FARM-MANAGEMENT STUDY IN ANDERSON CO., S. 0. 



17 



Yields in this area could bo increased by the use of lime, but com- 

 paratively little has been used. Winter cover crops of crimson 

 clover, burr clover, and rye are advisable, but these crops are not 

 grown to any considerable extent for this purpose. Planting vetch 

 with oats for hay is profitable, but thus far only a few farmers do 



this. 



ACRES PER WORK ANIMAL AND SIZE OF FARMS. 



In the management of a farm the business should be so adjusted 

 that the unit of organization can be utilized at its optimum capacity. 

 In the Belton area, where cotton is the main crop, the work animal, 

 usually in this case the mule, is the pivot around which the unit of 

 organization is built. Usually there is one mule for each family, 

 as one mule can do the plowing for all the crop the average family 

 can handle, and one-horse implements are the kind commonly used. 

 The number of acres per work animal is therefore an indication of 

 the utilization of the labor and equipment and of the efficiency of 

 the farm organization. 



ACRES PER WORK ANIMAL. 



The most profitable acreage of crops per work animal in the Belton 

 area can be closely approximated from the data in Table XII. The 

 table shows that as the crop-area per mule increases, profits increase 

 until an acreage of 20 to 23 acres is reached. Individual cases such 

 as might occur when an old man or a boy does the plowing or when a 

 poor mule is used may make smaller acreages more desirable; the 

 data in the table represent the averages for the area. The rate of 

 income on the investment, 4.32 per cent, and the income per mule, 

 $422, are both highest in . this group. When the acreage became 

 higher than this the farms became less profitable. 



Table XII. — Relation of crop area per work animal to farm efficiency. 



Number of crop acres per work animal. 



Number 

 of farms. 



Per cent 

 of return 

 on invest- 

 ment. 



Income 

 per mule. 



11 or less 



7 

 13 

 33 

 28 

 23 



6 



2.64 

 3.30 

 3.67 

 4.32 

 3.62 

 2.86 



S238 



12 to 15 



267 



16 to 19 



324 



20 to 23 



422 



24 to 27 



396 



28 or more 



386 







It is of interest to note in this connection that for each acre per 

 mule above or below 21.5 the effect on profits was the same, on the 

 average, as a reduction in yield of 8 pounds of lint cotton per acre. 



