72 



N. H. Agr. Experimext Station' 



Bulletin 260 



Among the small farms, increasing the labor efficiency from 108 to 

 220 work units per man gave a corresponding change in average la- 

 bor incomes of $538, but on large farms a corresponding change from 

 200 to 387 work units per man made a change in average labor incomes 

 of $963. Large farms provide easier conditions for getting efficiency, 

 and the rewards are much greater. 



The 48 farms representing the lowest third both in efficiency and 

 size had an average labor income of — $282, while the grouii of 44 

 farms in this table having the best efficiency and the best size i)rovided 

 an average labor income of $1,372. 



The operators of the least efficient group among the largest third of 

 the farms got an average labor income $153 better than the most effi- 

 cient group among the smallest third of the farms. Size of business is 

 important. 



Output Index 



The number of work units per man measures the number of acres or 

 animals cared for without allowance for differences in yields. The out- 

 put index of a given farm is the per cent that the quantity of products 

 produced per man on that farm is of the average for the region. A 

 production index of 80 on a dairy farm might be partially justified by 

 a labor efficiency percentage of 130. The product, or output index, 

 Avould be 104. When both production and labor efficiency are low, the 

 output index exaggerates the discrepancy; the product of 80 by 80 is 

 64. 



There were 50 farms with an output index of 50 or less (Table 64). 

 The labor incomes averaged — $499. With an average output index of 

 99, there were 62 farms that got slightly better labor incomes than the 

 average for the whole group. Fifty-one farms that qualified with an 

 output index above 150 returned labor incomes averaging $1,679. Good 

 production from both crops and animals together with large size and 

 good labor efficiency represent the most important factors of business 



