24 



BULLETIN 41, U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 



It is highly important that the tenant have sufficient working capital, 

 which necessitates a medium-sized farm to permit him to use it effi- 

 ciently. The tenant, no matter what area of farm he is operating, 

 must first pay rent, even though he has nothing left for his labor. 

 The only disadvantage the landlord has in owning a small farm is 

 that there may be difficulty in renting it. 



RELATION OF THE SIZE OF THE FARM TO THE PROFITS. 



According to the last census the farms in the North Central States 

 are growing fewer in number and larger in area. The use of im- 

 proved machinery and the expansive type of farming followed have 

 been important factors in rendering the small farm a less efficient unit. 



The term " small farm " as used throughout this bulletin is under- 

 stood to be synonymous with small business. Under an intensive 

 system of agriculture a very large business may be conducted on a 

 small area, but in the corn belt, especially in the district covered by 

 this survey, none but an expansive type of farming is found. 



A very good indication of the relative returns that can be expected 

 from 40-acre, 80-aere, and 160-acre farms is given in Table XVII. 



Table XVII. — Comparison of labor incomes on 40-acre, 80-acre, and 160-acre 



farms in Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa. 



Item. 



Operated by owners 

 (71 farms). 



Operated bv tenants 

 (66 farms). 



40-acre 

 farms. 



80-acre 

 farms. 



160-acre 

 farms. 



40-acre 

 farms. 



80-ace 

 farms. 



160-acre 

 farms. 





20 







$70 



26 



1 

 $266 



25 



5 



$364 



1 





 $264 



28 







8440 



37 



Number of farms witn incomes of $1,000 or 



13 



Average income 



$904 



Of all the farms operated by owners there were 20 of just 40 

 acres in area, the average labor income of which was $70. None made 

 a labor income of $1,000. There were 26 men on 80-acre farms and 

 only one of them made a labor income of $1,000. Of the 25 men on 

 160-acre farms one in five made $1,000 or more. 



Only one tenant rented a 40-acre farm, and he had less than $300 

 for his year's living. Most tenants know better than to rent such a 

 small farm, fully realizing the improbability of a good income. The 

 average income of the 37 tenants on 160-acre farms was $904. More 

 than one in every three made a labor income of $1,000. If the man 

 on the 40-acre farm in Illinois or in any of the North Central States 

 expects to have as good a living as his neighbor on 160 acres he must 

 produce four times as much per acre with no increase in expenses. 



In Table XVI II the farms are arranged according to their size 

 to show the relation existing between the area of the farm and the 

 income received. 



