ANNUAL REPORT, 1940 7 



the unprofitable farms. The average labor return for all farms was only 

 10 cents per hour. In 1939, the farms that made money produced several 

 kinds of vegetables. This probably reduced the loss from the four or 

 five very unprofitable crops in this area. Ten diversified farms with dairy 

 and poultry enterprises in addition to vegetables and potatoes showed net 

 returns that were much greater at $1453 per farm. Of this, $1157 was 

 income from the livestock enterprises above feed and replacement costs. 



The ten most important vegetable crops on the basis of total acreage on 

 these commercial farms were sweet corn, tomatoes, iceberg lettuce, green 

 beans, peppers, celery, spinach, cucumbers, cabbage and wax beans. These 

 ten crops occupied 82 percent of the total acreage and accounted for 80 

 percent of total vegetable sales. 



For the crop year 1939, 13 of the 22 commercial farms had greater cash 

 incomes than cash expenses of operating the farms. Four farms had over 

 $1000 of net cash return which ranged from a high of $2342 to a loss of 

 $4432 for all farms. On 10 farms, after family labor and depreciation 

 were charged, the farm income was greater than expenses. Only six 

 farm operators had a labor income as payment for their labor and manage- 

 ment of the farm for the year. 



Suggested farm plans for the reorganization of three low-income market 

 garden farms have been prepared. Small fruits, strawberries and rasp- 

 berries, have been substituted in the crop plan for the vegetables which 

 were most unprofitable. A small poultry enterprise has been added to 

 the farm business for the period from October through March to provide 

 additional farm income. Plans were also made to increase the amount 

 of family living from the farm through the crop and livestock enterprises. 



These plans were made in an attempt to appraise the recommendations 

 of the Rural Polic}' Committees on the basis of facts obtained in the 

 economic analysis of these farms. The present crop and livestock systems 

 were compared with the suggested systems to show the effects of the 

 recommended changes in the choice and combination of enterprises. The 

 plans cannot be evaluated here since they have not been entirely com- 

 pleted or approved. 



Labor Saving Methods and Techniques on Vegetable Farms. (C. R. 



Creek and Richard Elliot.) Data were obtained on the time required to 

 harvest and pack early iceberg lettuce on 10 farms in the Dighton area 

 in June 1940. The most common method of harvesting consisted of two 

 operations: cutting and trimming the heads; and packing into crates in 

 the field. Each cutter usually took three rows, cutting all heads that 

 were ready and placing them on the stump of the plant with the butt end 

 up. Then the heads were packed into crates by other workers who fol- 

 lowed the cutters. A crew of five men on one farm cut 22 crates (18 

 heads) of lettuce per hour per man. This lettuce was packed at the rate 

 of 28 crates per hour for each packer. 



In another system of harvesting lettuce two men cut and trimmed heads 

 which were tossed to the packer who kept a crate nearby. Four crews of 

 three men cut and packed 16 crates of lettuce per hour per worker. The 

 fastest crew did 20 crates and the slowest did 13 crates per hour. A third 

 system was used where one man cut and packed the heads in one opera- 

 tion. A small crew of two men cut and packed 17 crates each in an hour 

 on poor cutting. 



Packing-shed operations were of two types: one where the packed crates 



