CLEARING FARM LAND 



23 



sandy loam, was well adapted to the use intended. Liming, fertilizing and seed- 

 ing costs on the 20 acres of pasture are excluded, because these are operationtl 

 rather than land improvement costs. 



When good pasture land can be developed irom stump land in this manner, 

 the improvement costs soon pay for themselves in additional production per acre. 

 The stump land undoubtedly produced some feed before it was cleared, so not 

 all of the value of pasture can be counted as an increase. The differences in 

 production between the stump land and the Ladino-clover pasture were about 

 the same as those between native grass and clover-grass pasture in 1942\ On 

 this basis the stumpland produced about one-fifth as much grazing valued at 

 $4.50 per acre per year. The difference of $18.00 per acre per year was the in- 

 creased return for land improvement and pasture seeding. Approximately 60 

 percent of the total cost of the pasture was for land improvement. Therefore 

 the return is $10.80 per year per acre and the land improvement work would be 

 paid for in six years of grazing. 



Although number of cows has not been increased to expand the size of business, 

 20 acres of good pasture land have been added. The expenditure of $1270 is 

 justified on this basis alone, because of the feed supply added to the farm. In 

 addition, the improv'ed pasture land can be used for crops or hay. 



Case A-2 — Stumps and stones were removed from three acres to provide addi- 

 tional pasture on a 30-acre dairy farm with 17 cows. The contrast with case A-1 

 is striking because of difference in type of soil. More work was done per acre 

 on a smaller tract of land, at more than twice the cost, to provide none-too-good 

 pasture. The additional acreage was not sufficient to furnish the necessary 

 amount of land nor to decrease feed costs appreciably. 



Table 4. — Comparison of Costs and Returns for Improving 3 

 Acres of Stump Land for Pasture. 



A power shovel and a bulldozer were hired by the hour. Some of the stumps 

 were buried and others were burned. At $144 per acre the costs were high, con- 

 sidering the quality of the improved pasture that resulted. Seeding, liming, 

 and fertilizing costs per acre were about the same as in Case A-1; therefore 80 

 percent of total pasture costs consisted of land improvement. On this basis 

 pasture value per acre attributed to land improvement work amounted to about 

 $13 per year. 



Case B-1 — Boulders were removed from a 10-acre field on a 60-cow dairy farm 

 in 1940. The land has been used for five years, for both crops and pasture. 



'Returns from Pasture Treatment. C. R. Creek. FM-13, April 1943, mimeo. 



