It's the Best Investment I Ever 

 Made 



' ■ ■ (Continued from "page 5) 



' A stove in the center is used to Tceep 

 the young pigs warm iti cold weather. 

 The houses are thoroughly disinfected to 

 kill worm eggs and parasites before the 

 farrowing season begins as recommended 

 by the Farm Bureau and the Illinois 

 College of Agriculture. Hog pastures are 

 rotated for the same reason. The pigs 

 get all they want to eat from self-feed- 

 ers. Corn, tankage and minerals with 

 alfalfa pasture and plenty of water are 

 relied on for economical gains. 



,The 11 purebred Duroc sows running 

 with the sho'ats are bred for early fall 

 litters. Harvey has, a hog base in the 

 corn-hog program of 148 pigs. With a 10 

 per cent reduction for 1935 he can mar- 

 ket 133 head. 



The 12 milk cows, mostly Shorthorns, 

 are still on dry feed cleaning up the rest 

 of the ^ilage before being turned out on 

 pasture. The milk goes to Milledgeville 

 to the cheese factory where last mpnth's 

 price was $1.64 for 3.85 per cent test. 

 The cows in milk are yielding about $10 

 each a month. Twenty-two head of cat- 

 tle were wintered on silage, alfalfa, corn 

 stalks and soybean hay, the milk cows 

 getting some ground feed in addition. 



Harvey Cobb's farm account books kept 

 in co-operation with the Whiteside Coun- 

 ty Farm Bureau and the University of 

 Illinois Farm Management department 

 give you all the facts about income and 

 expense. Nineteen thirty-four income, 

 for example, shows $2,086 from hogs (in- 

 cluding first corn-hog check), $538 from 

 milk, $216 from sale of cattle, $263 poul- 

 try, $261 eggs, $549 feed grain and sup- 

 plies (this item is largely increase in 

 •inventory value of corn) and $93 from 

 labor off the farm. A total gross in- 

 come of $4,006 which after subtracting 

 $629 expenses leaves a net of $3,377 for 

 interest on investment, upkeep on the 

 farm, labor and management wage. Not 

 so bad for 80 acres. Higher prices as a 

 result of the AAA program, the drouth, 

 and reflationary policies of government 

 combined with the fact that northwest- 

 ern Illinois was a favored section last 

 year made possible this excellent show- 

 ing. 



Harvey is a member of the township 

 corn-hog committee. "Here's why I be- 

 lieve in the AAA program," he said, 

 pointing to hog sales records of 1933 and 

 1934. "Look at the 52 spring pigs I sold 

 in September, 1933. They netted me only 

 $445.38, about $8.50 a head for 214 lb. 

 hogs. The 35 sold in October that year 

 netted $352.56. Fifty-five sold March 

 16, 1934 brought $585.76. That's when 



•we signed up for the corn-hog program. 

 Look what happened the next fall when 



. the program started to take hold. Forty- 



■.•iR;-Sv>i*ss* -"'W', "-"*«<^-«« 



NEW AUTOMOBILES AND OTHER MANUFACTURED COMMODITIES ARE AGAIN 

 making their appearance on Illinois farms which accounts for the increased employment and 

 activity in industrial centers. While farm buying power is up from the low levels of two and 

 three years ago, only a beginning has been made. The potential demand by farmers, for 

 industrial goods is almost unlimited. The steady rise in farm prices toward parity has greatly 

 improved the exchange value of farm products although many farmers, hard hit last year by 

 drouth, must await the production of a new crop before they can buy. 



nine hogs sold September 20, 1934 netted 

 $801.97. Five more sold October 3 

 brought $65.39. Forty marketed March 

 20 this year brought $8.70 a hundred 

 and netted $786.27. The corn-hog pro- 

 gram made the difference between suc- 

 cess and failure for me. The payments 

 out of processing taxes are helpful but 

 not nearly so important as the gain in 

 prices. That's where livestock farmers, 

 the cattle and sheep men as well, have 

 had their greatest benefit." 



This year the Cobb farm has 23 Ms 

 acres corn, 12 acres oats and barley, 9 

 acres soybeans for hay and seed, 12 

 acres alfalfa (6 for chickens, 7 for hogs), 

 12 acres of oats and sweet clover pasture 

 for cows, 2 acres sweet corn and 1 acre 

 Grohoma (kaffir corn) for silo. The 

 balance of the farm is in garden, or- 

 chard, farmstead and road. Last year in 

 spite of dry weather corn made nearly 

 60 bu. an acre. And 4% acres of soy- 

 beans yielded 118 bu. of seed. 



What's all that red stuff across the 

 fence on the next farm ? Red sorrel and 

 what a thrifty growth this year. A sign 

 of acid soil. "Funny thing about this 

 farm," said Harvey. "There's rich lime- 

 stone under all of it. You can dig down 

 six feet, more or less, almost anywhere 

 and strike limestone. But the top soil 

 was all acid before we limed." 



Out in another alfalfa patch north of 

 the house, Mrs. Cobb is busy with her 

 chickens. There you'll find about 1,100 

 spring frys, White Leghorns and Rocks, 

 weighing from 1% to two pounds, all 

 raised from baby chicks bought from the 

 hatchery the first of April. 



The chicks are placed on wire in the 

 brooder houses when they arrive and 

 started on Fesco mash mixed by the 



farmers' elevator at Morrison. After 

 three to four weeks on Fesco starter, the 

 Cobbs change to a growing mash, which 

 they g^-ind and mix themselves, composed 

 of 50 lbs. corn, 30 lbs. wheat, 19 lbs. 

 meat scrap, two lbs. Corn King minerals, 

 and one lb. salt. This feed which costs 

 about $1.70 per cwt. on today's market 

 is kept in hoppers before the young 

 growing chickens constantly. Also plenty 

 of water and alfalfa pasture. 



The young Leghorns don't fly around 

 much if you give them all they want to 

 eat, Mrs. Cobb tells you. "We haven't 

 had any of this hatch killed on the hard 

 road yet." Customers from the neigh- 

 boring towns drive out and buy many of 

 the young fryers when they weigh around 

 two pounds. They are dressed to order, 

 or sold live. Last year most of the 

 springers were marketed direct to the 

 consumer and at good prices. People will 

 pay more for quality. 



Mrs. Cobb plans to keep up to 500 of 

 the young pullets to put in the laying 

 house this fall. They will be fed a home 

 mixed laying mash similar to the grow- 

 ing mash to start them shelling out eggs 

 about October 1. 



Harvey believes in insurance. He holds 

 two policies in Country Life, his new 1935 

 Studebaker six is insured in the Illinois 

 Agricultural Mutual, and a Farmers 

 Mutual Reinsurance policy protects his 

 farm property against fire and wind- 

 storm. He patronizes the Whiteside Serv- 

 ice Co. The Cobb homestead is painted 

 with Soyoil paint. 



"The best investment I ever madie was 

 in a Farm Bureau membership," Harvey 

 will tell you. "If I had got as big re- 

 turns from other investments I've made 

 I'd be satisfied." 



v?a 



I. A. A. RECORD 



