June, 1940] 



Farm Management in Colebrook 



29 



VALUE OF N€T RETURNS PER 

 AOOinONAI. ACRE OF HAY 



ACRtS OF HAY 



NET RETURNS PER ADDITIONAL 

 UNIT OF LABOR AND CAPITAL 



Y- 



FiGURE 15. Point of diminish- 

 ing returns for haying. 



Ueyond a certain point addition- 

 al units of labor and capital ex- 

 pended on harvesting an acre of 

 hay result in lower net returns for 

 each successive unit applied. The 

 lai;or on hay ranged from 5.2 to 

 24.7 hours per acre on individual 

 tanns. On each farm the combi- 

 nation of the crops and the detailed 

 practices on each should be such 

 that returns for the farm as a 

 whole are maximized. 



Figure 16. Favorable liay har- 

 vest season. 



With reliance on available equip- 

 ment and labor, the addition of 

 acres of hay beyond a certain 

 ]ioint extends the harvesting pe- 

 riod into the season before or after 

 the most favorable feed value pe- 

 riod. Thus each additional acre 

 beyond a certain point returns suc- 

 cessively less than the preceding 

 acres. This general situation ap- 

 plies to all crops. 



UNITS Of CAPITAL AND LABOA 



portion of the crop which is haVvested verv earlv or verv late. 

 (Fig. 16.) 



The total food vahie of hay increases gradually as the season ad- 

 vances and then declines as the grass becomes fibrous. The stage 

 of highest value is comparative!}" short. The operator therefore 

 should begin before the peak value stage and must by necessity con- 

 tinue haying after the decline in value has occurred. It was observed 

 by the field man that some operators waited for maturity before be- 

 ginning haying and that consequently the hay cured in the last of 

 the season was very poor in quality. The important issue here is 

 that as we add acres of one kind of hay beyond a certain point to 

 the organization and thus extend the harvest season, the net return 

 from the additional acres is successively diminished. In an extreme 

 case the last acre added may be harvested so late as to return only 

 half as much as hay harvested at the best time. 



There is a double advantage in organizing the haying operations 

 so that harvesting can be carried out efiiciently and quickly on an 

 acreage not excessive in relation to available labor and equipment. 

 The effective use of labor in harvesting enables the operator to have 

 more acres of hay and to harvest a larger proportion of it within the 

 season when feed value per acre is highest. 



Moreover, there is a change in the market value of the additional 

 tonnage, as total yields are increased. On the dairy farm there is a 

 premium on hay up to the point of meeting the requirements of the 

 dairy cows and replacement heifers. The addition of acres of hay 

 beyond the usual requirements of the herd may have less value per 



