312 FARM MANAGEMENT 



change from hired-man to tenant with less than this capi- 

 tal, but in most of the live-stock and grain and hay regions, 

 one needs $1500 to $2000 worth of stock and equipment 

 before he is ready to start. Part of this capital may be 

 borrowed. 



It will be seen that with any given capital, the tenants 

 are making more money than the owners. Apparently, 

 one should have about $5000 worth of property, or be 

 able to borrow enough to make up this amount, before 

 he should change from tenant to owner in this region. 

 He ought then to rent additional land if it can be secured 

 conveniently. If land values are likely to rise, the prob- 

 lem is more complicated. 



The larger profits on tenant farms are not due to any ad- 

 vantage of tenancy over ownership, except in the question 

 of capital. Renting is one means of getting the necessary 

 capital for efficient work. Few owners have enough 

 capital to farm to the best advantage. If the tenants 

 owned the farms that they rent, their labor incomes would 

 be larger. A tenant with $3000 in this region can run a 

 business with a total capital of about $15,000. With this, 

 he is able to do much better than he could do if he tried 

 to make his little money furnish land as well as stock and 

 equipment. It is much pleasanter to own one's farm and 

 have no interference from a landlord, and to have a home 

 of one's own, but in many cases the farmer loses too much 

 to gain these pleasures if he changes to an owner before 

 he has money enough. 



198. Effect of rising land values on buying land. 

 In the above discussions, no attention is given to rising 

 land values. If land is likely to rise, it will pay a tenant 

 to buy a farm much sooner than would otherwise be desir- 

 able. The rise in land value is sometimes more than the 



