6i2 READINGS IN RURAL ECONOMICS 



Each of the factors is of great importance. Size of farm and 

 receipts per cow are about equally important. Each of them is 

 more important than yields per acre in Jefferson County. Raising 

 the cows from the middle to the best group has the same effect 

 as raising the size of farm from the middle to the largest group. 

 The crops must be changed from the lowest to the best class in 

 order to have an equal effect. 



No one of the factors results in a good labor income if the 

 other factors are poor. A combination of good cows and good 

 crops with a small farm does not give a good labor income, but 

 of course is better than a small farm with poor cows and poor 

 crops. A large farm does not bring good results if the cows and 

 the crops are poor. There are seven different combinations that 

 resulted in average labor incomes of over $1000: 



A large farm with medium cows and medium crops. 



A large farm with medium cows and good crops. 



A medium-sized farm with good cows and medium crops. 



A medium-sized farm with good cows and good crops. 



A large farm with good cows and poor crops. 



A large farm with good cows and medium crops. 



A large farm with good cows and good crops. 



Of course the farms that had good cows, good crops, and a 

 large area did best. 



PROPORTION OF INCOME FROM CASH CROPS AND FROM 



ANIMALS 



Relation of cash crops to profits. Farmers who maintain a good 

 balance between cash crops and animal products make more than 

 do those who go to either extreme. In Jefferson County those 

 who sold no crops made little more than half as much as did 

 those who derived half their income from cash crops. But those 

 who derived more than 60 per cent of their income from the 

 sale of crops also made less than did those who kept a good 

 balance, as is shown in Table 2 1 . The returns per cow are much 

 better on the farms that derive the least from cash crops, so that 

 the better returns on the diversified farms are in spite of the 



