A FIVE-YEAR FARM MANAGEMENT SURVEY IN OHIO. 19 



The acreage used for pasture land was rather constant, the yearly- 

 range averagmg from 75 acres to 79 acres per farm. The carrying 

 capacity of this pasture land was about 5 acres per horse, cow, or 

 equivalent, but the number of acres so required varied widely on 

 different farms. During the five years 10 of these farms carried the 

 equivalent of a horse or cow on 4 acres or less of pasture, while on 8 

 farms it required 6 or more acres of pasture land for the equivalent of 

 each cow or horse. With about one-half of the land used for grazing 

 and with so large a proportion of the farm receipts from live stock, 

 the carrying capacity of the pasture land is of major importance to 

 the farmers of this region. The practices in handling the pastures 

 on those farms that carried as much stock on 4 or less acres of pas- 

 ture land as others did on 6 or more are worthy of careful study — a 

 closer study, indeed, than has been given them through this survey. 



PER CENT 



40 60 80 IOC 



— i ' 1 1 ' r 



i9ie 



^^^^^^ 



^^^^^^ 



1913 

 1914 



^am^^^ 



1916 



m^K^^^m. 



CORN RS3 SMALLGRAIN ^HAY BBf^'SCEL. CROPS 



Fig. 7. — Distribution of crop area on farms studied. 

 THE CROP AREA. 



The yearly range in crop acreage on the 25 farms has been shown 

 in the summary table (Table I). The five-year average was 43 acres 

 per farm. In 1916 it was 2 acres more per farm than for any other 

 year, and in 1914 it was 3 acres less per farm than for any other year. 

 This was the year with least wheat acreage, and it was to it that the 

 greater part of the shortage in crop acreage in 1914 was due. 



The distribution of the crop area for the years covered by this 

 study is shown graphically in figure 7. 



CORN. 



About one-fourth of the crop area was in corn. These farmers 

 aim to produce ail of the feed used on the farm, and during the five 



