5. Conclusions 



TH E question of improving the efficiency of the receiving and handling 

 of grain-feeds on farms is, in application, best approached on an in- 

 dividual unit basis. Neither farm layouts nor management factors are stan- 

 dardized. Thus, the design of facilities can only rarely be identical from farm 

 to farm. The objective in this bulletin has not been to present a complete 

 list of possibilities, but to suggest a few, leaving application to ingenuity. 

 Some specific designs for feed handling facilities are available from college 

 and trade sources. 



Farm operators need to ration capital expenditures. The choice of 

 improvement projects can be made by considering the net savings various 

 changes yield. Feed handling is likely to rank near the top of the list for 

 poultrymen, but much lower for dairymen. 



Having feed delivered to the farm in bulk does not necessarily assure 

 significant time savings. What counts more is the feeding arrangements 

 and mechanization into which bulk feed can readily fit. 



Savings in the purchase price of bulk feed must ultimately reflect some 

 of the savings, if any, in handling costs of feed companies. Initial discounts 

 may tend to reflect in addition what competing feed companies offer as 

 an incentive to farmers to convert to bulk feed. 



Although difficult to quantify, the effects of improved methods of re- 

 ceiving and handling feeds on the labor force are important. Taking the 

 "lift and lug" out of feed handling may not only enhance the attractiveness 

 of farm work and permit family members to perform chores in emergencies, 

 but may also contribute to the productivity of regular workers at tasks 

 other than feeding. 



The adoption of the pneumatic-type equipment, either in regular bulk 

 delivery trucks or in the attachment of a unit to bagged delivery trucks, 

 has added to the flexibility of farm systems for handling feed. One of the 

 major problems in simplification has been that of economically locating 

 supplies at convenient points. The pneumatic system is admirably suited 

 for this purpose. 



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