three farmers are found with $500
or less invested. These are all tenants farming an average area of 52
acres and making a net income of $337. In the next group are 10
farmers having a capital of $500 to $1,000, operating farms averaging
99 acres in area and making incomes of $363. These are all tenant

farmers. In the next group 9 farmers, with capital of from one

to two thousand, are operating farms of 122 acres and obtaining
a net income of $436. It is significant that these also are tenant
farmers.

In the next group, with $2,000 to $4,000 capital, are 25 farmers.
All but two of them have bought small farms. Those who have
bought farms are making incomes averaging $337. The two who

26 BULLETIN 633, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

have remained tenants are making incomes averaging $1,442. Be-
yond this point the desire for economic independence and other ad-
vantages that accrue from the ownership of land becomes so strong
that every farmer is an owner. It will be noticed that among the
farms included in this study just as soon as the average income rises
to a point which represents a satisfactory standard of living from
owner operation. tenantry ceases.

Another factor is involved here. The two farmers in the fourth
group who remained tenants are operating farms averaging 317
acres in size. These farms are almost too large for the managerial
ability of the average man. Hence the man on these farms who has
more than $4,000 worth of capital finds it difficult to utilize all his
capital as a tenant and very naturally invests it inland. The lesson
is clear, however, for the young man with a small capital. For a few
years at least it will be distinctly to his financial advantage to rent
a good farm as large as his capital will permit. When. he has saved
enough to make a first payment on a farm large enough to permit a
good standard: of living, he then may well contemplate becoming
zn owner, and it is desirable from the standpoint of the public wel-
fare that he do so.

}

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System of Farm Cost Accounting. (Farmers’ Bulletin 572.)

A Corn-Belt Farming System Which Saves Harvest Labor: by Hogging Down
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Eeonomie Study of Farm Tractor in Corn Belt. ; (Farmers’ Bulletin 719.)

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