PREFACE 



FARM MANAGEMENT is the study of the business prin- 

 ciples in farming. It may be defined as the science of the 

 organization and management of a farm enterprise for the 

 purpose of securing the greatest continuous profit. 



Successful farming requires good judgment in choosing a 

 farm and in deciding on a type of farming. It demands 

 clear business organization and management for the efficient 

 use of capital, labor, horses, and machinery. It requires 

 good judgment in buying and selling. 



The change from cheap land, hand tools, and farming to 

 raise one's own food and clothing, to farming as a commer- 

 cial undertaking has come upon us so suddenly that business 

 principles are not always well understood by farmers. Nor 

 do those who understand the application of such principles 

 to city conditions often know how to apply them on the 

 farm. 



Long ages of experience and a generation of scientific re- 

 search have resulted in a fund of popular knowledge on how 

 to raise crops and animals. But there is less background of 

 tradition concerning business methods on the farm, and col- 

 leges have given little attention to this kind of problems. 

 The success of the individual farmer is as much dependent 

 on the application of business principles as it is on crop 

 yields and production of animals. 



The best way to find out what methods of farm organiza- 

 tion and management are most successful is to study the 

 methods now used and the profits secured on large numbers 

 of farms, and determine how the more successful ones differ 



