HAMPSHIRE COUNTY FARMERS' MONTHLY 



FARMERS' MONTHLY 



PUBLISHED BY THE 



Hampshire County Trustees for Aid to 

 A};riculture 



STAFK 



Kol.'iiiil A. I'anii-. <oiiiil) Vk<i"I 

 Itlilili-.'.l «•. Hi. !<•«■. 



Hoitif l>4>iiioiiNtr:it ion A^fiit 

 Bena <•. h:t')i:ir<l. <'<>iiiity <'h>h A}:<>iil 

 Mnrj C. O'l.eary, C'lcik 

 Mary Sullivan. Asst. i'lerk 



Office First National Bank Building 

 Northampton, Mass. 

 Eutei-fd as st^oonfiolaps matter Nov. H. 1*11.^. at the 

 Host Office at Nortliamjiton. Massac-lnisctts. iiikIpi- 

 the Act of Man-li 8. 1879. 



"Notice of Kn*ry" 

 "AoeeptaiK.-f for mailing at special rate of post- 

 age provi<led for in section UOa. A(-t of October 8. 

 I9IT. Antliorizcd Octoln-r ;il. 1917." 



I'l-ife. ~>0 cents a year 



Officers of the Irustees 



Edwin B. Clapp, Piesident 

 Charles E. Clark, Vice-Piesident 

 Warren M. King, Treasurer 

 Roland A. Payne, Secretary ' 



Trustees for County Aid to Agriculture 



Edwin B. Clapp, Ea.sthainpton 

 Charles E. Clark, Leeds 

 Clarence E. Hodgkins, Northampton 

 William N. Howard, Ware 

 Milton S. Howes, Cummington 

 Mrs. Clifton .Johnson, Hadley 

 Warren M. King, Northampton 

 .John A. Sullivan, Northampton 

 Charles W. Wade, Hatfield 



SUCCESS IN FARMING 



It Can Be Attained 



Most of us grown-ups believe that fairy 

 stories are merely for children. There is 

 one, however, that every farmer could 

 read and apply to himself with profit. It 

 concerns a boy who was told that to have 

 good luck he must find a four-leaved 

 clover. His search took him all over the 

 world. In every place that he searched 

 people would tell him that they had heard 

 of a town further on where they knew 

 the four-leaved clover could be found. 

 Finally, as an old man, disillusioned and 

 broken in health, he gave up the search 

 and returned home. Then right in his 

 own door yard he found the much sought 

 emblem of luck, the four-leaved clover. 



Farmers, like the boy in the story, are 

 looking for Success in farming. But 

 what is a successful farm? It is a farm 

 which maintains its productivity, pays 

 all farm expenses, pays interest on the 

 capital invested and returns a reasonable 

 wage to the farm family for their labor. 

 Some farmers look with longing eyes on 

 distant lands, but there are those in nearly 

 every community who have attained suc- 

 cess on their own farms. 



Like the four-leaved clover, successful 



'farming has four leaves or factors. These 

 factors are: Size of Business, Crop 

 Yields, Returns from Live Stock, and 

 Labor Efficiency. These factors have 

 been brought out by the United States 

 Depaitment of Agricultuie thiough the 

 study of thousands of farms in all parts 

 of the count! y. Fortunately nearly every 

 farm in Hampshire County has the possi- 

 bility of developing all four factors. 



Size of Business is made up by size of 

 farm, acres in crops, number of livestock, 

 and amount of labor required. All of 

 these contribute to the gross sales fiom 

 the farm. The problem confronting every 

 farmer is to increase gross sales profitab- 

 ly. On some farms this may be done by 

 renting or buying more land, growing 

 crops which require more labor, keeping 

 better livestock or increasing the number 

 kept. Another common solution, which 

 too often is not the wisest in the long run, 

 is to increase the income by outside 

 labor. On many small farms this is 

 absolutely necessary. 



The importance of crop yield needs 

 more attention. The average production 

 of potatoes for this county, as given in 

 the 1920 census, is 92 bushels per acre. 

 This average can be profitably doubled by 

 using improved methods. Fortunately 

 these are not patented but are available 

 to those desiring the information. 



The majoi'ity of faimers can, by the use 

 of proper rotations, better .seed, adequate 

 fertilization, better tillage and handling 

 methods, increase profitably every ciop 

 grown in the county. With tobacco and 

 onions this increase, we believe, will not 

 be brought about by increased use of fer- 

 tilizers but rather through improved 

 methods of disease control, rotation of 

 crops, an increased use of cover crops and 

 possibly by the development of a live 

 stock industry to furnish manure for 

 these crops. 



Returns from livestock on the majority 

 of farms off"er great possibilities of im- 

 provement. Cost of production studies 

 show that a cow to pay market price for 

 roughage and grain and to pay overhead 

 expenses must produce at least 690 gal- 

 lons of milk per year. The county aver- 

 age is 4.51 gallons per cow according to 

 the 1920 census. Hence, the one great 

 need of the dairy industry of the county 

 is better cov,'s. These may be obtained 

 through breeding or by purchase. The 

 testing for tuberculosis has an element of 

 chance that .some poor producers can 

 thus eliminted. We know of herds here 

 that average from six to eleven thousand 

 pounds of milk per year. These herds 

 are paying propositions. We need more 

 of them. 



Some farmers are increasing the re- 

 turns from live stock by having registered 

 animals. Too few of the owners of 

 registered cattle are making full use of 

 them. When good dairymen are looking- 

 for a bull calf they do not purchase one 



Seen 1 hem? 



Two bulletins of interest to farmers of 

 this county have been recently issued by 

 the Mass. Department of Agriculture. 

 No. 104 entitled, "Agricultural Legisla- 

 tion of 1922" gives the laws of interest to 

 farmers passed by the State Legislature. 

 No. 106, "Publications on Agricultural 

 Topics" lists bulletins avaiable from the 

 U. S. Department of Agricultural Col- 

 lege and the Mass. Department of Agri- 

 culture. Copies of these bulletins may be 

 obtained by writing to the Mass. Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, 130 State House, 

 Boston 9, Mass. 



The Portland Cement Association has 

 recently published three bulletins of 

 interest to faimers, "Concrete Septic 

 Tanks", "Concrete on the Dairy Farm" 

 and "Concrete Silos" are the subjects. 

 Copies may be obtained by writing the 

 association at 10 High St., Boston, Mass. 



whose pedigree .shows that there have 

 been no records made on the dam's side 

 for several generations. They want a 

 bull in whose pedigree records are not 

 confined to some sire or dam sevei'al 

 generations back. There are men in the 

 county who do not have to veal their bull 

 calves. There should be more of them. 



The fourth factor is labor efficiency. 

 Every one admits that farmers as a whole 

 work hard enough and put in long hours. 

 On all farms a gieat deal of work has to be 

 done on things which add little or nothing 

 to farm profits. You may have seen men 

 who were fully employed doing chores, 

 but these men never get ahead. It re- 

 quires twice as much time for some men 

 as compared with others to do certain 

 kinds of work. Fortunately work can 

 be so organized that a certain amount of 

 efi'ort will accomplish more than the 

 average. There are farms which find 

 piofitable work for men and teams 

 throughout the year. 



These four factors given above make up 

 the four leaves of the clover of .success. 

 A farmer will "get by" even though he 

 has but two of the factors developed above 

 the average for his community. When he 

 has three factors above the average he is 

 in a class which only 207;- of the farmers 

 ever attain. Only 10 per cent, of the far- 

 mers in a section have all four factors 

 above the average. These are the suc- 

 ce.-sful farmers. 



In studying the farm business every far- 

 mer should realize that success is not at- 

 tained in one leap. It comes by constant 

 study and action. Those who have at- 

 t lined success are living proof of this. 

 vVhat has been done by others can be done 

 by every one who is willing to put the 

 necessary time and thought into their 

 business. Many have u.sed farm accounts 

 to detect the weak spots in their business. 

 We are willing to furnish an account book 

 to all who will keep it. Further we will 

 summarize it at the end of the year for 

 you. Now is the time to start! 



