16 'V FARMKHS' BULLETIN 614. 



It will be seen that the hogs are an effective means of cutting down 

 the labor at rush seasons, of avoiding the expense and annoyance of 

 securing much hired labor, and of transferring the bulk of this labor 

 to other seasons of the year, when the farmer can do the work him- 

 self. By following a system of this kind the amount of outside or 

 extra labor needed is extremely small. Aside from the saving in 

 money, this independence of outside circumstances is desirable. 



SUMMARY. 



Labor is the most difficult problem to meet on the average corn- 

 belt farm. This condition is growing worse instead of better and 

 will probably make it necessary to reorganize a large number of 

 farms in that section. Unless systems of farming are adopted that 

 will eliminate a part of the work required at rush seasons, it means 

 cutting down the acreage that each farmer can handle and the net 

 income as well. 



By force of necessity many farmers throughout this section have 

 devised such a system and have formulated about the same rotation 

 and general plan of operation. The fact that they can plant and 

 cultivate more crops than they can harvest has led them to resort to 

 gathering much of their crops with live stock and to planting such 

 crops as will lend themselves to this mode of harvesting. The possi- 

 bilities of saving labor and extending the acreage, and thus increasing 

 the income, by this method are only beginning to be realized. 



Swine are a class of live stock admirably suited to solve this 

 particular farm problem. These animals most successfully and profit- 

 ably harvest the greatest variety of farm crops. Rye, corn, clover, 

 soy beans, rape, and other forage crops that can be grown in the 

 corn belt are harvested thus with a maximum of profit and a mini- 

 mum of labor to the farmer. 



Rye and the hogging off of this crop offer a substitute for wheat, 

 which has become unprofitable on many farms of this section. Under 

 ordinary conditions a price greater than that given for rye on the 

 market is obtained, and all of the rye straw and about 80 per cent 

 of the fertilizing value of the grain are returned immediately to the 

 soil by this process. 



The money return per acre from the rye crop, either when hogged 

 off or sold on the market, is not great. When hogged off, this varies 

 with the price of hogs, but will generally be more than if the rye is 

 sold. If the yield of wheat is 20 bushels or more per acre, it is doubtful 

 whether rye should be substituted, but even then the labor situation 

 may force the adoption of rye, together with the hogging-off process. 



Corn and clover are most profitably and economically harvested 

 by hogs, and the fertility contained in these crops is thereby returned 

 to the soil with the least possible loss. When these crops are com- 

 bined with rye and harvested in the same manner, using either a 4, 

 5, or 6 year rotation, a most efficient farm system for the corn beit 

 is the result. It meets the labor problem, builds up the soil, con- 

 serves fertility, and yields a satisfactory income. 



The ever-present danger from hog cholera in any system of farming 

 involving swine is fully recognized, but on a number of farms which 

 are using the system here outlined this danger has been successfully 

 obviated by inoculation with hog-cholera serum. 



