812 SUCCESSFUL FARMING 



returns should not be passed, and will vary with locality and character 

 of crop. It will be determined largely by land values, cost of labor and 

 value of product. 



Starting with land that is reasonably productive and with a degree 

 of intensity that is moderate, an increase in the labor and capital applied 

 to land will increase the yield of crops, but not in the same proportion 

 as the labor and capital applied. For every crop there will be an optimum 

 of Labor and capital that can be applied for best results. If this is exceeded 

 the value of the returns at once begins to diminish as compared with the 

 value of labor and capital which is applied. 



Danger of Under-Production for Growing Population. — An increase 

 in population means that there must either be a corresponding increase 

 in agricultural producers or the art of agriculture must improve so that 

 each worker will increase his output. An increase in agricultural workers 

 ultimately means a marked reduction in size of farms, and in order to 

 maintain the labor income, this demands increased intensity. A great 

 danger lies in the reduced labor income and the lower standard of living 

 for the agricultural worker. The avenues of escape from this situation 

 are: (1) in improving the art of production by discoveries in the science 

 of agriculture; (2) by reduced population by migration; (3) by acquiring 

 of new land either peacefully or by war; (4) a reduced standard of living. 

 The most logical of these seems to be the first, namely, increasing produc- 

 tion by a better knowledge of the art of agriculture. 



Profits per Acre vs. Profits per Man. — The gross receipts per acre 

 from crops give very little indication of the possible profits per man. 

 For example, it often is more profitable to produce hay that brings a gross 

 return of not more than $20 per acre than it is to grow cherries, lettuce 

 or some other high-priced crop that produces $200 or $300 per acre. The 

 larger area and more extensive methods on the one hand bring a larger 

 return per hour of labor than does the small acreage and large yield of 

 the intensive crops that require a great deal of labor. While the profit 

 per acre may be largest on the intensive crop, the greater number of acres 

 that can be farmed in the more extensive crops will more than offset the 

 difference and makes the latter the more profitable. 



Extensive investigations relative to the returns per hour of labor 

 on different classes of crops in the State of New York show that very few 

 crops return as much per hour of labor as does hay. Of course, it would 

 be impossible to depend solely on the production of hay, because it would 

 afford employment for too small a proportion of the year. Under pre- 

 vailing conditions in JSTew York, farmers are justified, however, in growing 

 as large an acreage of hay as the farm force can take care of during the 

 haying season. The accompanying table is taken from a set of cost 

 accounts on a 90-acre farm in New York. 



From the table it is evident that timoth}^ hay giving a return of 

 $15.67 per acre gave a larger profit per hour of labor than did the orchard 



