June, 1940] Farm Management in Colebrook 35 



operator could not follow this program because it would limit his 

 dairy enterprise and result in a lower net income. 



The budget analysis on page 33 is based on an assumption of nor- 

 mal potato prices in the area, and probably would result in slightly 

 greater total potato acreage. It is difficult to estimate the extent of 

 increase because some of the operators are no longer in the prime of 

 Hfe and will tend to curtail potato acreage. Of course, if this area 

 expanded potato production and thousands of similar areas did like- 

 wise on the same basis, the price of potatoes would be low, and the 

 situation on the individual farms would call for a reduction in acre- 

 age. At this time the farmers seem to be restricted to this one cash 

 crop, and it would seem sound to use their available labor on the 

 combination of dairying, potatoes, and woodland on the basis of what 

 they can normally expect from each enterprise. If the shifting of 

 general cash crops results in expansion of production, the resulting 

 lower prices may call for readjustment to demand. 



The individual operator must adjust his organization on the basis 

 of prices, but he should be fully aware of the regional and national 

 trends. 



A study of the labor requirements of the dairy enterprise, includ- 

 ing the harvesting of hay and the distribution of manure on the 

 land (Fig. 11, 12, 13, and 14) indicates unused available labor in the 

 spring before haying and in the fall after haying. The same charts 

 indicate that the requirements for potato production fit into these 

 slack periods very well. 



One two-man farm had 27 cows and grew one acre of potatoes 

 (Fig. 11). A slack period resulted for both available labor and 

 teams until July when hay harvest began. Under the conditions of 

 rather high labor requirement per acre of potatoes, very little addi- 

 tional cash cost was required. The operator would in a normal year 

 increase his income by about $130 by growing the one acre of pota- 

 toes. Both he and the regular hired man would do more work and 

 have less free time at slack periods, but the income would be greater. 

 He could add additional potato acreage without hiring more labor. 



On another two-man farm (Fig. 13) with 19 cows. 40 acres of 

 ha}-. 14 acres of small grain, and 10 acres of potatoes, the potato 

 crop makes use of available labor in May and June and early fall. 

 The extreme peak of labor requirement in early October required 

 the employment of additional help. In this case the operator had 

 expanded potato production to a point where the crop could be grown 

 up to harvest without extra hired help. 



A careful study of the many labor charts on the farms indicates 

 that the one-man farm with 10 to 14 cows and four to eight head of 

 voung stock can produce four to five acres of potatoes under the us- 

 ual management practices of the region without having much addi- 

 tional labor except at harvest, that a greater acreage than this is 

 questionable because considerable additional hired help is required. 

 On a few farms a larger acreage can be grown to advantage because 

 the soil and topography are more advantageous for machine work 

 than on the other farms. 



