918 SUCCESSFUL FARMING 



ture. They may also co-operate in selling the farm products and in 

 purchasing farm supplies. There are other ways in which to co-operate. 



Exchanging Help. — There are many kinds of farm work that can be 

 most advantageously done by two or more men working together. The 

 most striking instances of this are the harvesting of grain and hay, the 

 shelling and marketing of corn and threshing. The exchanging of work 

 during the harvest season often meets the temporary demand for extra 

 labor. Such co-operation brings neighbors closer together and promoter 

 friendly relations. It should be free from abuse. It frequently happens 

 that some farmers, through generosity, give much more than they receive. 

 A value should be placed on the labor of men and teams and a record kept 

 of the time given to the neighbor as well as that received from him. A 

 settlement for the difference in time at the close of the year promotes 

 good feeling and avoids dissatisfaction. 



Co-operation in threshing grain is now the rule in the large grain 

 districts. The threshing ring consists of fifteen to thirty farmers, the 

 number depending on the size of the farms and the length of the threshing 

 period. The members of the ring either purchase an outfit for their own 

 use or contract to hire one. They hold meetings at stated times and agree 

 upon terms, the price to be paid for threshing the different kinds of grain 

 and the order in which the members' threshing shall be done. The order 

 should change from year to year in order to be fair to all members. Each 

 member furnishes help in proportion to the size of his farm or acreage 

 of grain he grows. 



Cow Testing Associations. — These associations have been of great 

 service to dairymen in many districts. Such an association requires that 

 there shall be fifteen or more dairymen living within an area sufficiently 

 restricted so that all herds can be visited by one man once or twice each 

 month, and that each dairyman own ten or more cows. The association 

 members each agree to pay so much per cow, usually not more than $1.50 

 per year. They employ an official tester, who spends one day each month 

 with each farmer; or, in case of small herds, two herds may be tested in 

 one day. The tester weighs the milk of each cow morning and evening, 

 and takes samples of it which are tested for butter-fat. He also weighs 

 or measures the quantity of each kind of feed that is given the cows. These 

 records, after being repeated for several months, enable the farmer to rec- 

 ognize which cows are the most productive and which should be sold in 

 order to make the herd more profitable. 



Many farmers milk cows year after year that do not pay for the feed 

 consumed. The average annual production of cows in the United States 

 is about 4000 pounds of milk and 160 pounds of butter-fat. Since this is 

 the average, many cows must produce less than this. The best dairymen 

 say there is no profit in cows of even average production. One association 

 in Pennsylvania reports a gain valued at $4500 in one year as a result of 

 cow testing. 



