578 READINGS IN RURAL ECONOMICS 



is to have a basis for comparing different farms. It serves this 

 purpose most excellently. 1 



The man as a factor in success. It is frequently stated that 

 success depends on the man. To some persons this seems a full 

 and satisfactory explanation. But it explains nothing. It merely 

 dodges the question. Success cannot come from merely being a 

 genius. Success comes from doing certain things. The farmer 

 does not sell himself. He sells milk, potatoes, hay, apples. It is 

 such things as cost of production, amount sold, and price that 

 determine his profits. The only way that a good farmer can 

 express himself is by doing certain things. These things are fairly 

 easy of analysis. If one farmer sprays his apples and another does 

 not, it is the arsenic that kills the worms. Any other person can 

 duplicate the result by spraying in the same way. If one farmer 

 succeeds because he has better cows than another, this success 

 can be duplicated. Certainly some persons will succeed where 

 others fail, because they do things differently. Just what are the 

 differences in method of procedure ? 



Many of the limiting factors are natural forces over which the 

 farmer has little, if any, control. Other limiting factors that are 

 not personality are prices, roads, freight rates, capital, and the like. 

 These limit what can be done by the best, as well as by the 

 poorest, farmer. With large numbers of records, it is possible to 

 determine with a fair degree of accuracy the influence that each 

 of the different factors has on profits. Any part of a farmer's 

 success that is due to his acts can as readily be determined when 

 large numbers of farms are studied. (See diagram, p. 585, and 



1 Business men sometimes question why the value of the farmer's labor is not 

 deducted and interest calculated, rather than deducting interest and calculating 

 labor. In our first two years of work, we made calculations both ways. But with 

 such small investments as some farmers have, the interest figure often means 

 nothing. If a farmer has a capital of $2000 and makes $600 above his farm 

 expenses, his labor income is $500. If we assume that his labor is worth $400 at 

 farm wages, then he has made 10 per cent interest. Another farmer with $20,000 

 capital, whose farm receipts exceed the expenses by $2000, makes a labor income 

 of $1000. If the labor that he does is considered to be worth $400, he makes 8 

 per cent interest. If all farmers had capitals of $20,000 to $50,000, so that inter- 

 est would be a larger item than labor, the interest method of figuring might be con- 

 sidered. Another reason why labor income is preferable is that we know what 

 money is worth. It is much more difficult to assign a value to the farmer's labor. 



