DIVERSIFICATION OF CROPS 



21 



others for hay, and still others for cutting for green feed 

 (soiling). On a farm where beef or pork is produced, the 

 growing of grain is often more important than the produc- 

 tion of forage. On a grain or cotton farm, forage production 

 is of little consequence, except to furnish feed for the neces- 

 sary work animals. Market facilities are often a deciding 



Figure 5. — On the way to market. Beef represents farm crops converted into a 

 form that is more useful to man.l 



factor in the selection of crops; for bulky crops like hay might 

 l^e produced profitably for a near-l)y market, while the 

 profit would be consumed by the transportation charges if 

 it were necessary to haul the product a considerable dis- 

 tance. It is usually advantageous to market crops in a 

 condensed form. Feeding forage and grain crops and mar- 

 keting them in the form of live stock or live-stock products 

 help to keep up the fertility of the soil if the manure is util- 

 ized, while the expense of marketing is reduced. 



17. Diversification. It is not often safe to depend 

 entirely on a single crop. It is sometimes desirable to make 

 a specialty of a crop, and to become known as a producer of 

 high quality oats or corn or cotton or some other product of 



