2 BULLETIlSr 694^ U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



(3) To gather information regarding some of the more valuable 

 farm practices in vogue on the better farms of the region and to sug- 

 gest ways of improving the organization and management of the less 

 successful farms in the light of the facts thus brought out. 



SUMMARY. 



The agriculture of Lenawee County has passed through several 

 important changeis but at present has become well established along 

 the lines of general or diversified farming and dairying. 



General farming with a limited amount of dairying is on the aver- 

 age the type most easily made profitable of those so far developed 

 in the area studied. 



Specialized dairy farms apparently pay better normally than dairy 

 and grain farms, but on the average do not pay so well as the combi- 

 iiation of dairying and hog raising. 



Dairying, with hogs and grain, usually yields a better labor income 

 than any other combination found. The outstanding advantages of 

 this type as compared with others are a greater diversity of income, 

 a large percentage of receipts from the sale. of live stock and live- 

 stock products, and a comparatively small percentage of the income 

 from the sale of crops. 



The types of farming established and the general conditions which 

 prevail make the size of the farm a very important factor bearing on 

 the returns secured from farming in this region. There is also a 

 direct relation between the amount of capital invested and the labor 

 income of the operator. 



The 66 owner farms studied, with 60 acres and under and aver- 

 aging 45 acres in area, made an average labor income of $277; the 

 group of 124 owner farms from 61 to 100 acres and averaging 84 

 acres in area, made an average labor income of $445 ; and the group 

 of farms of over 160 acres, averaging 223 acres in area, made an aver- 

 age labor income of $1,047. This shows the influence in the size of 

 business as measured in terms of the size of the farms. 



Sixty-seven farms, with an average investment of $4,850, made an 

 average labor income of $276 ; 54 farms, with an average investment 

 of $12,813, made an average labor income of $488; and 31 farms, with 

 an average investment of $27,124, made an average labor income of 

 $1,139. This shows the influence of" the size of business as measured 

 by capital invested. 



Crop yields and the quality of live stock kept are two very impor- 

 tant factors in efiicient farm management which show a marked 

 eff'ect in the profitable management of the farms of Lenawee County. 

 The quality of dairy cows or the income per cow is especially impor- 

 tant on farms which are devoted largely to dairying. 



