102 FARM MANAGEMENT 



to untried things. They realize that no scientist can 

 consider all these factors. Only experience can do that. 

 Scientists showed that sugar beets could be grown in 

 New York, and two big factories were built. They are 

 gone now. The scientist forgot to consider which would 

 pay better, the sugar beet or other crops of the region with 

 which beets compete. So near large centers of popula- 

 tion, the labor that might be used to grow sugar beets is 

 more profitably employed in growing such crops as apples, 

 potatoes, and cabbages. Scientists have urged these 

 same farmers not to sell hay, but they go on selling it. 

 The farmer of Nebraska and Iowa is told to put all of 

 his corn in the silo or cut it up so as to save the stalks, 

 but there is a labor question involved, and most of the 

 corn continues to be husked from the standing stalks in 

 the field. 



One should always follow the type of farming of the 

 region until he is very sure that something else will pay 

 better. Even then, he should go slowly, as he is likely to 

 find that he overlooked something. A progressive con- 

 servatism is most likely to bring success. 



THE PERSONAL FACTOR 



75. Personal tastes a minor factor. The personal 

 likes and dislikes of the farmer are often thought of as 

 the most important consideration, but they are usually 

 a minor factor in determining the type of farming. If a 

 type of farming pays well, it is usually easy to learn to 

 like it. It is interesting to observe the supposed likes of 

 people. In good dairy sections nearly every farm boy 

 learns to like cows. In some sections where hogs are the 

 most profitable animal, nearly every one likes hogs. Farm- 



