TES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE _ BULLETIN No. 648 OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY Contribution from the Office of Farm Management 2 W. J. SPILLMAN, Chief May 1, 1918 A FARM-MANAGEMENT SURVEY IN BROOKS COUNTY, GEORGIA By E. S. HASKELL, Assistant Agriculturist CONTENTS Page _ Description of Area Surveyed .... 1 | Size of Business Method and Scope of Investigaiion . . Quality of Farm Business of Farming Organization . | Tenure and Landlord’s Profits . ... Cost of Production r Labor Systems WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 6 1918 Monograph : 4 ee see tre oe : WAY: 24 1918 Cae t =) ies Ag < ¢ Dhaene NOME - yhe 4 al i> Taher? a UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE BULLETIN No. 648 , OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY. bas Contribution from the Office of Farm Management. W. J. SPILLMAN, Chief. Washington, D. C. Vv May 1, 1918 A FARM-MANAGEMENT SURVEY IN BROOKS COUNTY, GEORGIA. By E. 8S. Haskerr, Assistant Agriculturist. CONTENTS. Page. Page. Description of area surveyed.....---.-.------ | S120) OL DUSINCSS oo cwerciasiviies i DUSHSIS: o>... cock acleee eas 22 ! 11.2 73 a—1.68 Ostshe® 2.665) fascateede ne Thito20bushelss. 2k 6.3) ek ees 22 16.1 47 1.21 Za TOZO DUSHCIS.— ccte wean eee 10 PAVE 37 3.42 Ojveri25 pushels 82.2 ee 8 27.9 36 4.44 AVOIESO Rs S5s5 Seas ss 70 | 15.8 56 56 Dede 0.5 ton. 16 34 26.88 a—l.74 : .5 to 0.75 ton. eral 37 56 17.20 58 Cowpea hay....-..--.-.-.- os toiiton.. 21 .s ed a 5 "32 | 12.03 5.42 1 ton and over ae 8 1.06 11.23 8.62 Averages. ste cee se anon 66 | .59 | 18.57 1.42 ad 0.35 erica? pede een eee a 29 73.36 a—3. e foo LOO. 49 Carloads oof scp te see 13 . 42 53.68 1.84 Watermelons.............- 0.50 to 0.59 carload................ 17 ‘51 | 51.26 2.01 O60 Andover: =< -<-ncccaee a seen 10 -70 41.60 15.08 RveintO. gen eee ee 45 | 50} 52.54 | 4.23 Under 100 bushels...) 44sec 7 70 -36 14.18 Sweet potatoes............ HOO Uushels... eo ce ee es eee 12) “108 28 27.27 ©:ver100) bushels s22 2-52. ee 7 162 . 22 65. 0L Rgpiatis of. bia. ee ae 26 | 108 29 | 33.90 a Loss. These results would indicate that where the market prices and other conditions are similar to those found at the time these records were taken it is necessary to obtain a cotton yield greater that 200 pounds of net lint per acre if a profit is to be secured. But these records were taken before the cotton-boll weevil had invaded the county. With the expenses of fighting the weevil added, either yields higher than 200 pounds per acre, or prices higher than 10 cents per pound are necessary if the crop is to show a profit to the grower. The data presented also indicate that under the conditions found, with corn at an average price of 75 cents per bushel, it is necessary to secure a yield above 10 bushels per acre of corn planted in rows alter- nating with peanuts, or about 18 bushels of corn planted “ solid,” if a profit is to be shown when figured by cost determination methods. A FARM MANAGEMENT SURVEY IN BROOKS CO., GA. 23 Similarly, oats must yield about 15 bushels to show a profit at an average price of approximately 50 cents; but when the yield slightly exceeds 25 bushels, the cost is reduced to 36 cents per bushel. The latter yields a good margin of profit. Cowpea hay yielding one-third of a ton to the acre costs $26.88 per ton to produce, and entailed a loss of $1.74 per acre. Increasing the - DOLLARS PER TON COST OF WATERMELONS PER CARLOAD COST OF SWEET POTATOES - CENTS PER BUSHELS COST OF COWPEA HAY a ° YIELD -SWEET POTATOES IN BUSHELS 1.2 6 8 1.0 YIELO - COWPEA HAY IN TON 200 300 soc 500 YIELO OF COTTON~ POUNDS PER ACRE Fic. 11.—Relation of yields of principal crops to cost per crop unit. yield to one-half a ton brought the cost down to approximately the market price, and increasing it to slightly over a ton reduced the cost per ton to $11.23 and resulted in an acre profit of $8.62. Watermelon yields of one-third of a carload per acre must bring about $75 per car at the point of loading, if the grower is to “ break 27202°—18—Bull. 648-4 24 BULLETIN 648, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. even.” But if he increases this yield to half a carload he can sell for $50 without loss, and if he further increases the production to two- thirds of a car per acre, $40 per load will cover all costs. All the yields of sweet potatoes found show a wide margin of profit. Average yields of 70 bushels per acre cost 386 cents per bushel; increasing the yield to 100 bushels reduced the cost to 28 cents, while a further increase to 162 bushels further reduced the cost to 22 cents. The records for this crop are few in number and repre- sent small scale production. But the costs and margins shown would indicate that the crop offers commercial possibilities for the grower. The manner in which the costs per crop unit decrease with increas- ing yields is shown for the six important crops by the curves in figure 11. ‘There is, of course, for each crop under any set of conditions a point beyond which any further increase in yield can be secured only at a cost per unit higher than the returns. On some individual farms in Brooks County this point of “ diminishing returns” has no doubt been reached or exceeded; but these tabulations show that in no case have any of the groups of farms studied brought the crop yields to that point. Evidently one of the surest means of increasing the profitableness of these farms is the increasing of the crop yields. * UTILIZATION OF WORK-STOCK LABOR. ‘The largest item of cost, next to that of man labor, is the cost of work stock. In this study it was found to amount to $509 per farm, which is approximately equal to half of the cost of all man labor, or 19.2 per cent of the cost of producing all farm crops. Figured on the basis of the cost per day of productive labor, the work stock cost $1.07, as compared with $1.20 for man labor. Manifestly, the utilization of work stock so as to keep down this large element of cost is one of the chief factors in determining profits on these farms. Taste IX.—Relation of number of productive days mule labor per mule to farm returns, acres per mule, and cost of mule labor per day (Brooks County, Ga.). number Productive days mule labor per mule. Nee Pe oe Forte per mule.| Per day Dyan OSS sts care a Joee a aes sear 233.22 Re See eee 12 62 $1.70 ZG BCL OQOE 2 8a 2 he eee Se are a SB a Serpe mn A ci pa at a ee 26 .88 1.23 hi) bac 65 eee ee Sei hm es eee Ae regs ee) Soret ope ene 2S Sug She 33 112 1.00 p25 CER Se Coens 5 ee eee See Rpm nee eet Sets eer sre ote tee Cease 21 137 - 84 ath 0A Gage Se ee ee OER Re ew co ee ee cc cis aceon 14 172 72 ANIME Sisc2.c sheet Sh. Mae J See Lae ele eee 106 113 1.07 A FARM MANAGEMENT SURVEY IN BROOKS CO., GA. 25 Increasing the amount of productive labor per mule reduces the cost per day of such labor, resulting in a lower cost of production and larger farm profits. farms are grouped on the basis of the number of days of labor per mule. On the group of farms reporting the least productice labor per mule, or an average of 62 days per year, the cost per day of mule labor amounted to $1.70, which daily cost decreased regu- larly to 72 cents on the group reporting the most labor, or 172 days per mule. The striking relation be- tween increasing days’ work per mule and decreasing cost per day of mule labor is shown by the curve in figure 12. It may well be asked by what means some > q!- fa) c w o ia fe} . a < | w a 2 . =z = ”) ° u a ro) DAYS PRODUCTIVE LABOR PER MULE This is shown by Table TX, in which the Fig. 12.—Relation of days of productive labor per mule to the cost per day. of the farms provided so much more employment for the work stock than did others. The data in Table X indicate that the area culti- vated per mule is the most important factor. Taste X.—Relation of number of acres of crop land per mule to utilization of mule labor and to farm returns (Brooks County, Ga.). Average Ae acres shit Number of acres crop land per | Number | 9 of crop mule, of farms. | Jang ae land per nt farm. LEDS ee ee 11 16 48 POPE tec bcc ctoecc sdigcniecse 18 22 81 5 090. he 21 27 113 PIBAONCDS cio ce eas at ron sk mene 24 32 144 BRON OVE - 8525 ons) 255\5-nioe-e 32 42 233 MEDD okra y ics VS aa 2 106 | 31 145 Acres of cotton per mule, | Sone a POO; Days ~ Cost on of cotton | Index of per per earnings, Fale! pound, 67 $0. 095 80 89 - 092 71 108 -092 103 124 . 083 123 139 - 080 101 113 020 100 26 BULLETIN 648, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. Acres of crop land per mule.—In Table X the farms are grouped according to the amount of crop land worked per mule. The farms that have the fewest acres per mule, or an average of 16, secured only 67 days productive work from each animal, but as the number of acres increased, the number of days per mule increased regularly to an average of 139 on the group that operated the largest area per animal. This increased employment of the work stock resulted in a corresponding decrease in the cost per day of productive labor from $1.50 to $0.90. Such an economy in so important an item of cost must necessarily result in lower costs of production and greater profits. The cost of producing cotton decreased from 9}$ cents per pound on the first-mentioned group of farms to 8.3 cents on the farms that operated 30 or 35 acres per mule, but it increased to 9 cents on the farms that had more than 35 acres per animal. This result was corroborated by the index of earnings, which increases markedly up to the point of 30 to 35 acres per mule. Beyond this the profits are less. An apparent irregularity appears in that the index earnings were greater for the first than for the second group of farms shown in Table X. The explanation is that two or three farms with good crop yields and a low investment secured a high percentage of re- turns in spite of inadequate utilization of work stock. The number of farms in the group was insufficient fully to neutralize the influence of these few abnormal farms. It will be noted that the farms which cultivated the fomecieas acres per mule average smaller in size than those which operated a larger area per animal. Undoubtedly the larger farms possess advantages which facilitate their organization upon a basis providing for the more eflicient employment of work stock labor. It may further be stated that the cultivation of an increased number of acres per work animal was not at the expense of crop yields. In fact, the lowest yields were found in the group that worked the smallest area per animal. It is not probable that all the differences in costs and profits shown can be attributed to the differences in relative employment of work stock, for the men who keep their work stock efficiently employed are likely to be also more efficient in other respects. But the method of. grouping used eliminates the effect of other factors as far as pos- sible, and it is believed that the influence of area per mule has not been greatly overemphasized. Farmers are often advised to reduce the number of acres per mule in order to cultivate the remaining acres more intensively, but the preceding table would seem to show that it is much more important to cultivate a sufficient number of acres per work animal to keep that A FARM MANAGEMENT SURVEY IN BROOKS CO., GA. 2% labor efficiently employed. From 30 to 35 acres per mule would seem to be the proper acreage under the conditions here found. The soil on these farms is a light sand and is easily cultivated. On a heavier type of soil, no doubt, fewer acres per mule would be found to be more desirable. RELATION OF AMOUNT OF TILLAGE TO COSTS AND PROFITS. Much has been said regarding the benefits arising from déep plow- ing, thorough and frequent preparation of the seedbed, and fre- quency of cultivation, much of the advice on these points making little or no distinction between types of soil. In gathering data for the purpose of calculating costs of production in this study, the amount of man and mule labor involved in each operation of each crop was ascertained for each farm. It is thus possible to study the profitableness of different amounts of tillage. Using the amount of mule labor expended per acre as probably the best available measure of the degree of tillage, the effect of that factor upon the profits and costs of cotton have been tabulated and the results shown in Table XI. The cotton crop was used because it was the most important crop grown here and because for it the jargest number of records are available. The figures upon which this table is based include all of the mule labor spent on the cotton up to and including the planting of the crop. TABLE XI.—Relation of amount of mule labor expended in preparatory tillage of cotton to costs and profits (Brooks County, Ga.). Average Number | MWe | yield at +? days Profit | net lint Days mule labor per acre, preparatory tillage. Grier prepara- ares per acre. per : tory = pound. tillage. Pounds ae Se EMC Aten eer Sen no a eee aces ss icie ite acaiee 15 1.14 292 $8. 47 $0. 085 “LOFT Lappe aa ig Sana ie ce ones ae See er 44 1.77 293 8.37 087 Ue on gee eo a I aden see eee 51 2.22 298 6.53 093 CT TATU! SITE A belle a) ie on 5 ce ae a Ee 33 2.89 311 | 6. 22 096 Pee cated Wert ye aS SS 143 | | 2.12 299| 7.04 | 091 It will be seen that the increasing amounts of mule labor were ac- companied by slowly increasing yields, but that these yields were not sufficient to offset the increased cost. Thus the cost per pound of net lint cotton increased regularly from 8.5 cents for the group that expended Jess than 1.5 days of mule labor per acre, to 9.6 cents for those on which more than 2.5 days were expended. These increased costs cut the profits per acre from $8.47 to $6.22. The results shown in this table would indicate that the extra labor cost involved in the deeper and more prolonged preparatory tillage 28 BULLETIN 648, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. of cotton is not profitable on the light, sandy soils of this area. A similar tabulation based on the total amount of mule labor expended on cotton up to the time of harvesting the crop gave similar results, though slightly less pronounced. The results in this case were less pronounced because there is less difference in the practices of culti- vating the crop after planting than there is up to that time. Similar tabulations based on man labor gave less consistent results, since man labor is not so good a measure of the amount of tillage, owing to the differences in the number of mules used per team. No doubt different results would have been found on a heavier type of soil. RELATION OF AMOUNT OF FERTILIZER APPLICATIONS TO YIELDS, COSTS, AND PROFITS. To calculate the cost of production it was necessary to ascertain the cost per acre of the fertilizers applied to each crop. The data thus gotten permit an interesting study of the relative economy of the application of varying amounts of fertilizers on the principal crops. Using the cost per acre as a measure of the rate of applica- tion, since it is the only common measure for all of the fertilizer materials used, the effects on yields, costs, and profits have been tabulated for the principal crops, as shown in Table XII. The cost covers all classes of fertilizing materials applied, including stable manure, cottonseed meal, and commercial fertilizers, the last named representing the greater part of the costs. On none of the crops tabulated, except sweet potatoes, and possibly watermelons, was stable manure an important source of fertilizers. Approximately half the farms purchased the raw materials and did the mixing at home, while the others used ready-mixed fertilizers. No account has been taken of the residual effects of fertilizers applied to preceding crops, but these are reduced to a minimum in a region with such a light, sandy soil, heavy rainfall, and long growing season; and in any case they tend to neutralize each other when a group of farms are con- sidered, as has been done in these tabulations. TABLE XII.—Relation of cost of fertilizer applications to yields, costs, and profits (Brooks County, Ga.). Average r: Profit or ove Number | cost of Yield | Cost per Crop. Cost of fertilizers per acre. |o¢ records, fertilizer | per acre. \crop unit. ieee 6. _ per acre. Pounds S2iand less. aa: sscp-2 = 26 23 $1. 42 a 263 $0. 087 $7.45 $2) Totes oe - . te etch ee 56 | 3.00 2 : 088 ge St COm Bese soe See oe ee 3a | 4.85 29 . 096 4. COMO enn anaae=nn-mser- $6 4088.00.12. 13 6.78 314 "101 4.18 $8 to Sls:

. Sa-s0s-c0sb Sess 38.4 31.6 29.0 26.9 24.5 29. 0 27.8 39.9 Poultry and: eggs -< «3220.2 - 2% a. 7.6 9.1 9.9 11.8 11.0 10. 2 10.7 6.2 Dairy mroguets. 2.2.0. -S2-.2<.- 19.3 23.9 26. 2 25.7 32.0 26. 2 27.4 14.6 Other live-stock products. -..-.-- 1.1 6 2 2 «2 4 4 ot Total live-stock products.....-. 66. 4 65. 2 65.3 64.6 67.7 65.8 66.3 60.8 MrBis.and nuts .....----sc2-ce.- 2.9 4.4 5. 4 7.8 4.2 5.2 5.5 2.7 Wereta bles. nota anntcmsincccacncs 15.3 18. 2 17.0 17.8 18.5 17.6 1 ee 16.7 Ofher products'¢.....-./...------ 15.4 12.2 12.3 9.8 9.6 11.4 10.5 19.8 Per cent food contributed by farm is of the farmer’s earnings......-.-..-- 72 78 61 48 42 54 57 48 | a Corn meal and hominy, sirup, sugar cane, peanuts. The total value per farm of that part of the family living fur- nished by the farm and the relation that this factor bears to the farm returns from other sources have been shown for farms of different size in Table VI. Further details of the values ' of family food, both purchased and grown at home, are given in Table XIV. Approxi- mately 85 per cent of the family food consumed is furnished.by the farm, and this proportion is substantially the same for all sizes of farms, though somewhat lower for the colored farmers. The figures show that there is a close relation between the size of the farm and the amount of food consumed, both per family and per person.” Thus, the average value of food consumed on the group of farms under 50 acres is $312.80 per family, or $84.54 per person, as com- pared with $715.94 and $125.60 on the farms of 250 acres and over. It will be seen further that the food supplied by the larger farms furnishes a more varied and better quality of diet than that on the smaller ones. In other words, the larger farms support a much higher standard of living as well as furnish larger net returns in other forms. -1The food values given are based upon the average prices on the farms and in the local markets, and are conseryative. 2A person, as the term is used in this bulletin, means the equivalent of an adult fed in the farm home throughout the year. The number of adults per farm includes hired help and others boarded in the operator’s home. 34 BULLETIN 648, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. Two-thirds of the value of the food grown consists of animal products. On the small farms nearly two-thirds of the animal products come from swine, but as the farms increase in size dairy and poultry products find a more important place. Likewise, vegetables, fruits, and nuts are of more importance on the larger farms. Other products, consisting principally of corn meal and sirup, occupy a relatively more important place in the diet on the smaller farms. By reference to figure 13 it is seen that swine products and dairy products each constitute more than one-fourth of the total value of family food furnished by the farm, while vegetables make up one- sixth of the total, miscellaneous products slightly more than one- tenth, poultry and eggs nearly a like amount, and fruit and nuts one- twentieth. The quantities and the values per farm and per person are shown in detail in Table XV for each item of food, both purchased and fur- nished by the farm. TasLE XV.—Family food purchased and produced on the farm; amounts and values per family and per person (106 farms, Brooks County, Ga.). Per family. Per person.@ Kinds of food. Unit. Quantity.| Value. {Quantity.| Value. Purchased: MILOUG ee. Seana Wee ck ce cacice ct eee ease teens Pounds. .....- 810 $30. 34 153 $5. 73 SU bates soe ane amas cece ec cieinaicincmce cecal oem GOs sees 191 13. 37 36 2. 52 Coffee, tea, cocoa, chocolate, postum......-|-..-- GOseaeece lawciesagicn 4.00) Jneeeee ene 1.38 a a Si ee SS Sn SAA SAIS BS SAE Goesacenee 55 4.37 10 83 Most land icheesedishise.secsaccrcctereee= | seen GOs g.c2ece| eas atee eee 2.00) eee .49 Allcother food): 65.0 be ceae boone ecko cck |p coee sees cheers sce meee 143.69) |'..S oe see 2a Motal dood, purcnAaASed =. scene mae oee se sess See sse eee ee eee seeee= see 72. 70 J-ceeeeseee 13.72 Produced on farm: hak er Tp ee Ons fs shes eee ed ben sees sate eee IPounds>-. ccs. 770 108. 40 145 20. 47 GTS. oe et oko Sea eee nae caecnes bee eelseaae Ouns Siue 185 23. 09 35 4.34 Dairy productsie tee. ceceeseeeecee ese Gallons....... 471 118. 50 89 22. 36 IPOUlEhy-cwtes ate eee one cee e seee eemem Number. ..... 69 24. 50 13 4.62 PROS eyo Soe Seno e ee emake san sean eee Dozens.....-.- 111 21.90 21 4.13 Other live-stoek productsit=-2- 2.225.220 2c |aeencauesacenee=|a-—5-seente 1556] 2 ae .29 Corn (meal and hominy) @.............-.-- Bushels.....-- 27.4 27.40 5,2 5.17 CANO SIFUpe- ose sseesee eke ee ewe meee Gallons. ....2.< 38.6 15. 50 7.3 2.92 Sugarcanes {2 shoaens ceeenmees paces -- 9708 Jed WyOIg "*"*"-9J08 Jed on[@A OS ape SS an eee ermine “SsyIpety Be ee eee ee eee ew eee ene == °""S1BI0U, “**"** *sqs00 Te1oodg Soe === = "102 TO teeeeee sees sag eae ie PBS OG cee a yaaa cat aa PU RGORLONLS MEO UL, oe ee Spec 252 es Sess ARODM Ola CUNT “""1OGV] UBL vo eseeeeesesseeugd pue’y :e108 Jed 4sop mer em ake Se ee ee cae ae “**=Sp10d0e1 JO Jaq UIn Ny 9L‘F 91% 16 OT GG" fk GFT 8° ies 01° cT° €0° ¢0° OL'T 88% 86° 8° 8g° FS aI ‘FL G6 'F C8 'T 98 'T 0€ “ET 6E °9E GGL 69 'T 16'T Zo ES cress £6 CS 80°G$ 60 °%$ SG cl OF rai 6h *so0}ejod “euro *SuO[OUL ‘ater “(jeoys UL | *(poyse.it}) Joos iesng -19}8 \\ u pe) s}voO s}eO ‘(Dy ‘hyunog syooug) wajsls abom fq unosb sdow fo pun sad pun ain sad 8380)— XIX AIAVL BULLETIN 648, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 48 *"SuOT, 2 ‘eued poes ATUIeyy d “spunog 7 “OITM SUTTe y “sjorleg p *pojsdarey UIeIy ¢ *“SUOTIBY) o *sSO'T 7 *Jeny poo M B *JOpeRoyT Ivo [e1oedg a - pexord peag z "Ie u ‘ommyse dg f “suIppey regs “OUIMT, Q “syoeg b ‘sjoysng w *s} RIS pue ‘streu ‘1edeg 2 *][0} SULYSBIU,L, a “sory pues sursseq ‘SuTUUIy o Ginga tt agi |it ae Be |S fase) “mongers obo AeOTe 8¢‘81$ GL ‘OTS GI 'TS 66 0$. gs °0$ SSC ne es PES OR Se arora. STE AO CMR Og) BE eee eso Oo ea Poort eso PEC Wi ye) C°02 192 6am Leu 69u Dee SC Lge © sae oe oy eee ee yonpoid soley aloe Jod yWyorg oloe Jed onje A. STe}OL Deeg Yyseo HO 4Se1e} UT 99" Go" 96° #g° cE" Lis 6F° FZ" 96° 92 ‘T qsoo queue, dury €L°% SOT LET ¥S°S 16°T 00°% LI% 00°T 69% cL ** Loqey ONL FOL 96° 66 °% LS‘¥ Chk 16% 8L°% £0 °86 OG Lz 929 ** Loge] Ue W G0 °8$ 88 °T$ 82 T$ 92°C $6 '1$ 98 "TS rS 'T$ 96 TS €1 e$ 00 °¢$ “[TeyWer pueryT - 19108 Jed sop 61 €@ 92 6F ST 0% cy g ‘ ST Vion Pes lar ae > oe oe ne RE Sp10001 JO JaquIn N d “W109 UT “PHOS “peed JON “pore “U100 UT “PHOS *$00}270' samhen te 4@0Mg aAI ‘S}VO nm ‘synuee [ “AVY VO -ejod ie it “Avy vod Mon *pejsearey sjnuveg ‘pormysed sdoig el eS ee ee ee EE ee ‘ponurju0g—(‘n4y ‘fyunog syooug) wapshs abom hq unoib sdowo fo yun sad pun asav Jad 8180) — XIX ATAVL A FARM MANAGEMENT SURVEY IN BROOKS CO., GA. 49. All calculations of cost of crop production have been based upon an acre as the unit. In Table XIX the itemized acre costs, yields, values and profits, and the cost per unit of each product are shown in detail for all the important crops grown by the wage system; and the same data for the crops grown by the cropper system are given in Table XX, the costs to the cropper and to the farm operator being shown here separately. The cropper’s share of the costs consists mainly of labor, that of himself and his family, and a small amount hired, followed in order by’ his share of the costs of fertilizer, gin- Tig. 18.—For many years peanuts have been grown extensively in Brooks County, prin- cipally as a crop to be ‘‘ hogged off”. Only sufficient seed was harvested for planting purposes and a few cash sales. Nearly all of this was ‘‘ picked”’ by the slow hand method here shown. ning, bagging and ties, interest on cash, and planting seed. The operator’s costs consist principally of mule labor, his own labor of supervision, land rent, and fertilizers, while of lesser and decreasing importance are the equipment cost, ginning, bagging and ties, seed, and interest on cash. The cost of the operator’s supervision amounts to a little less than half as much as that of the manual labor, all of the latter being furnished by the cropper.* 1The terms of the cropper’s contract, the relative yields and costs to each party, and the relative yields and costs by the two systems are discussed in the first part of this bulletin. BULLETIN 648, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 50 *‘sjoysng p “spunog 9 “SSO'T *pOJSOAILY POs JO ON|BA v rene 2.55 Seal cielo Gece eee so apegre n= RUNS ao ee ges 00 “Ez$ COMO TS cs eee ee wioysAs 1addoro Aq 004 18d 4s00 eseIOA W 00 02% 00 02% 00 “02$ 02 ‘9e$ 8 61S GL “OTS SORGTS, Stl nas > ee eee eee U0} Jed enyeA 10 4Ss0p 8 ‘Sho 090 099 960 299 08Zo GGZo -10)v10d0 pu 1eddoso Aq peateoar pyerA Jo JUNOT ‘lappog | seppog | ‘leppoy *paeg *peeg *peeg DOGG eae ia op Sake ot wee uae ie rain ete yonpoid 100tyy | 99 08 #8 ‘0% EFT OS GSOLOR at 6 ABI terrae ss eee moysds raddors Aq 4s00 osBIDAYy SEE OTE as hap ta ane Feel eee Dc £6 0$ se ‘0s 02 "T$ SF ‘0S Z9T “0S £21 0S 160 °0$ 080 0$ emiole Sscltle Sa c miniele ee gs eas a ae TE Og Sn) IOS AOI ETE trea ei aati Sis 8L°¢p 61 Sp PE 'OD PE 9p OTT OLTa 9eTo 9eTo - 10;e10do0 pur teddoro Aq poatedal PyeIA Jo JUNOULW W109 "MLI09 “M109 “LION “VOT “qyury “QUT SOTETET. See] Stee? age” sect oS aE SS Sige ce jonpo.d szofeyy esecpasacecloeeecseaee) "8S Seeunameolgeee2een 080 Zl ‘I—a@ 90°% 86°%—4a 6ST el "t= Che Sb 'Z 46°¢ ee ee ee ey aioe 13d SSO] 10 WOT Sp SRS ciee rem cere ee mia) ees | PLP PLP IT’¢ IT ‘¢ 9 61 9 61 L0°LT 038 °9T SE eae ane we ceria Eire CROC LIM: THD, 99 °¢ PL 1 €S°L 99 °% 98°¢ 89°% 60°8 GSS ito 4 LI‘9T 6S° ST Cea El tid Oe” a in Sil ERS GR e108 Jad 4809 JON e0"D Pe es eeSeEe: | See ssp ge [Been oe oer nome en ee fc cesiipre| ~~ sear anmal Oemeeensel=waeebapy-|nnr nn GR -=+|~c--e0- 2th] adie Ween arian para nensnsnagaesercartactc sqtperg 69°¢ 86°T €o°2 99°% 98°¢ 89°S 60°8 6¢ “CT CSE al ees tone 2 eee aan an 9108 ad 4800 [BJO sbetnisiaia.= mince | nzminie!s.=/abn)e all Siaiere in!) elon) in eirio\e ) ne ga = goal aries ay Pele Rei Sh een eS aes One ie ao Qian aa siet so 327.31 TWaN Ose c oafeds Sect win OE Sense ioe ate cist ra lg yd ies rem wie fefpepalminte muda = jascla’e 2 taps 10.7 -10 1.8 pie PBEAECLODA tees arene tn free rn ei oe aats teen ee 375. 65 3. 40 62.2 meus AMSDOIS) cpa 22d = ae sels. segs oils eddy we ies oid Seles es 129. 40 Loa7 21.4 Upon G Lae BSS Shy Aaa RS aR Boer See ee ae pel ee oe eeaeee | 8. 43 08 1.4 Menem COSU St) VAIS? CERT abee ee ns. SSC SETA OU. Jee a See 513. 48 4.65 85.0 “Las ioe (GUG Ti D)- G55 sedi ghe Boab oe ease seep eBeee Seas: ote corm entere 58. 60 -53 9.7 Boole lite Et) Bo Sbotcedee © Ben SCROS se SIRNORGre Dave Semper oatuee 5. 02 05 8 POTIPMONS Deets omen fea Anew ciote > ce oe oa anton ch reytee ews seco s ase 1.13 -O1 ne. MErmninnry. SOM, (ips MmMedMene. 2.2. etc tees suet cee wale 5. 50 05 9 MEETS Lee eka rete et Pe eas re Scie 6 td iwiaeinte's Cid emaceae cds eho ke | 19. 62 18 a3 eae ee ete EG aan chm md is oie ote titles a da arate a Ses Salen -82 OL Hii (OES ES Re Ja te hae ee ee ae ee Pe oer aed ee eee eae 604. 17 5.48 100.0 MICE PROPOR yo eee ees gee oan d Fos eal weeded Reece 7.34 «onto 40, 85 37 6.8 ARCS) Be ee bee A ee UD oR ee Se eh afl aa 563. 32 Bewtr | a2 nce Net cost on 45 farms with no losses from cholera.............-...-.-+---|.------22--- Balas ashe 4 a See footnote, p. 60, for definitions. b Charged at cost of production. 58 BULLETIN 648. U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. Next to feeds, the largest item of cost is that of man labor, equal- ing nearly 10 per cent of the gross costs, followed by the interest charge, and others of minor importance. The average number of hog unitst on each farm was 77 and the cost per pound of live- weight gain? was 5.1 cents. Ten of these 55 farms suffered losses from hog cholera, which, of course, increased the cost per pound of the remaining hogs. On the 45 farms free from such losses the average cost per pound was 4.7 cents. The manure credit that has been deducted from: the gross cost represents the estimated value of the residual fertilizing effect of the peanuts pastured off by the hogs. It is the consensus of opinion held by these farmers, based on experience, that the peanut crop grown and harvested from the soil is as severe a drain on soil fer- tility as is the growing of a crop of corn. Manifestly, then, any fertilizing value of peanuts “hogged off” is the value due to the method of harvesting, and as such should be a eredit to the hogs and not to the peanuts. The average of a large number of estimates * places this fertilizer value due to the method of harvesting at $1.50 per acre of “solid” peanuts “ hogged off,” and at 75 cents per acre cf peanuts and corn. Upon this basis the credits to the hogs have been calculated and entered as a manure credit. Of special significance is the large proportion of the cost repre- sented by pasture crops, especially peanuts. Undoubtedly herein lies the secret of profitable swine production in Brooks County. Cost of slaughtering and curing swine.—It has long been the prac- tice of the farmers of Brooks County to slaughter their hogs at home. Recently, however, a packing plant has been erected in an adjoining county, affording a ready market for live stock. Since the farmers now have the choice of selling their hogs on foot or of doing the slaughtering at home and marketing the resulting prod- ucts, it is of interest to know the cost. of killing and curing at home. These costs are shown in Table XXIII. On the farms that killed an average of 2,764 pounds of live hogs the cost amounted to 87 cents per hundred pounds of live weight, but on the farms that slaughtered 16,395 pounds each the cost was reduced by nearly one-half, or to 1A hog unit is a mature hog maintained on the farm during the year, or the equiva-. lent of a 200-pound hog grown during the year. Immature hogs slaughtered or on hand at the end of the year were reduced to hog units by dividing the total live weight by 200 pounds. 2The live-weight gain includes the weight of all hogs sold and slaughtered, and any differences in the weights of all hogs on the farms at the beginning arid ending of the farm year. 8In getting these estimates the farmers were asked, first, how much more rent they would be willing to pay for the use of Brooks County land on which either peanuts or peanuts and corn had been grown the previous year than they would for similar land that had produced a crop of corn; second, how much less fertilizer, measured by value, they would apply to a crop of cotton planted on land that had produced peanuts or peanuts and corn than on land following corn. The replies gave a wide range of estimates, the average of which is given above. A FARM MANAGEMENT SURVEY IN BROOKS CO., GA. 59 46 cents per hundred pounds. The average cost was 54 cents. This does not include the marketing of the meat, but it does include the hauling of the ice, salt, etc., to the farm. It represents the cost of the meat cured ready to sell. Taste NNIII.—Cost of killing and curing swine (Brooks County, Ga.). Farms having each specified number of pounds of swine (live weight) killed per farm. Average ofall farms. | Tess | 5.0000 | 7,000 to | 10,000 5,000 7,000 10,000 | pounds . pounds. pounds. | pounds. |and over. SITIES OTC 02 ee eee i eae 50 14 10 12 14 Average per farm: Live weight killed (pounds)...........--.-----.. 8, 438 2, 764 5, 446 8, 266 16, 395 RimmoermOL Hops Kiled e. ioo en loa othe ww enan 47.2 21 33.7 48 83 Average weight per hog killed (pounds).........| 179 132 161 172 193 Manilahor (Gays) sitet. sibel tok ele tia eet J. 18.01 10.1 13.5 20.3 27.1 MINTO MA DON (GSVS) 5 po asi aici oninnlste nice =i Sida Sfersyate ac URGY/ 40 . 82 1.4 3.5 Desnotrann labors. 0s l.ccc 2... dnbeeseelontt $23.51 | $13.58| $15.20| $26.70| $36.65 CBSO UMIMUNONA DOL. ofa crits so seecm mena a tees 1.39 43 -73 1.07 3.08 HMopimmenhicosh set. jasis. Sees) s..-dste. 22 -10 -03 .09 .14 .14 BuGIne CHALZO G22. 5). 5. cae fc caters Dense 7.73 3.96 5.60 iat 13. 04 ieee comers resets eM soles Aelia dstets 9.28 4. 22 6.32 9. 60 16.15 [SiS ec Ae es eee eee eae - 43 - 50 550 “2d - 40 2 sects oc Bae ob bo tbectnod SHO Coe pO ace Ge seeEr Seoue 3.10 1.22 1.08 3.11 6. 40 USL AMCOS Teer ate a a cikaik a iniciejars in o\n (es ctainiaientale erie. « 45. 54 23.95 29. 58 48. 60 75. 86 Cost per 100 pounds of live weight killed.......-....- 0. 54 0.87 0.54 0.59 0. 46 a Cold storage and smokehouses. Approximately half the total costs consist of man labor. It is the usual practice to pay with scraps of the cheaper cuts of meats, the extra labor needed for killing. It should be borne in mind that a considerable part of the labor charge is the cost of supervision by the farmer, and that the slaughtering is done in January, at times when there is not much pressure of other work. PUBLICATIONS OF THE U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE RELATING TO THE SUBJECT OF THIS BULLETIN. AVAILABLE FOR FREE DISTRIBUTION BY THE DEPARTMENT. A System of Farm Cost Accounting. (Farmers’ Bulletin 572.) A Corn Belt Farming System which Saves Harvest Labor by Hogging Down Crops. (Farmers’ Bulletin 614.) What a Farm Contributes Directly to the Farmer’s Living. (Farmers’ Bulletin 635. ) A Method of Analyzing Farm Business. (Farmers’ Bulletin 661.) Trenching Machinery used for the Construction of Trenches for the Tile Drains. _ (Farmers’ Bulletin 698.) Suggestions for Parcel Post Marketing. (Farmers’ Bulletin 703.) An Economic Study of Farm Tractor in Corn Belt. (Farmers’ Bulletin 719.) Waste Land and Wasted Lands on Farms. (Farmers’ Bulletin 745.) The Farmer’s Income. (Farmers’ Bulletin 746.) . The Use of a Dairy for Farm Account. (Farmers’ Bulletin 782.) How the Federal Farm Loan Act Benefits the Farmer. (Farmers’ Bulletin 792.) Minor Articles of Farm Equipment. (Farmers’ Bulletin 816.) Example of Successful Farm Management in Southern New York. (Depart-_ ment Bulletin 32.) Cooperative Organization Business Methods. (Department Bulletin 178.) Outlets and Methods of Sale for Shippers of Fruits and Vegetables. (Depart- ment Bulletin 266.) Methods of Wholesale Distribution of Fruits and Vegetables on Large Markets, (Department Bulletin 267.) Relation between Primary Market Prices and Qualities of Cotton. (Depart- ment Bulletin 457.) Farm Practice in Cultivation of Cotton. (Department Bulletin 511.) Seasonable Distribution of Farm Labor in Chester County, Pa. (Department Bulletin 528.) Validity of Survey Method of Research in Farm Management. (Department Bulletin 529.) What is Farm Management. (Bureau of Plant Industry Bulletin 259.) FOR SALE BY THE SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS, GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON, D. C. Renovating Worn-out Soils. (Farmers’ Bulletin 245.) Price 5 cents. A Successful Alabama ‘Diversification Farm. (Farmers’ Bulletin 310.) Price 5 cents. ‘ Replanning a Farm for Profit. (Farmers’ Bulletin 370.) Price 5 cents, Farm Bookkeeping. (Farmers’ Bulletin 511.) Price 5 cents. How to Use Farm Credit. (Farmers’ Bulletin 593.) Price 5 cents. Outfit for Boring Taprooted Stumps for Blasting. (Farmers’ Bulletin 600.) Price 5 cents. Demurrage Information for Farmers. (Department Bulletin 191.) Price 5 cents. Costs and Sources of Farm-mortgage Loans in United States. (Department Bulletin 384.) Price 10 cents. Agricultural Conditions in Southern New York, (Bureau of Plant Industry Circular 64.) Price 5 cents, 60 i ADDITIONAL COPIES OF THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE PROCURED FROM ‘THE SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS ‘GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON, D. C. AT 10 CENTS PER COPY nortran , eORF mH DA, a he Tepe: as i sane ee See aioe an pint “Hye VTA AER, RT nek aN Vikan to! bf se TRY re MRR ie 1 ae & ci av Oy