168 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 



defined within somewhat narrow limits, if we but have the basic 

 information. I recognize also that the individual qualifications and 

 personal preference of the farmer and his family must be considered 

 in the problem. 



If it is true, however, as all studies go to show, that any given 

 region can never grow successfully more than three or four staple 

 crops, it must follow that the farmer has after all little economic 

 choice as to what he will grow. To be sure, he may vary, to some 

 extent, the proportions of the crops grown. But unless these crops 

 rank practically the same from the standpoint of relative profitable- 

 ness, he again has little choice. In any event, he must grow a some- 

 what balanced acreage of the crops included in his rotation, in order 

 to secure good distribution of labor, the control of insect and disease 

 pests, and a fair measure of insurance against crop failure or 

 unfavorable prices for any one crop. 



In the production of animals he has a somewhat wider range 

 of choice than is the case with crops, since animals in general enjoy 

 a somewhat wider range of adaptation than plants. Here too, how- 

 ever, he must soon be limited by the relative profitableness of different 

 animal enterprises. 



Once we get the basic facts, showing just what combinations 

 of crop and animal enterprises are best adapted to a given region, we 

 must recognize, I believe, that any considerable deviation from this 

 combination will of necessity prove to be a handicap in making the 

 maximum economic return. In fact many of these systems are already 

 in some measure developed in the various regions. We need only to 

 find them, determine the essentials of their organization on the basis 

 of careful accounting analysis, and combine the fundamentals of 

 successful management practise for the region into a somewhat 

 standardized working plan. 



I realize that all of this is difficult, in the minds of many im- 

 possible. My only reason for seriously discussing it in this company 

 is that if we are to continue to produce food for our constantly 

 increasing population at a price which they can pay, and at which we 

 can still make a profit on the enterprise, we must introduce into 

 more common practise a high degree of productivity on our farms and 

 we must secure this productivity at the smallest possible cost. The 

 realization of this aim is of the greatest importance to the well-being 

 of the individual farmer, as well as to society as a whole. 



