274 DAIRY FARMING 



CROP YIELDS 



The returns from crops and costs of these crops have as 

 much to do with the success of the farm as a whole as do the 

 returns from the cows. It is not enough that the farmer 

 be a good dairyman, he should be a good dairy farmer. 

 Sometimes the farmer raises crops that are good for feed 

 but cost too much to raise. More frequently the yields are 

 not good enough to be profitable. 



235. Soils for the Dairy Farm. Only under exceptional 

 conditions does it pay to choose land that is not naturally 

 productive. The farmer ordinarily raises all the hay and 

 part of the grain for the cows. If he buys grain, he ought 

 to have for sale some product other than milk that will more 

 than pay the feed bill. It is usually difficult for a farmer who 

 has poor land to succeed in competition with those who have 

 good land. Occasionally, but not usually, the poor land is 

 enough cheaper to make up for the difference in quality. 



The best dairy soils are loams and clay loams that grow 

 grass well. The great dairy sections of the North are on 

 soils that grow Kentucky blue-grass and white clover for 

 pasture, clover or alfalfa hay, and corn. Dairy farms do 

 not as a rule buy much chemical fertilizer. The farmers 

 who get better crops than their neighbors are as a rule 

 receiving greater profits than the average, but as in the 

 case of good returns per cow, the returns are sometimes 

 obtained by methods that are too costly. Sometimes poor 

 crops are grown by such economical methods that they pay 

 well. Many successful farmers have crops a fifth better 

 than their neighbors grow. 



236. The Well-balanced Farm. If a good-sized business, 

 good cows, and good crops are three of the most important 



