OFFICE OF FARM MANAGEMENT. 497 



formation can be developed from a close study of the various farm 

 practices in relation to the use of barnyard manure and other means 

 of maintaining crop yields. These studies indicate that there is a 

 very direct relationship between certain farm practices and the main- 

 tenance of maximum yields through a wise use of available manures 

 and fertilizers. These practices have been studied in detail especially 

 in the Eastern States, and publications describing them have been 

 issued. Further investigations along this line are in progress. 



PROBLEMS OF MANAGEMENT IN SPECIFIC AREAS. 



The abnormal changes occasioned by prevailing war conditions 

 have developed special problems in the management of farms in 

 various parts of the country. The solution of these problems is a 

 matter of readjustment of the farming system so that it may be oper- 

 ated with less labor and a smaller supply of materials in the way of 

 equipment and fertilizers, and at the same time maintain or increase 

 production of the staple crops and classes of live stock. In short, 

 they mean putting the farm on a war basis. These readjustments in 

 the farming operations vary widely according to the region con- 

 cerned. 



NORTHERN ATLANTIC STATES. 



In the Northern Atlantic States the primary problem has been 

 one of finding an adequate supply of grains and forage on dairy 

 and poultry farms. Prior to the war, it was a custom for dairymen 

 to purchase large quantities of concentrated feeds and to grow all 

 the roughage needed for their live stock. With the abnormal price 

 of concentrated grains in the past year and with the gi^eat scarcity 

 of many of the products, it became necessary to make an almost 

 complete readjustment of the farming system on many of these 

 farms so as to provide a larger supply of home-grown grains. Such 

 a change called for new equipment and new rotations, and made 

 new requirements in the way of labor and materials. The results of 

 farm-management investigations have been extremely helpful in 

 throwing light on this problem, furnishing, as they have, data on 

 the requirements of the various crops and the best ways of fitting 

 them into the farming systems. 



Correlated with this problem is that of providing more of the food 

 products used by the farm family. Very marked results have been 

 effected in this direction through greater production of home sup- 

 plies, in many cases so abundantly that a surplus has been available 

 for people living in neighboring towns and villages. 



MIDDLE ATLANTIC STATES. 



As already pointed out, one of the most direct means of main- 

 taining or increasing production under war-time conditions is by 

 increasing crop yields. This can often be done with a minimum ex- 

 penditure of labor and funds and with very marked results. In the 

 Middle Atlantic States large areas of land are found where crop 

 fields have declined to a low level. Farm-practice investigations 

 in these areas indicate that when certain systems of farming are 

 followed, very substantial increases in yields of staple crops are 

 realized. Moreover, these increased yields are obtained with com- 



