FARM-MANAGEMENT SURVEY OF REPRESENTATIVE AREAS. 



41 



selling it to the proper market or feeding it to the right kind of live 

 stock are important factors. Following such types of farming as are 

 unsuited to the region is often a cause of unprofitable agriculture 

 in some of the older settled States. 



The wide fluctuation in prices of certain crops makes it extremely 

 difficult for a farmer to choose a definite rotation. One year they 

 wilL*be such as to give handsome profits on certain crops, and the 

 next year they may be insufficient to pay the cost of production. The 

 question confronting the average farmer is not so much one of pro- 

 duction as it is of marketing. Most farmers are able to grow a suffi- 

 cient quantity of crops to give them a very comfortable living if they 

 are assured of reasonable prices for their products. However, under 

 present conditions the farmer has to take big chances with nearly all 



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Fig. 10. 



-Farm work horses and mules in pasture during the month of August, illustrating 

 a practice which is common in many sections. 



of his crops. If he is so unfortunate as to have a combination of 

 crops every one of which is low in price in some particular year, 

 severe losses will be the result. Potatoes, apples, peaches, onions, and 

 cabbage are good illustrations of the crops that fluctuate widely in 

 price from year to year. 



The essential characteristics of the more successful farms are a 

 sufficient area and a proper organization of well-selected farm enter- 

 prises to permit the maximum use of men, horses, and machinery. 



SUMMARY. 



The aim of the farm-management survey is to determine the fac- 

 tors governing the profitableness of farming as a business. 



The results from the three districts selected in Indiana, Illinois, 

 and Iowa indicate what may be expected from the utilization of 



