FACTORS OP SUCCESSFUL FARMING NEAR MONETT, MO. 25 



from the farm income the value of the farmer's labor and converting 

 the remainder into percentage of the investment of the operator, the 

 results shown in the last line of this table are obtained. The average 

 income on the investment of owners is 5.2 per cent. Farmers who 

 own some land and rent other land have only about two-thirds as 

 much capital as those who own all their land, but they make 5.8 per 

 cent interest on their capital. Those farmers who have more land 

 than they can till properly and rent part of it out make only 3J 

 per cent on their investment. The tenant, whose capital is all in- 

 vested in live stock, implements and machinery, and other working 

 capital, makes, in addition to his wages, 18.7 per cent interest on his 

 investment. The owners of the tenant farms make 3.2 per cent net 

 income after deducting their expenses. 



The facts in this table are of interest to the young man who is 

 just starting out with a very small amount of capital. They indicate 

 that his wisest course is to farm a few years as a tenant, for by so 

 doing he can make more money than if he invested his small capital 

 in land. 



Table 11. — Relation of a given amount of capital to farm income of owners and 

 tenants (220 farms near Monett, Ho.). 



Capital group. 



Owners. 



Number. 



Farm 

 area. 



Farm 

 income. 



Tenants. 



Number. 



Farm 

 area. 



Farm 

 income. 



S500 and less . . 



$501-11,000 



$1,001-82,000... 

 82,001-84,000... 

 $•1,001-86,000... 

 $6,001-88,000... 

 $8,001-810,000. . 

 $10,001-815,000. 

 Over $15,000... 

 All farms 







23 



54 



50 



72 



32 



94 



38 



131 



54 



156 



23 



250 



220 



123 



$337 

 441 

 613 

 982 

 1,135 

 1,545 

 834 



52 



122 

 317 



363 

 436 



1,442 



This fact is brought out still more strikingly in Table 11. Con- 

 sidering only owners and tenants, three farmers are found with $500 

 or less invested. These are all tenants farming an average area of 52 

 acres and making a net income of $337. In the next group are 10 

 farmers having a capital of $500 to $1,000, operating farms averaging 

 99 acres in area and making incomes of $363. These are all tenant 

 farmers. In the next group 9 farmers, with capital of from one 

 to two thousand, are operating farms of 122 acres and obtaining 

 a net income of $436. It is significant that these also are tenant 

 farmers. 



In the next group, with $2,000 to $4,000 capital, are 25 farmers. 

 All but two of them have bought small farms. Those who have 

 bought farms are making incomes averaging $337. The two who 



