FACTORS OF SUCCESS IN FARMING 587 



increases the labor income about half as much as it does when 

 added to a 79-acre farm. 



These results are in no way local in their application. Similar 

 studies in New Hampshire have shown the same results. A study 

 of 277 farms in Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana showed the same 

 relationship between size of farm and profits. The farmers with 

 less than 160 acres of land made very poor labor incomes. 1 



Tenants on the larger farms are also making very much more 

 than those on the smaller farms. The percentage received by the 

 landlord is about the same with different sizes of farms (Bulle- 

 tin 295 of this station, p. 417). The reason is that the tenant 

 furnishes machinery, horses, and labor, and these are the chief 

 items on which a saving is made by having a large farm. 



Relation of size of farm to efficiency in the use of labor. In 

 every county studied, the small farms accomplish much less per 

 man than do the fair-sized farms. Table 8 gives results for Jeffer- 

 son County. The average number of men per farm as given in the 

 table includes all human labor. Work of women and children is 

 expressed in terms of the number of men that would have been 

 required to do the same work. On the smallest farms very little 

 work was done by any one except the operator. On the farms of 

 over 200 acres, the hired labor and labor by members of the family 

 amounted to the time of one and one-third men, or, counting the 

 time of the farmer, these farms had the equivalent of 2.35 men. 



In making comparisons of farms, it is necessary to have some 

 basis for comparing the different kinds of animals. One horse, 

 cow, or bull is called an animal unit. Two head of young stock 

 are counted as one animal unit. Seven sheep, 14 lambs, 5 hogs, 

 10 pigs, 100 chickens, are each counted as an animal unit. 2 



The farms of less than 30 acres had an average of 3.5 animal 

 units per farm besides work horses. Those of over 200 acres had 

 an average of 34.2 animal units besides work horses. 



The producing enterprises on the farm are the acres of crops 

 grown and the animals other than horses. The horses do not 



1 U.S. Dept. Agr., Bureau of Plant Industry, Circular 75, pp. n-16; U.S. 

 Dept. Agr., Bulletin 41, pp. 24-29. 



2 Cornell University Agr. Exp. Station, Bulletin 295. p. 473. 



