FARM MANAGEMENT IN LENAWEE COUNTY, MICH. 



19 



for suffering correspondingh" large losses. This holds true m farinmg 

 quite as well as in other Imes of enterprise. 



There are a number of ways of measuring the size of a farm busi- 

 ness. When the type of farinmg is quite uniform, and the region 

 well developed, and when there is little variation in the quality of 

 the soil, the size of business may be accurately measured by the 

 total area of the farm. Other' methods of measuring the size of 

 farm busmess are by capital invested and labor requhements. 



SIZE OF FARM. 



In most sections similar to Lenawee Count}^, where the general 

 type of farming prevails, there is a strikingly direct relation between 

 the size of the farm and the net returns. Larger acreages up to 

 certain limits permit a better utilization of labor and machinery. 

 With the types of farm.ing thus far developed in this area, a large 

 acreage devoted to a general type of farmmg, Avith adequate machm- 

 ery, and with a reasonable profit per acre, usually brings m a greater 

 mcome for the owner or operator than a small farm handled more 

 intensively and with relatively greater expense for hired labor. 



Table XI. 



-Relation of size of farm to income on 300 oivner and 153 tenant farms, 

 Lenaivee County, Mich. 





Working owners. 



Tenants renting lor cash. 



Tenants renting on share. 



Size of farm. 



Num- 



Aver- 

 age 



Aver- 

 age 



Aver- 

 age 



Num- 



Aver- 

 age 



Aver- 

 age 



Aver- 

 age 



Num- 



Aver- 

 age 



Aver, 

 age 



Aver- 

 age 





ber of 



size 



farm 



labor 



ber of 



size 



farm 



labor 



ber of 



farm 



labor 





farms. 



of 



in- 



m- 



farms. 



of 



in- 



in- 



farms. 



farm. 



in- 



in- 







farmi 



come. 



eome. 





farm. 



come. 



come. 





come. 



come. 







Acre!^. 









Acres. 









Aifrc".. 







60 acres and less 



66 



45 



S.540 



S277 



7 



38 



S500 



•5456 



4 



37 



$278 



.S249 



61 to 100 acres.. 



124 



84 



922 



44.5 



14 



86 



730 



648 



35 



84 



526 



474 



101 to 160 acres. 



72 



129 



1,172 



434 



8 



131 



728 



614 



57 



133 



630 



553 



Over 160 acres.. 



38 



223 



2,272 



1,047 



4 



216 



1,214 



1,078 



24 



230 



889 



777 



All farms. 



300 



104 



1,069 



481 



33 



102 



739 



651 



120 



125 



640 



564 



Table XI shows the influence of the size of farm on labor income 

 for both owner farms and tenant farms studied. The average farm 

 mcome of the 300 working owners advances rapidly and miiformly as 

 the farms increase in size, likewise the average labor mcome increases 

 rapidly until the farms reach 100 acres in size, remams about constant 

 for the next higher size-group and again increases rapidly in the 

 group of farms above 160 acres in size. The 66 farms of 60 acres and 

 less, and an average of 45 acres each, made clear of expenses an 

 average farm income of $540, and after deductmg 5 per cent 

 interest on the investment made an average labor mcome of $277. 

 The 124 farms in the size-group of 61 to 100 acres, and an average of 

 84 acres in size made an average farm income of $922 and an average 



