conditions over which he has no control and upon which he is 

 dependent. 



The commercial farmer, like the business man or the manu- 

 facturer, has two choices as to how he will conduct his business. 

 He may plunge and take a gambler's chance upon the outcome 

 of a single season's crops, or he may take a more conservative 

 course, investing his capital partially in the extension of his 

 enterprise, and partially in taking those precautions which will 

 eliminate risks. In the fall, after a good season, it is quite 

 common to read in our daily newspapers an account something 

 like this : — 



Mr. a makes Fortune in Squashes. 



Mr. A of raised 20 acres of squashes this year which 



yielded a big crop and gave him a net profit of $200 per acre. Mr. A is 



employed in the Works, and hired this piece of land 



and took care of the crop before and after hours, with some outlay for 

 hired team work. This shows what farraers could do if they were pro- 

 gressive. 



Now the fact is that Mr. A simply took a flyer in squashes, 

 and happened to hit a season when this vegetable grew pretty 

 well in his particular locality, and sold in the market for a 

 good price. Perhaps Mr. A might try again for several years 

 and fail because of poor seasons or low prices. This is a type 

 of farming which the farmer who is in business to make a 

 living had, in my opinion, better avoid. It has been my own 

 policy to study carefully how to eliminate risks in every possible 

 way, so that the speculative feature would be reduced to a 

 minimum, depending upon a steady gain ahead every year 

 rather than heavy gains now and then and the possibilities of 

 large losses. 



The Farmer's Problem. 



In considering this question of taking the risks out of farm- 

 ing, let us think first of all of what is involved in the problem. 

 The farmer's business consists essentially in manufacturing 

 crops from the soil. The live-stock farmer goes farther and 

 carries on a secondary manufacturing process, but the first 

 stage is the same for both. The leading factors involved are 

 land, fertilizers, seeds, machinery, labor and markets. The 

 farmer must so make use of these factors that he can produce 



