Farm management

Front matter

Class

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CDEQUGHT DEPOSHi

Preface

The business of farming is complex and almost infinitely diverse. At the outset both the observer of its conditions and the collector of its data face variations between the widest extremes not only of soil, water, climate, topography, and size of holdings, but also of individual opinions, experiences, practices, and ideals.

For instance, the man so situated that possible crops are apples, peaches, oranges, lemons, walnuts, or lima beans will reap different rewards from one who can raise only alfalfa or grain, or who is confined to buckwheat, rye, wild grasses, or pasture. Distance to and receptivity of the market are other influences, and affect in a marked way such things as vegetables, poultry products, berries, whole milk, and to a lesser extent, grains, beans, potatoes, pork, beef, and sheep. For the same crops there are variations in yield because of differences in soil type, climatic condition, age of planting, choice of variety, availableness of water, need of drainage, presence of alkali, market conditions, and farming method.

The necessity to provide a proper standard of living is the basis upon which all financial estimates must stand. It is the keynote to a discussion of the financial side of agriculture. Yet ideas differ widely as to what sum is needed to provide proper living for the average family. These differences may arise from (a) size of families, (h) age of members of the family, (c) standards of living demanded by different nationalities, (d) conditions of environment in which childhood was spent, (e) personal tastes as to what are proper social obligations, and (/) the degree of spending activity of various members of the family. VThus the comforts of one family will be the luxuries of a second and the necessities of a third.

Or again, the great variation in the characteristics of operators plays a most important part in determining the degree of success which will attend any farming enterprise. Compare, for example, the individual who admits he has been thirty-five years on a rented hay ranch, during a time when agriculture in its many changes has offered exceptional opportunities for advancement, with the man who, taking advantage of these opportunities, has amassed a modest fortune. Or, yet again, the man who is getting rich on a hundred acres of level, heavyproducing land, offers a striking contrast to the man losing money oh a thousand acres of poor land.

viii PREFACE

There is the man who watches details but is weak on organization; there is the man capable of organizing his work and considering broad policies, but neglectful of details. There is the well-balanced man. There is the man who, failing on a hundred sixty acres, could succeed on twenty acres, and there is his opposite, the hundred sixty-acre man whose activities are cramped when confined to twenty acres.

Therefore, this text can be only representative. It cannot include all practices, all principles. In our present knowledge we are rather counting milestones than looking back from the final goal. Our subject as one for scientific inquiry is new; our information is fragmentary and full of gaps. If everyone devoted to agricultural inquiry should wait for the completion of his chosen labor, nothing would be published. This book is written in the earnest hope that it will stimulate the writing of better ones as fresh knowledge is added to what we already possess.

If it should appear that the text runs more to data for the beginner and the settler in new sections, it should be remembered that to such farmers the principles of management are calculated to be of greatest value in guiding to right procedure and in helping to proper decisions. Old-established farms have many of their problems worked out. Nevertheless, since each enterprise demands constant individual study and often deserves reorganization, let us hope that this book will be worth while even to old hands in agriculture in showing them by way of contrast what others are doing.

In using this text, the reader will bear in mind that the attempt is largely to show the scope of farm management by illustration. This leaves the way open for the replacement of the general illustrative material by more detailed or more recent data clearly applicable to a given region, or even to a given farm. Agriculture varies so throughout the United States that a general text on Farm Management must at best, as already indicated, be suggestive rather than final. In teaching and following farm management the need is for basic presentation of method and principle, rather than for the accumulation of facts for local use. The latter is easy but would fill a thousand volumes. That this book will serve a general need is the hope of the author.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND CREDIT

This book, to a large measure, owes its compilation to the conscientious and painstaking work of Mr. T. R. Kelley who, out of the goodness of his heart, has reviewed the original manuscript, made substantial recommendations, and offered constant encouragement. To him the author publicly acknowledges his deepest thanks and appreciation for ever ready and unstinted help.

The work of other farm managers and of agricultural economists, the experiences of farmers, and the findings of students and investigators, have also aided in the preparation of this text. To these the author expresses his thanks. He is especially indebted to the writings of Messrs. W. J. Spillman, G. F. Warren, Andrew Boss, H. C. Taylor. Many publications have been drawn upon, ample reference to which is made in the chapter of references.

A number of the photographs appearing in the text are from the files of the federal Office of Farm Management.

References

References, indicated by key numbers throughout, are condensed in the concluding chapter. This method results in a partial bibliography of farm management and in freedom from breaks in the text.

CHAPTER I Page

General Considerations of Farm Management 1

Definition of Farm Management — The Object and Scope of Management — Management vs. Agricultural Economics — Financial Success Usual Farm Management Measure — Financial Test is General — Basic Knowledge of Agricultural Sciences and Practices Precedes Farm Management — Typical Questions — Graphic Presentation of the Place of Farm Management — Chart Arrangement Arbitrary but Valuable — Use of Management a Personal Matter — Management Constantly Changing — Use of Management in Actual Farming — Object of Studying Management — Fundamentals of Management — Time Element in Studying Management — Field Studies Should Supplement Printed Matter — Terms Used in Connection with Capital — Terms Used in Connection with Income — Terms Used in Connection with Expenses — Terms Used in Connection with Occupancy of Land — Terms Used in Connection with Labor — Terms Used in Connection with Crops — Terms L^sed in Connection with Live Stock — Illustrating Use of Terms.

Chapter II

Stability of Farming — Farming a Mode of Life — Two Ways to Consider Farming — Management Draws on Many Sources for Information — Scope of Detailed Information Needed — Local Practice the Result of Experience — Gaining Kxiowledge of Local Conditions — Getting Experience.

Chapter III

Locality Limitations — Capital Limitations — Income Limitations— Personal IncUnation — Studying the Personal Factor — When a Choice is Possible — Examples of Conditions Limiting the Industry — Agricultural Regions of the United States — Tabulating Locality Possibilities and Limitations — Example of Locality Limitations and Possibilities — Extensive Farming More Stable — Summary of Factors Determining Desirability of a Farm Enterprise — Established Sections Have Advantages — Diversified vs. Specialized Farming — Comparison of General and Specialized Farming — Tendency is Toward Specialized Farming — Survey Findings — General Farming More Exacting — General Farming for Beginners.

Chapter IV

When to Rent — Selecting the Right Land — Prices Sometimes too High — Choice of Farm a Personal Matter — Turning to Established Sections — Finding the Farm — Factors to Consider when Selecting a Farm — Personal — Earning Capacity — Physical Factors — The Shape of the Farm — Farm xii CONTENTS

Paoe Arrangement — ^Topography — Soil Quality — Physical Properties — Healthfulness — Improvements — Water Supply for Family and Live Stock — Ease and Cost of Upkeep — Maj-kets — Waste Lands — Percentage of Improved Land in United States — Effect of Highways on Acreage — Permanent an'd Temporary Waste — Woodland — Poor Pasture — Relation of Use to Price — Labor, Social and Financial Factors — Labor — Neighbors — Financial — Financial Test for Proposed Farm Proposition — Inherent Possibilities — Influence of Rise in Land Prices — Elements of the Successful Farm — Relative Value a Personal Matter — Size of the Farm — The "Minimum Efficient Unit" — Minimum Efficient Unit Relatively Small — Ideal Size — Acreage Required to Produce Given Income — Size of Farms to Provide Labor Incomes of $500 to $700 — Returns Other than Labor Income — Other Examples and Sizes — Actual Examinations and Report — The Actual Examination of the Farm — Preparing Report — Preparing Report is Interesting — Score Cards — Valuing Farm Lands for Purchase — Factors Determining Land Values — Land Values and Returns — Estimating Home Value of Farm Lands — Estimating Productive Value of Farm Lands — Potential Values of Farm Lands — Good and Bad I.ands — Buying and Selling Farm Lands — Abstract of Title — Certificate of Title— Deed— Selling Contracts.

Chapter V

Advantages of a Farm Plan — Determining the Principal Objective — Necessity of Knowing Local Practices and Conditions — Tabular Presentation of Section Differences in Types of Farming — Local Practice a Guide in Organizing the Work — Farm Management Fundamentals — Plan Depends on Outstanding Individual Need — Planning to Provide Immediate Capital — Necessity for Complete Work — Applied to Live-stock Farming — Planning for Ultimate Profit — Prodiicing or Purchasing — Choosing the Profitable Enterprise — Planning to Provide a Diversity of Enterprise — Planning to Provide Days of Productive Labor — Planning to Reduce Labor Requirements — Variation in Labor Needs — Planning to Produce Family and Farm Supplies — Planning the Reorganizing of Going Concerns — Planning Special Programs — Gathering Data in Planning — Sources of Data.

Chapter VI

\| Success in Farming Depends on Crop-producing Power of the Land — Correlating Recommendations and Practices — Introducing New Practices — Accepting Experiment Station Findings — Ways of Improving Soil Quality — Will Improving Soil Quahty Pay? — Rotation of Crops and Cropping Systems — Definition of Rotation of Crops — ^Purpose of Rotation of Crops — Crop Rotation Presupposes Prepared Plan — Definition of Cropping System — Multiplying Cropping Systems — Determining Cropping Systems — Rules for Use in Planning Rotations — Example of a Rotation and Cropping System — Planning a Field Arrangement for Rotation of Crops — Use of Map in Arranging Fields for Crop Rotation — Green Manuring — Definition of Green Manure Crops — Purpose of Green Manuring — Determining Need for Artificial Inoculation with Bacteria for Legumes — Methods of Introducing Bacteria — Definition of Humus — Purpose of Humus — Green Manure Crops

CONTENTS xiii

Page as Sources of Humus — Value of Plant Foods from Green Manure Crops — Commercial Fertilizers — Important Elements — Getting Value from Commercial Fertilizers — ^How Commercial Fertilizers are Priced — Correctness of Analyses — Farm Mixtures vs. Factory Mixtures — High-grade Materials Preferable — Stable Manures — Composition — Cash Value — Physical Value — Limitations — Cold and Warm Manures — Amount of Stable Manures Produced by Live Stock — Handling — Stable Manures Tend to Force Growth — Recommendations for Use of Crop Rotations, Commercial Fertilizers and Stable Manures — Recommended Crop Rotations — For Farms in Middle Latitudes — For Utah, and Georgia — Recommended Green Manures — For Farms of the Gulf Coast Region of Alabama, Mississippi, and West Florida — For Sandy Lands of Indiana, Michigan and Ohio — For the Coastal Plain — Green Manures and Other Fertilizers Recommended for Kentucky and Tennessee — Evidence of Improvement from Farm Practice to Increase the Crop-producing Power of the Land — Evidence from the Coastal Plain — From Kentucky and Tennessee — From the Gulf Coast Region — Actual Farm Practices in the Use of Crop Rotation, Commercial Fertilizers, and Stable Manures — Rotations in Use by Farmers — Commercial Fertilizers and Stable Manures Used by Farmers — Where Use of Fertilizers is not Extensively Practiced — Green Manure Crops Used by Farmers — Use of Rotation and Manures by Farm Managers.

Chapter VII

Definition — Value — Manner of Making — Example of Ivind and Sequence of Farm Operations on Selected Crops (Pennsylvania) — Farm Operations in Producing Alfalfa (California) — In Producing Peaches (California) — Influence of Available Work Days — Graphic Presentations of Calendar of Operations — The Calendar of Operations in Connection with Continuous Feed for Live Stock.

Chapter VIII

Factors Governing Selection — Environment a Factor in Determining Equipment — Experience Necessary — Justifying Equipment — Justifying Farm Buildings, and Individual Structures — Justifying Implements — Justifying Special Equipment and Tractors.

Chapter IX

Regional Variation in Building Equipment — Good and Bad in Farm Buildings — Studying Proposed Buildings — Procedure in Building — Construction Suggestions — Definition of Bill of Materials — Making a Bill of Materials — Detailed Plans of Construction — Space Allotment in Buildings — The Farmstead — Definition — Variations — Rearranging Existing Farmsteads — Planning — Suggestions — ^Location and Site — Not Necessary to Cramp the Farm Building Site — Grouping Buildings — Distance Between Buildings — Lanes — Axis of Stock Barns — Location of Silos — Screening Unsightly Structures and Accumulations — Confining Poultry and Live Stock — Landscape Effects — The Plan on Paper — Details of the Farm Plan Map — Details of the Farmstead Map.

xiv CONTENTS

CHAPTER X Page

Fencing Equipment — Kinds of Fencing Used in the United States — Type of Farming and Size of Farm Determines Fencing — Field Arrangement Influences Fencing — Requirements of a Farm Fence — Gates — Life ©f and Test for Wire Fencing — Posts — Work Stock — 'Work Animals — Character of Farm Work Determines Type of Work Animals — Extremes in Work Animals Not Desirable — Poor Work Animals Uneconomical — Mating Teams — Working Stock — Number of Work Animals Required — Implements and Machinery — Factors Determining Implement and Machinery Equipment — Use of a Calendar of Operations in Estimating Implement and Machinery Equipment — Implement Needs of Barley — Additional Equipment Needs of Other Crops — Value of Calendars of Operations in Determining Implement and Machinery Needs— Special and Minor Equipment — What Constitutes Minor Equipment — List of Minor Equipment — Additional Minor Equipment — Costs — Examples of Lists of Total Equipment — Desirability of Second-hand Equipment — Determining Value of Second-hand Implements and Machinery — Determining Value of Work Animals — Determining Value of Dairy Cows — Depreciation Mounts with Age — When Second-hand Equipment is Especially Worth While — Costs of Equipment — Cost of Equipping a 20-cow Dairy — State Findings Concerning Costs of Equipping Farms — Michigan Costs of Equipping Dairy Farms — Dairy Farm Equipment Costs, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina — Relation of Equipment Investments to Returns — Building Equipment Costs, Ohio — Total Farm Equipment Costs, Ohio — Costs of Equipping Apple Orchards — Equipment Costs as Shown by Farm Management Surveys — Costs of Farm Equipment Vary — Example of and Variation in Costs, of Farm Equipment.

Chapter XI

Recognition of Importance of Capital a Safeguard — "Capital" Covers Cash and Credit — Credit Expands Farming Opportunities — Wisdom of Determining Capital Needs — Capital Needs are Variable — Factors Affecting Capital Requirements of Farming — Individual Determinations Necessary — Estimating and Grouping Capital Needs — Variation in Possible RetuiTis — Conservatism Should Rule in Estimating Possible Returns — Care in Estimating Items of Family Expense — Tabulating Capital Requirements — Method^Precautions to be Observed in Determining — The Safety Factor in Estimating — Capital Requirements Vary with the Business — Amount and Division of Farm Expenses as Indicating Capital Requirements — Amount and Distribution of Farm Expenses, Pennsylvania, Utah Lake Valley, Corn Belt, Georgia — Capital Requirements of Farming, As Owner — Classification As Owner, Ohio — Capital Requirements of Apple Orchards — Capital Required by Irrigation Farmers — Costs for 20-acre, 40-acre, and 160-acre Farm — Capital for California Farms — Capital Requirements of Tenant Farming — Capital LTnder Tenanting Compared with Owning, California — Effect of Type of Farm Business upon Capital — Desirability of Testing Capital Requirements Wlien a Choice of Business is Possible — Sources of Capital — Factors which Influence Terms on Farm-mortgage Loans — Banking — Advantages — Using Banking Credit — Crop and Stock Mortgages — Use of Credit — Amortization Method of Paying Loans — Prevailing Interest Rates — Range — Legal Interest Rates and Statutes of Limitations.

CONTENTS XV

CHAPTER XII Page

What the Business Should Pay— Other Ideas of Profit — The Business Should be Credited with All Production — Productive, Speculation and Home Values — Reference to Determination of Land Values — Deductions for Home and Speculative Values — Interest upon Operating Capital — Charge for Management — The Sinking Fund — Depreciation Charge — Examples of Estimating What a Farm Business Should Pay — Reasons for Demanding Full Returns of the Farm Business — Labor Income as a Measure of Profits — Findings Concerning Farm Profits from Farm Management Surveys — Incomes as Tenant or Owner — Sums Available, per Acre, Above Operating Expenses, 34 California Crops, 1915 and 1919 Data — Examples of Large Returns from Farming — California Examples of Farm Profits — Value of Perquisites — Determined Value of Perquisites — Family Needs as Found in Georgia — Living Costs in Minnesota — Family Living an Important Item — Value of Family Living in a Number of States — Perquisites Important to Farmers — Value of Perquisites to Individuals — Living Needs and Standards of Families Vary — The Unearned Increment.

Chapter XIII

Factors Affecting Profits — The Type of Farming as Affecting Profits — Examples of Effect on Profits of Type of Business — Size of Business as Affecting Profits — Effect of Size of Farm Area upon Income — Summary of Survey Findings, Effect of Size of Farm upon Income — Effect of Amount of Working Capital upon Income — Effect upon Income of Efficient Use of Land, Equipment and Labor — Examples of Effect upon Income of Efficient Use of Land, Equipment and Labor — Ways of Increasing the Size of the Farm Business — Quality of Business as Affecting Profits — Limitations to Improving Quality of the Business — Influence of Crop Yields upon Farm Profits — Where Greater Profit-taking is Easier — Examples of the Effect of Crop Yields upon Income — Influence of Live-stock Receipts upon Farm . Profits — Examples — Effect of All Four Factors upon Incomes — Influence of High Prices on Profits — Increasing Profits by Curtailing Waste — Ways of Curtailing Waste — Examples Are Easy to Find — Curtailing Losses Caused by Rodents and Predatory Animals — Caused by Weeds, Insects, and Fungi — Caused by Animal Disease — Saving Energy of Workers — Eliminating Unprofitable Operations — Curtailing Lost Motion — Establishing Methods to Detect Waste — Reducing Various Waste — Curtailing Wastes in Feed Stock — In Boarding Men — Eliminating Unprofitable Investments and Surplus Labor.

CHAPTER XIV Financial Forecast of Proposed Farm Lands 300

Objects of Financial Forecast — Limitation — Justification — Actual Practice Likely to Vary from Paper Plans — Procedure in Making up a Financial Forecast — Description of the Property — The Plan of Work — The Necessary Equipment. — The Financial Test — Example of Financial Forecast.

Chapter XV

Purposes of Farm Management Surveys — Method of Making Use of the Survey Methods for Collecting Farm Management Data — Personal Opinion xvi ' CONTENTS

Page Concerning Farm Management Surveys — Single Year vs. Continuous Records — Surveys Are Based on Farmer's Estimates — Possible Objection to Reporting Survey Data — Sample Forms Used in Farm Management Survey Work — List of Farm Management Surveys — Federal Farm Surveys — State Surveys — Farm Practice Surveys — Studies of Sugar Beet Farms — Studies of Apple Orchards — Studies of Potato Farms — Studies of Poultry Farms — Studies of Dairy Farms — Studies of Cotton Cultivation.

Chapter XVI

Definition of Farm Bookkeeping — Do Farmers Keep Records? — Purpose of Farm Accounts — Record-keeping Results in Closer Attention to Details — Account-keeping Can Be Made Attractive — Preliminaries in Starting Farm Bookkeeping — Scope of Complete Farm Accounts — Simple Accounts — Cost Records — Value — What Records to Keep — Records Used in the Simple System — Comparison of Bookkeeping and Cost Accounting — Supplementary Records — The Annual Summary as a Means of Determining What Records to Keep — Time Element in Keeping Accounts — Technical Training Unnecessary — Simplifying Accounts — Interpretation and Use of Results — Discussion of Records — Definition of Inventory — Value — Use — Taking an Inventory — Form for Inventory Taking — Determining Inventory Values — Valuing Implements, Machinery and Tools — Valuing Farm Animals — Valuing Field Crops — Effects of Appreciation and Depreciation upon Values — Depreciation Studies — Appreciation and Depreciation of Work Horses — Depreciation of Farm Equipment — The Cash Book — Description of the Cash Book — Example of Simple Cash Book — Cash Book Items Recorded by Enterprises — The Use of a Bank Book as a Cash Record — The Farm Diary Method of Records — Example of Diary Items — Description of the Annual Statement — Steps in Making Up an Annual Statement.

Chapter XVII

Function of Farm Cost Accounting — Farm Cost Accounting Similar to Commercial Cost Accounting — Cost Accounting Introduces Estimates — A Favorable Time to Start Accounts — Classes of Records Needed for a Complete Set of Farm Cost Accounts — Items to be Covered in Crop Cost Accounting — Charges — Credits to Crop — Items to be Covered in Livestock Cost Accounting — Charges — Credits — Inventories in Cost Accounting — The Cash Book in Cost Accounting — Properly Classifying Items — How the Cash Book Entries Are Made — Indexing Accounts — Feed Records in Cost Accounting — Crediting Production — Manure Accounts — Labor Records for Cost Accounts — How the Work Record Entries Are Made — Method of Recording Routine Work or "Chores" — Supplementary Records — Supplementary Notes — Opening Cost Records at the Beginning of the Year — Closing Cost Accounts at the End of the Year — Increased Land Values — Determining Overhead — Illustrating Method of Determining Overhead — Final Test of Value of Cost Accounts — Example of Annual Statement Compiled from Costs Records — Example of a Crop Enterprise Costs Record — Study and Interpretation of Results.

cox TEXTS xvii

CH,\PTER XVIII

Page

Costs of Producixg Crops 404

Value of Costs of Production Data — Studying Costs of Production — Items Entering into Cost of Production — Objects Sought in Cost of Production Studies — The Farm Managers Interest — Cost of Production Studies Should Start on Single Industn- Farm — Average Cost Data Are an Unsafe Guide for all Conditions — Methods of Procedure in Making Cost of Production Studies — Examples of Costs of Producing Field Crops — Reporting Items in Terms of Time or Quantit5' — Costs of Producing Field Crop)s — Nebraska Costs: Com. TMieat, Oats. Hay: 1909-10 — Minnesota Costs: Barley. Clover. Com. Ensilage, Flaxseed, Hay, Hemp. Mangels, Potatoes: 1902-1907 — South Carolina Costs: Cotton, Com, Oats, Hay, Cowpea Seed, Wheat 191-1^15 — Texas Costs: Cotton, Com, Oats, Hay, Sorghums: 1914 — Kentucky Costs: Tobacco, Stock, Dain,-, Mixed: 1913 — Georgia Costs, Com, Oats, Sugar Cane, Potatoes, Watermelons; 1914 — Missouri Costs: Com, Oats. WTieat, Rye, Clover, Timothy and Alfalfa Hay, Soy Beans, and Cowpea Hay — Costs of Producing Sugar Beets — Costs of Producing Cotton — Costs of Producing Wheat — Costs of Producing California Field Crops: 1915 and 1919 — Costs of Producing Fruit Crops — Costs of Producing Apples: Washington, Colorado, Oregon, Idaho, 1914-15 — Indiana Apple Costs: 1911-12 — West Virginia Peach Costs: 1912 — Nebraska Spraying Costs: 1913, 14, 15 — Costs of California Emits: 1915 and 1919 — CaUfomia Citrus Costs: 1913, 14, 15, 16 — Costs of Producing Vegetables and Truck Crops — Cahfomia Vegetable Costs — Utah Tomato Costs.

Chapter XIX

Costs of Producixg LrvF Stock axd Stock Prodccts : Miscellaxeous Costs . 435 Cost of Fattening Beef — Summary- — Cost of Producing Hogs — Costs of Raising Dairy Heifers — Costs of Raising Pullets — Costs of Fattening Lambs — California Cost Data : Beef, Sheep and Swine — Financial Items of California Beef Business (Average Figures) — Cost Data of California Dain.-ing Business (Average Figures) — Costs of Producing MUk — Reference to Outline for Conducting Cost of MUk Production Studies — Miscellaneous Costs — Costs of Clearing Land, Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Reported 1914 — Cost of Tile Drainage, Ohio, 1910-11 — Labor Requirements in Connection with Live Stock — Labor Requirements of Dairy Cows — ^Labor Requirements of Work Horses — Machinerj' Costs — L'. S. Hauling Costs: 1905-6.

CHAPTER XX Marketixg Methods 469

Imports and Exports as Guides to Conditions — The Effect upon Exports of World War Conditions — Effects of Exports upon Prices — Distribution Terms — Market Trend — How Farm Products Are Marketed — Study the ImpKjrtant Products First — Marketing Methods Varj- — Ma'-keting Agencies — Ways of Marketing — Choosing the Marketing Method — Inventory Method of Testing Marketing Agencies — Similar Tests of Other Agencies — I*resent System of Marketing Is Sound — Visiting the Markets — Value of Visiting the Markets — Few Growers Visit Their Markets — Influence of Weather upon Sales — Packages and Containers Van*- — Studj-ing Tj-pes of Containers — Examples of Market Containers and Packages — The Best Container — Shipping Carload Lots.

xviii CONTENTS

CHAPTER XXI Page

Reasons Why Market Quotations Are Fallible — Quotations of Different Markets Should Be Studied — Quotations Indicate Market Demands — Sources of Market Quotations — Examples — How Obtained — Symbols of Terms Used — Past Quotations a Guide to Sellng — Five-year Periods to Be Used in Studying Past Quotations — Examples of Past Quotations as a Guide to Selling — Regular and Irregular Fluctuations — The Natural Market Course — Periods of High and Low Prices for Various Farm Products on Different Markets — Holding Products for High Prices — Money Difference in Periods of High and Low Prices — Use of Past Quotations as a Normal in Reporting Prices — Prorating the Consumer's Dollar — Prorating Money Spent for Oranges — Prorating Money Spent for Apples — Proration of Money Spent for Onions — Comparison of Retail Prices and Farmers' Receipts — Reasons for Price Spread Between Producer and Consumer — Conclusion — Partial List of References to Literature upon Marketing.

Chapter XXII

The Farm Management Aspect of Farm Labor — Interest in Labor Depends on Viewpoint — Five Points of View Concerning Farm Labor — Conflicting Ideas Result from Different Viewpoints — The Farm Manager's Responsibility and Viewpoint — Classes of Farm Labor — White — Hobo or Tramp — Italian and Portuguese — Negro — Mexican — Indian — Japanese — Hindu — Chinese — Kind of Help Needed by Farmers — Classification of Farmers' Labor Needs — Transient and Seasonal Labor Needs — The Worker's Viewpoint — Student Experiences Indicate the Worker's Viewpoint — Student Experiences as Farm Laborers — Student Adverse Comments — What Constitutes Good Working Conditions — Working Hours — Boarding the Men — Example of Kitchen Supplies Cost of Boarding Men — Keeping Track of Kitchen Costs and Practices — Examples of Cost of Boarding Help — Housing Farm Help — Improving Quarters Helps Individual Employer — Supervision ■ of Farm Help — Wages Paid to Farm Help in United States — Sectional Variations in Wage Scales — Value of Board as a Part of Wages — What Constitutes a Satisfactory Wage Scale — Paying the Men — Use of Bonuses or Premiums — Handling Labor — Farmers' Part in Getting Good Farm Labor — Selection of Good Foremen Essential — Personal Qualities Necessary to the Successful Handling of Men — Personal Relation of Employer to Men — Discouraging Tattling — A Normal Day's Work — Conditions Affecting a Day's Work — Providing Equipment for Farm Help — Efficient Use of Equipment — Locating Labor Supplies.

Chapter XXIII

Definitions Used in Farm Tenancy — Utilization of Tenancy — Testing Proposed Tenancy Plans — Tenancy as a Means of Getting Started in Farming — Tenancy Provides a Test of the Attractiveness of Farming — Tenancy Provides a Preliminary Test Prior to Purchasing Farm Lands — The Principal Kinds of Tenure — Cash Rent — Standing Rent — Share Rent — Share-cash — Cropping Rent — Preferences for Either Share or Cash Rent — Reasons Given for Preferring Share Tenancj^ — Reasons Given for Preferring

CONTENTS xix

Page

Cash Tenancy — Length of Tenure — Short Tenure Lease Favored — Period of Tenure — Influence of Annual Leases on Changing of Tenants — Conditions WTien Long Term Leases Are Favored — Example of Long Term Leases — • Advantages — Advantages of the Short Term Lease — Length of Lease Depends upon Circumstances — Leasing Practices in the United States — Methods of Sharing Crops and Stock Products — Field Crops — Orchard Fruits — Live Stock and Stock Products — Methods of Sharmg Pasture — Dairy Farms — Dairy Leasing Practices — Wisconsin and Illinois — Stock Farms Practices — General Farms Leasing Practices — Leasing Practices in the Cotton Belt — Fundamental Factors in Leasing Farm Lands.

Chapter XXIV

Examples of Common Cash and Share Leases — Example of Partnership Lease — Example of Stock-share Lease — WTiat the Lease Should Contain — Form of the Lease — Legal Requirements — Points to Be Considered in the Farm Lease — General Details — Reser\^ations — Assurances and Guaranties by the Tenant — By the Landlord — Agreements with Respect to Credit Furnished by the Landlord — Respective Contributions by Each Party to Operating Capital — Adjustments with Respect to Property Owned in Joint Account — Respective Contributions by Each Party to Expenses — Payment of Rent — Privileges for which Special Rent Is or Is Not to Be Paid — Specifications with Respect to the Care, Use, and Improvement of Real Estate and Arrangement for Labor and Materials as Needed for These Purposes — Specifications with Respect to Farm Methods and Procedure — Provision for Supervision — Procedure at Termination of Lease — Enforcement of Contract — Adjustment of Differences — Provisions to Insure Enforcement — Final Details — Proposed Standard Contract Forms for Leases — Suggested Division of Responsibility in Investment and Interest in Income — The Partnership Lease — Example of How a Partnership Lease Works — The Empirical Method — Rights of Each Party to a Lease Under the Empirical Method — Advocates of the Empirical Method — Objection to the Empirical Method — Points to be Observed in Taking a Diversified Enterprise — Estimating Rental Rates for Farm Fully Equipped.