Missouri Farm Management Association. 275 



The outcome of the boys' department exceeded all our 

 expectations. The lively spirit with which they took hold of the 

 work and play indicated their real enthusiasm and delight in 

 such work. Every little fellow did his utmost to co-operate in 

 making the week a success. Their feelings and impressions are 

 reflected in the ideas they expressed by a unanimous vote to 

 return next year, if possible, and to lay plans to attend the 

 Agricultural College. 



We firmly believe that there is a great future for the boys' 

 department of Farmers' Week, and believe implicitly in its 

 ability to reach the people in a broad way out over the State. 



WHAT FARM RECORDS SHOW US. 



(O. R. Johnson, assistant professor in farm management, Missouri College of 



Agriculture.) 



A study of the illustration of an account here given will 

 show us the essentials of a complete record of the farm enter- 

 prises. One of the first values we derive from a record is the 

 learning of what constitutes receipts and expenses. Under 

 expenses we have the following: Labor, feed, and incidentals 

 like veterinary fees, shoeing, medicine purchased, seed used, fer- 

 tilizers, etc. Under receipts we have the meat or crop produced 

 and such by-products as milk, butter, wool, eggs, manure, etc. 

 In addition to the above, we have expenses which we sometimes 

 call "overheads." These include interest on investment, taxes, 

 depreciation, the upkeep of fences, buildings, tools, etc., and a 

 few others. These indirect expenses must be distributed to the 

 various farm enterprises for the year. In other words, the 

 enterprises, in addition to paying all direct expenses, must pay 

 these indirect expenses also if they are profitable operations. 



To get all expense items for the year we must have three 

 kinds of records — financial, or cash receipts and expenses, labor, 

 or work put in on the different parts of the farm, and feed fed the 

 different classes of stock. You will notice that in the illustration 

 given all three of these records are used. 



In addition to showing us what the receipts and expenses of 

 an enterprise are, the records show us, first of all, which enter- 

 prises are making us a profit and which ones are proving unprofit- 

 able. We would not consider for a moment carrying a farm 

 enterprise which does not pay its way in some form. We prob- 

 gibly will not know whether an enterprise is paying us for our 



