POINT OF VIEW ON LIVE STOCK PROBLEMS 207 



133. Live-stock produced on a low margin of profit. - 

 For all these reasons, live-stock in general is produced on 

 a low margin of profit. The large amount of stock kept 

 on low-grade products controls the price. 



All work on cost accounting shows that the crops 

 generally pay much better than live-stock for the time 

 spent. Only when one has pure-bred stock, or some un- 

 usual condition, does it pay to stock a farm too heavily. 

 It is not often wise to keep much more live-stock per acre 

 than is kept by the majority of farmers in the neighbor- 

 hood. 



Neither does it often pay to go to the other extreme of 

 keeping no live-stock. Every farm has more or less 

 stubble, corn stalks, low grade hay, or some other kind 

 of produce that will help to keep some animals. It is 

 nearly always wise to keep stock enough to use up the 

 low-grade and waste products. 



The most profitable types of farming nearly always 

 combine live-stock and cash crops. If one goes to the 

 extreme on live-stock, he is spending all his time on products 

 that, in general, are produced on a very low margin of 

 profit. If he spends all his time on crops, he will not 

 be making full use of the low-grade products, and is not 

 likely to be able to keep busy all the year. To over- 

 stock or under-stock a farm are both serious mistakes. 



134. Keeping stock enough to eat all the feed raised 

 vs. always having feed enough for the stock. Many 

 farmers in the Eastern States boast that they never sell 

 a pound of hay. The same statement is often made about 

 corn in the corn-belt. In the South, feed is nearly always 

 purchased. 



If a farmer in the Eastern States keeps stock enough so 

 that he will never have any hay to sell, then in years when 



