56 BULLETIN 341, U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 



from 41 to 60 acres in area, and averaging 52 acres, contains 61 

 farms. The labor income was, on the average, $550. Ten per cent 

 of these farmers had labor incomes over $1,000. There were 60 farms 

 of 61 to 80 acres in area, averaging 73 acres, and having an average 

 labor income of $730. Twenty -five per cent of this group made labor 

 incomes over $1,000. In the 81 to 100 acre groups 68 farms, averaging 

 93 acres in area, produced an average labor income of $848, 34 per 

 cent of them being over $1,000. Of the 52 farms in the 101 to 120 acre 

 group, averaging 110 acres, the owners made an average labor income 

 of $937, 46 per cent of them being above $1,000. Above this acreage 

 the number of farms falls off rapidly, and in order to secure #, num- 

 ber of farms comparable with those in the preceding groups it was 

 necessary to broaden the size limits of the group to 40 acres. This 

 gives 61 farms of 121 to 160 acres, averaging 136. The average labor 

 income was $1,094. Here, again, 46 per cent of the farmers earned 

 over $1,000 each. There were only 22 farms of more than 160 acres, 

 the largest being 393 acres. The average area of the 22 farms is 

 203 acres and the average labor income of the owners $1,575. Sixty- 

 eight per cent of these large-farm owners made labor incomes in ex- 

 cess of $1,000. We have here a very conclusive demonstration of one 

 of the fundamental principles of farm management, and that is that 

 one of the most important factors of efficiency in farming is the 

 magnitude of the farm business. 



The prevalent style of farm organization in this region is such 

 that the magnitude of the business conducted on a given area is con- 

 siderably larger than on a similar area in most sections of the Mid- 

 dle West, so that the labor incomes obtained here on farms, say of 

 40 to 80 acres, are comparable with those obtained on considerably 

 larger farms in regions where the farming is less intensive. While 

 only 10 per cent of the farmers of the 41 to 60 acre group made more 

 than $1,000 labor income, the average of this group was $550, which 

 is fairly satisfactory when it is remembered that in addition to this 

 labor income the family has the interest on its investment and what- 

 ever the farm furnishes toward the family living. Such an income 

 will permit a very satisfactory standard of living, but it must be re- 

 membered that it is more difficult to make a good living on a farm 

 of this size even in this region than it is on a larger farm, and when 

 we come to consider tenant farming here we shall see that tenants, 

 as a rule, avoid the small farms. Below Jfi acres the difficulties of 

 success with the type of farming most prevalent in this region, 

 namely, dairying, are so great that only one man in sixteen was able 

 to make over $1,000 a year for his labor. These farms are unques- 

 tionably too small for the average man following this type of farm- 

 ing. It is only when the size of farm reaches 121 to 160 acres that the 



