AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS 



which he can produce to the best advantage. In 

 agriculture, however, the production of any one 

 crop requires the attention of the farmer for only 

 a portion of the year, and various crops demand 

 his attention at different seasons, so that his labor, 

 horses, and machines are usually employed more 

 economically in a system of diversified farming 

 than in a single crop system, even if the crop need- 

 ing attention at one time is less profitable than 

 that requiring attention at another time. 



The crops which require attention at the same 

 time of the year may be looked upon as a group 

 of competing crops. Those crops which require 

 cultivation for six or eight weeks during the early 

 period of their growth, such as maize, cotton, 

 tobacco, potatoes, sugar beets, etc., may be classed 

 together as a group of competing crops, because 

 they compete for the attention of the farmer, for 

 his labor, horses, tools and machinery. The win- 

 ter grains, rye and winter wheat, or the spring 

 grains, oats, barley, and spring wheat, may be 

 given as other groups. These separate groups 

 may be called non-competing groups, because the 

 members of one group require the attention of 

 the farmer at a different time than do the mem- 

 bers of the other groups. For example, maize, 

 cotton, etc., do not compete with oats, barley, etc. 



The farmer who seeks to use his labor and capi- 

 tal to the best advantage should select from each 

 group of competing crops that one which will add 



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