492 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. [VoL 36 



are nominally getting the larger incomes ; but this apparent return is due to 

 method of presentation of returns rather than to actual advantage. The 

 uniformity of labor incomes throughout the entire area studied indicates 

 that private ownership of land by absentee landlords vpho reap the benefit of 

 such ownership, even though absent in the neighboring village, is bound to be- 

 come a question of supreme importance in the future. . . . 



" The problem of farm incomes is not now a serious one as related to social 

 welfare in the country ; but if present tendencies continue it is bound to be a 

 serious one for those actually living in the country in the future. If one-half 

 or one-third of the wealth produced on a given farm is to go to others than the 

 operator ; if farm labor is to increase because of the lack of opportunity to gain 

 a foothold, due to high land values ; then we must expect that the great central 

 valley, one of the greatest agricultural sections of the world so far as resources 

 is concerned, will be doomed to bear a burden that will breed discontent; that 

 will drive our young men and women from the country; and will bring to 

 America problems that now confront other nations in which statesmen recog- 

 nize that a good income for farmers and ownership operation are essential to 

 national welfare." 



Labor income does not determine true profits, J. I. Falconer {Agr. Student, 

 23 (1916), No. 2, pp. 10^-106). — The author considers that "labor income is a 

 fair basis upon which to compare one farm with another, but it does not 

 afford a fair basis for comparison between the profits of farming and those in 

 other occupations. It is a good basis upon which to compare two farms in a 

 community, one operated, for example, as a grain farm, the other operated 

 as a live-stock farm, or with which to compare a corn and hog farm with a 

 dairy farm. But it is not a measure of the profits in agriculture, nor would 

 the average labor income of a farm for a series of years be a criterion of the 

 size of the estate which a farmer would probate at the time of his decease." 



Farm profits (and factors influencing profits) on 370 potato farms in Mon- 

 mouth County, New Jersey, F. App {Neiv Jersey t>tas. Bui. 294 (1916), pp. 

 3-103, pis. 8, figs. 10). — Among the conclusions arrived at from this study, con- 

 ducted in cooperation with the Department of Conservation and Development of 

 New Jersey and the Bureau of Soils of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, are 

 the following : 



" The average labor income for the Monmouth County potato farms included 

 in this survey is .$842. The cash tenants have the largest average labor income 

 of $938, while the owners have $917, and share tenants $739. Forty-five per cent 

 of the potato farms are operated by tenants. Cash renting is most profitable 

 for the tenant who is a good farmer. . . . The average farm investment for the 

 owners is $17,673, for the share tenants .$3,369, and for the cash tenants $3,085. 



" The farm profits increase with the increase of crop acres per farm for both 

 owner and tenant farms. The larger farms are far more efficient in the use 

 of man, horse, and machinery labor than are the smaller farms. . . . Farm 

 and crop acre values decrease as size increases for all farms regardless of ten- 

 antry. . . . The average sized farm for the owners is 73 crop acres, and f(ir the 

 tenants 87 crop acres. . . . 



" The acre cost of producing potatoes is $85.15. The cost per barrel is 92 

 cents. Farmers producing 60 barrels or less per acre lose money. No class of 

 farmers are raising higher yields of potatoes than are profitable. . . . The 

 larger the proportion of crop acres in potatoes the greater is the labor income. 

 . . . Lack of rotation is not decreasing potato yields, and live stock above what 

 is needed for the farmer's personal use is not profitable on most farms. , . , 

 Diversification lowers profits on these farms. 



