EXERCISE 70 

 PLANNING THE HOME FARM 



Object. To study the shape and arrangement of the 

 fields of a farm in order to suggest ways for improvement. 



Explanation. The cost of operating a farm is greatly 

 influenced by the way in which the fields are laid out and 

 arranged. On some farms, due to poor arrangement of the 

 fields, it is often necessary to haul the crops produced a much 

 greater distance to the barn or feed lot than would be nec- 

 essary if the fields were more systematically arranged. The 

 cost of fencing or cultivating fields poorly shaped and 

 arranged is often greater than would be necessary with a 

 better arrangement. 



In laying out the fields of a farm there are a number of 

 factors that should be observed : 



1. The fields should be arranged so that long stretches of 

 land may be cultivated without turning. It is always 

 cheaper to cultivate long rows than short ones. Therefore, if 

 the farm is small, the fields should be long and narrow. 



2. The roadways to the fields should be arranged to per- 

 mit easy and direct access to all parts of the farm. 



3. The buildings should be so located that the haul to the 

 fields will be as short as possible. The ideal arrangement 

 on a large farm is to have the buildings centrally located. 



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