FACTORS OF SUCCESSFUL FARMING NEAR MONETT, MO. 9 



grower is attested by the fact that his labor income amounted to about 

 $2,500. That is, the net income of his farm was $2,500 more than 5 

 per cent on his investment. 



The relation between labor income and the size of farm as indicated 

 by the area in crops is brought out very strikingly in Table 5. Tak- 

 ing first the grain and live stock farms, those in the group having 65 

 acres or less in crops each made only $117 more than interest on their 

 investment. As the area in crops increases the labor income increases, 

 averaging $759 for the group having 125 or more acres in crops. 

 The grain farms and the grain and fruit farms tell the same story. 



In all the surveys that have been made by the Office of Farm 

 Management the results have shown conclusively that men of average 

 ability must farm rather large areas in order to secure a satisfactory 

 income. It is only the exceptional man that can realize the ideal of 

 the "little farm well tilled." The average man should not try to 

 do so. Just how large a farm should be for best results it is difficult 

 to say. A good deal depends upon the type of farming. A farm of 

 an intensive type — that is, one which requires a great deal of labor 

 and working capital for each acre in cultivation — may be smaller 

 than one devoted to enterprises requiring less labor and working 

 capital. 



The two-man farm has many advantages as opposed to a one-man 

 farm, for in a great many farm operations two men are needed. So 

 far as profit of the owner is concerned, there appears to be no upper 

 limit to the size of farms except the managerial ability of the opera- 

 tor; but when farms are larger than fair-sized two-man farms — that 

 is, farms that will give two men constant employment throughout 

 the year — certain important disadvantages to the community appear. 

 In the first place, the community is filled up with a class of hired 

 labor which is not an addition to the permanent citizenship; farm 

 houses are farther apart; there are fewer children for the district 

 school; and it is more difficult to secure good roads. The two-man 

 farm may, for many reasons, be considered as approaching the ideal 

 for American conditions. 



There is room in every community for a few farms devoted to the 

 production of vegetables and fruits, and these may well be small 

 farms because of the intensive labor such farming involves. This is 

 especially true when the markets for the products of such farms are 

 local. But when the farmer must depend upon distant markets and 

 is thus thrown into competition with other regions engaged in similar 

 types of farming, the small, intensive farm is placed at a serious dis- 

 advantage. Only about 4 per cent of the total crop area of the entire 

 country is devoted to fruits and vegetables, yet this area supplies 

 approximately the entire demand for products of this class. A rela- 

 tively slight increase in the production of fruits and vegetables re- 

 18027°— 18— Bull. 633 2 



