OFFICE OF FARM MANAGEMENT. 477 



stations in the important wheat States in the eastern half of the 



country. 



FARM ORGANIZATION. 



The work of the farm organization section of the office may be 

 summarized by a few outstanding features which have marked the 

 progress during the fiscal year 1916-17. In previous years con- 

 siderable time has been spent in collecting data from farms, and 

 although much additional information has been taken this last year 

 more attention has been given to summarizing and digesting the ma- 

 terial at hand. 



FARM SURVEYS. 



Very important progress has been made with the survey work, par- 

 ticularl}^ in summarizing the results from the areas where records 

 have been taken over a period of years. These have been especially 

 valuable from the standpoint of showing the profits and returns on 

 investment that farmers receive from their business over a five-year 

 period and the effect that crop failures or losses of live stock from 

 disease have upon the returns from the business. Frequently a 

 farmer has moved from a small farm to a large one, and records have 

 been obtained for several years on both places under the same man- 

 agement. Such data have been especially useful in supplementing 

 the more extended studies on the size of the farm business with ref- 

 erence to efficient operation. 



Extensive data have been collected on the means by which farmers 

 obtain a foothold on the land. 



A very important part of the farmer's living is received directly 

 from the farm in the form of garden products, milk, eggs, meat, use 

 of the house to live in, etc. A very careful analysis has been made 

 of this direct income to the farmer and his family. These data 

 show the relative importance of the garden, poultry, orchard, etc. 

 A very mistaken notion is often held with regard to the garden 

 products, which constitute a comparatively small percentage of the 

 products received direct by the farmer and his family, the milk, 

 eggs, and meat products being of outstanding importance. Sup- 

 plementing this study an analysis has been made of the garden itself 

 to determine which classes of vegetables contribute most effectively 

 toward the farmer's living. These studies show what a garden really 

 is worth to the family. 



Several publications have been issued dealing with the various 

 phases of the survey work. These pertain mainly to the results ob- 

 tained on specific investigations. Considerable assistance has also 

 been rendered investigators in colleges and institutions with refer- 

 ence to methods of conducting surveys, so that at present practically 

 all the research agencies in the United States are following com- 

 paratively uniform methods. This standardizing of methods has 

 been of great value in that it permits a comparison of results ob- 

 tained by different agencies. 



FARM MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT. 



The farm machinery and equipment work has been characterized 

 by studies aimed to conserve farm labor and to make the use of farm 

 implements more efficient. Particular attention has been paid to 

 the study of farm tractors, and a great service has been rendered, not 

 only in the way of publications on this subject, but in bringing to- 



