20 



BULLETIN 853, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



organized, neither are they so well adapted to conditions which 

 exist in this area as are the dairy farms of corresponding size. 



Table X shows all farms, by size-groups, classified according to 

 labor income. 



Table X. — Number of farms in each size-group making labor incomes as specified (349 

 dairy or general farms, Grove City, Pa., area). 



Farm area group. 



Number 

 of farms 

 in group. 



Number 



of farms 



with labor 



incomes of 



$1,000 and 



over. 



Number 



of farms 



with labor 



incomes of 



$500 to 



$999. 



Number 



of farms 



showing 



labor loss. 





81 



130 



74 



64 



1 

 3 

 3 

 8 



12 

 21 

 12 

 21 



18 



71 to 100 acres 



33 



101 to 130 acres 



13 





15 







Total 



349 



15 



06 



79 







This table shows the chance these farmers have, when operating 

 farms of the various sizes shown, of making a large income. 



On the 81 farms 70 acres or under in size, only one operator made 

 a labor income of $1,000 or over, and only 13 made incomes of $500. 



In the group of largest farms, those of 130 acres and over in size, 

 one-eighth made labor incomes of $1,000 or more, and nearly one- 

 half labor incomes of $500 or more. 



The three preceding tables serve to emphasize what has been 

 brought out in every similar study conducted by the Office of Farm 

 Management thus far, namely, that the smaller farms (except those 

 operated under intensive methods near good markets) are relatively 

 less profitable than the larger ones. In farming, as in every other 

 business, the man with large capital has a much better chance of 

 getting a large income than the one with little capital. It took a 

 capital of $11,912 to give an average labor income of $424 in this 

 area, this being the average capital of 64 farms of 130 acres and 

 over in size. 



Often large incomes are made by farmers operating small farms 

 intensively, but in such cases the investment is relatively large. 

 Farm management studies uniformly indicate that the farmers with 

 little capital invested make little money. Size of business is just as 

 important with the farmer as with the merchant. 



EFFECT OF YIELDS PER ACRE AND RETURNS FROM LIVE STOCK ON LABOR INCOME. 



We have seen in Tables VIII, IX, and X that the larger farms 

 make more money in this area than the smaller ones, and the ques- 

 tion arises naturally whether this is due to higher yields or simply to 

 greater production. 



