It would not result in the lowest cost of production per unit, although costs 

 would be reduced. Investment in machinery with Plan I of this pattern of 

 ownership would be as low as with Alternative 4, self-ownership and custom- 

 hired, but with Plan II it would be slightly higher. Alternative 5 illustrates 

 the effect on income of increased specialization of machinery. Ownership of 

 certain machines would be avoided by custom hiring. With the labor freed, 

 custom work could be done with some of the remaining equipment owned by 

 the farmer. Thus the workload for the farm labor force would remain the 



same. 



The relative influence of different adjustments on costs and net farm in- 

 come is noteworthy. Lowest costs per unit are not necessarily associated with 

 the highest net farm income. This analysis points out the fallacy, from the 

 viewpoint of individual farmers, of emphasizing too much the costs of 

 production. 



Farm B — A Medium-sized Dairy Farm 



As operated, farm B is a 26-cow dairy farm with 18 youngstock and a 

 bull. Cropland consists of 69 acres: 7 in corn silage, 6 in new seeding, 5 in 

 improved rotation pasture, and 51 in mixed hay. There are 120 acres of 

 permanent pasture and pastured woods. The combination of equipment is 

 built around a medium-sized tractor and a l^/^-ton platform truck. Two horses 

 and some horse equipment are also maintained. Adjustments suggested for 

 this farm in the earlier report indicate that more intensive use of existing 

 resources would produce a greater size of business without increasing the 

 workload if suggested managerial techniques were followed. ^^ Under the 

 revised plan the output of both crops and livestock would reflect improved 

 management. Some shifts were made in use of cropland although no land was 

 added. A small additional net investment was needed for some changes in 

 buildings and equipment. 



Table 18. — Suggested Crop and Livesfock Organization of Farm B, 

 a Typical Medium-sized New England Dairy Form 



Crop 



icres 



Production in Tons 

 of Hay Equivalent 



Total 



109 



35 

 92 

 16 

 8 

 31 

 40 



222 



Livestock 



Number 



Production 



Cows 



Heifers, 1 year+ 



Heifer calves 



Bull 



^AU hay land harvested twice. 



12 I. F. Fellows, G. E. Frick, and S. B. Weeks, op. cit. 



27 



