December, 1931] Dairy Faeming in Grafton County 39 



to accrue to the seller. Not only is a mortgage a stimulus to a young 

 man to save and "clear" his farm, but, much more important, a good 

 farm can usually be paid for in fewer years than a poor one. One 

 should guard against property incumbrances that cannot be liquidated 

 or interest charges that cannot be met, but profits on a reasonable 

 equity are as legitimate in agriculture as elsewhere. 



Receipts 



The average receipts per farm were $3,878 (Table 30). The largest 

 item of receipts was dairy products, largely whole milk, averaging 

 $2,296 per farm. Crop sales represented a very small item on these 

 farms, only $164, or 4 per cent of total receipts. Livestock sales are off- 

 set partly by livestock purchases. The net increase in all livestock 

 was $399 per farm, computed from Tables 30 and 31. Miscellaneous 

 includes a great variety of enterprises or undertakings. Sales of lum- 

 ber, wood, maple sugar, honey, wool and similar items are included 

 here as well as the money received from the more important extra- 

 farm activities, such as teaching school, night watchman, store-keep- 

 ing, blacksmithing, selectman, and a nominal amount of month or day 

 labor with or without a team or tractor. There is little uniformity in 

 these items, but altogether they constitute a rather important source 

 of receipts. 



Table 30 — Sources of receipts, 395 farms. 



Source. Amount. Per cent. 



Dairy products 



Livestock (including meat) 



Miscellaneous 



Increase in value of livestock 



Crops 



Eggs 



Increase in feed and supplies 



Total $3,878 100.0 



In Livingston County, New York, the sales of dairy products 

 amounted to $1,771 per farm, and cash crops brought in $1,451.^ 



The variations in total amounts of receipts per farm will be shown 

 later in tabulations designed to express the relationship of receipts to 

 profits. 



Expenses 



The details which contributed to a total expense per farm of $2,924 

 are shown in Table 31. The biggest single item, $986, was for feed and 

 bedding. This item was largely grain feed. Hired labor, including the 

 estimated cash value of board furnished by the farm, represented 

 nearly half as mucli, $464. Unpaid labor including cash value of board 

 represented over eight per cent of the expenses, or $239. 



