1918] EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 493 



RURAL ECONOMICS. 



Farm management and farm profits on irrigated land in the Provo area 

 (Utah Lake Valley), L. G. Connob (U. 8. Dept. Agr. Bui. 582 (1918), pp. J^O, 

 pis. i). — This report is based on a study made in 1914 of 104 farms in the 

 Provo area, Utah, in continuation of work previously noted (E. S. R., 31, p. 

 689). The author comes to the following conclusions: 



" The size of the farm business, type of farming followed, and the diversity 

 of income, each has an important bearing on profits. As regards size, the labor 

 income from 26 small fruit farms and general farms [16.48 acres] averaged 

 $350; for 29 large fruit and general farms [77.2 acres], $598; and for 20 live 

 stock farms [106.65 acres], $1,394. As regards type of farming, the labor 

 income of 16 small fruit farms averaged $302 ; of 18 small genex-al farms, $383 ; 

 of 17 large fruit farms, $611 ; and of 24 large general farms, $646. Eighteen 

 dairy farmers made an average labor income of $1,427, and three small poul- 

 try farms averaged $483. 



" The greatest need of the small farmers in this district is more land to work. 

 Failing this, outside labor is a necessity if a good living is to be secured. . . . 



" In general, so far as practicable, the farmer taking more land should do 

 so by rent or lease, rather than piu'chase subject to a mortgage, as he can 

 usually secure the u.se of the land for little more than half what must be 

 paid on a mortgage. The money saved can be used for subsequent purchase. 

 This, of course, does not apply to the man with cash in hand for immediate 

 purchase. 



" Some operators live in town and travel many miles a day to and from the 

 farms. From a farm-management viewpoint this is an inefficient system. 



" With land values and labor cost so high, and the marketing situation so 

 complicated, farmers in this area should make every effort to keep at the 

 maximum that part of the family living which is secured directly from the 

 farm. The garden should be one of the regular enterprises and should be given 

 adequate care. 



" A further increase in the number of very small farms in this region would 

 seem to be unwise. The operators of such units have not enough land to keep 

 them busy at profitable work. About 30 acres seem to be the smallest size 

 for efficient management without much reliance on live stock. Forty to fifty, 

 preferably about 50 acres, seem to be the smallest unit for efficient manage- 

 ment where live stock enterprises are given a prominent place by the typical 

 farmer. This is especially true of dairying. . . . 



" In general, owing to market conditions, the proper place for orchard and 

 truck products in this region is on general farms where they are used as fillers 

 in the business as a whole. Certainly fruit should be produced only on farms 

 where the orchard enterprises are supplemented in a substantial way by more 

 extensive activities. The general farms which grow truck and fruit as sec- 

 ondary enterprises approximate the ideal cropping combination for this region." 



The organization of the farm business for profit, G. N. Daggeb and J. I. 

 Falconer {Agr. Col. Ext. Bui. [Ohio State Univ.], 13 {1917-18), No. 3, pp. 29, 

 figs. 17). — This bulletin discusses the factors to be considered in choosing the 

 type of farming to be followed and in organizing farm business for profit. The 

 text is illustrated with data obtained from Ohio farms. 



International yearbook of agricultural legislation {Inst. Internat. Agr. 

 [Rome}, Ann. Internat. Leg. Agr., 6 {1916), pp. LXX XI +1458). —By adding 

 new laws, this volume continues the information previously noted (E. S. R-, 

 36, p. 393). 



