FACTORS OF SUCCESS IN FARMING 



611 



There is a much greater variation in the production per animal 

 than in the crop yields on different farms. The farmer has a 

 much fuller control of the factors that determine the production 

 of the animals than of those that determine the crop yields. If 

 a farmer does his part in selection, care, and feeding, he may 

 expect returns from his animals of nearly double the average. 

 But whatever one may do, his crops may be limited by drought, 

 frost, or other unfavorable conditions that are beyond his control. 

 Because of these uncertainties, a good farmer usually finds that 

 it pays to do his part for a production per animal of at least fifty 

 per cent above the average, while he may not strive for crops 

 that exceed the average by more than half this amount. 



For further discussion of this and the returns from other kinds 

 of animals, see Bulletin 295 of this station, pp. 473-502. 



Relation of size of farm, crop yields, and receipts per cow to 

 profits. The effect of various combinations of good and poor 

 crops with large and small farms has been shown on pages 605- 

 606. When we add the third factor of good cows, a still more 

 striking correlation is shown. Table 20 gives such a comparison. 



TABLE 20. RELATION OF SIZE OF FARM, RECEIPTS PER COW, 



AND CROP YIELDS, TO LABOR INCOME ON 585 FARMS WITH 



SIX OR MORE COWS, JEFFERSON COUNTY, NEW YORK 



