FACTORS OF SUCCESS IN FARMING 627 



One who owns a farm may borrow part of his capital or may 

 own some land and rent additional land. 



Most of the profitable general or dairy farms have 150 to 300 

 acres of land, with 100 to 200 acres of crops. For these kinds 

 of farming, 80 to 100 acres of crops is about the minimum area 

 that will make good use of a fair equipment and the horses that 

 go with it. Better equipment can be used and very much better 

 use of it can be made with 1 50 acres of crops. With these types 

 of farming, 600 acres is about the limit that can be run from 

 one center, and it is not often that such a large area can be 

 handled to advantage. When public welfare and the prosperity 

 of the farmer are both considered, farms of 150 to 300 acres 

 seem to be the best size for general and dairy farms. In regions 

 where less than half the land is tillable a correspondingly larger 

 area is needed. If a farmer does not have land enough and if 

 he cannot buy more, it is often possible to rent additional land 

 so that he can get full use of his horses, machinery, and labor. 



Some farmers whose crops are below the average do very 

 well, but those who make the highest profits usually have crops 

 that are better than their neighbors raise. Apparently it pays to 

 raise crops at least a fifth better than the neighbors raise on the 

 same soil. 



On dairy farms there is no factor more important than the 

 receipts per cow. In the three counties studied, the cows must 

 be about a half better than the average if they are to contribute to 

 the success of the farm. The most successful farmers usually get 

 returns from a half better to nearly twice as good as the average. 



A well-balanced combination of cash crops and live-stock usu- 

 ally pays better than does either extreme. The best combination 

 varies with the amount of money that the farmer has, with the 



^ Three other dairy farms that sold milk at wholesale and that made over $2000 

 labor income were omitted. One derived nearly all its income from buying and 

 selling cattle. One made most of the income from pure-bred stock. One was 

 really a crop farm. 



2 Work of women and children is included on the basis of the time that it 

 would take a man to do the same work. , 



^ This is in addition to milk used in raising calves and milk used in the house. 

 The total production probably averages nearly 7000 pounds. 



* Values of houses and bams for 16 of the 23 farms. 



