36 BULLETIN 341, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



total crop area, was found to be less than 10 per cent, which means 

 less than 6 acres per farm. On only 7 farms was the percentage 

 of potato acreage found to exceed 20 (or 12 acres). The farmers of 

 this area do not generally regard potatoes as a profitable crop, 

 though they grow at least enough for home use and usually some for 

 sale. The yield is low, the average being only about 79 bushels. The 

 principal difficulty is in the character of the soil, which is rather 

 too heavy for best results with this crop. The price also fluctuates 

 greatly, and on the average is little more than sufficient to cover the 

 cost of production. Yet the crop helps to fill the labor schedule, and 

 when kept within proper acreage limits probably adds somewhat 

 to the profits of the farm business in the average year. During the 

 year to which this survey relates the average price at which the 

 farmers sold their potatoes was $1.04, which is much above the 

 normal. With prices like this the tabulated figures show that the 

 farm profits increase both with increase in acreage of potatoes and 

 in proportion of receipts derived from their sale. It is certain, how- 

 ever, that this does not represent normal conditions for this area, 

 and hence the tabulations are omitted. 



One of the defects inherent in the survey method of studying 

 farm-management problems lies in the fact that unless conditions 

 are normal at the time of the survey the results may be misleading. 

 This difficulty can be overcome in a number of ways, one of which 

 is to repeat the survey in the same locality for a sufficient number of 

 years to establish a normal for each enterprise. Fortunately, how- 

 ever, conditions were approximately normal in this area at the time 

 these data were obtained except in the matter mentioned, and in the 

 fact that the price of hay was somewhat above normal. In the main, 

 therefore, the results are reliable. 



Wheat. — Wheat occupied 18.2 per cent of the total area of crops 

 on the 378 owner farms. This crop occurred on 356 farms. In 

 most cases the percentage of wheat acreage fell between 15 and 25 

 per cent, but on several farms it was greater or less than these 

 limits. The average proportion of income from the sale of wheat 

 was 8.5 per cent of the total farm income, as shown in Table VIII. 

 In relatively few cases did a farm receive more than 20 per cent of 

 its income from this source. 



The most profitable acreage of this crop is shown in Table XII. 

 The labor incomes of the 28 farms having less than 10 per cent of 

 wheat acreage was much lower than the average of all farms. 



Table XII. — Percentage of crop area in wheat as related to labor income. 





0to9. 



10 to 19. 



20 to 29. 



30+. 









28 

 63 



213 

 107 



121 



97 



16 





96 







