FARM ORGANIZATION IN SOUTHERN ARIZONA. 



27 



Success in dairy farming is greatly influenced by the productivity 

 of the farms and by the quality of the live stock carried. The 

 productivity may be measured in terms of productive animal units * 

 carried per 100 acres of land", making due allowance for the amount 

 of feed purchased . 



The following tabulation of dairy farms will show the steady 

 increase in receipts, farm income, and labor income, with the increas- 

 ing number of productive- animal units carried per 100 acres of land: 



Table XI. — Effect of increased productivity of land on success in dairy farming in the 

 irrigated valleys of southern Arizona, measured in terms of productive-animal units car- 

 ried per 100 acres of land. 



Productive-animal 

 units per 100 acres. 



Average 

 number 

 produc- 

 tive 

 animal 



units 

 per 100 



acres. 



Number 

 of farms. 



Average 

 area. 



Number 

 failing to 

 make 8 

 per cent. 



Value of 

 feed pur- 

 chased. 



Average 



Total 

 receipts. 



Average 



farm 

 income. 



Average 



laoor 

 income. 





26.1 

 48.0 

 72.4 

 128.7 



11 

 67 

 72 

 39 



Acres. 

 108 



87* 



5 



17 

 5 

 3 



$61 

 62 

 101 



188 



$4, 004 

 3,409 

 3,900 

 4,057 



$2, 629 

 2,277 

 2,678 

 2,578 



S795 



30.1 to 60. 



773 



60.1 to 90 



1,201 



Over 90 



1,180 







The average contribution of animals to the receipts on all of these 

 farms was 86.3 per cent of the total, while crops contributed an aver- 

 age of only 12.1 per cent. It may fairly be assumed, then, that the 

 increased income was due to larger numbers of animals. While more 

 feed is purchased on the farms carrying the largest number of animal 

 units per 100 acres, the amount purchased is not large on any of the 

 farms; and it may safely be assumed that the increased number of 

 animal units is due to increased productivity of the alfalfa fields ; also, 

 that this increased productivity has resulted in greater total receipts 

 as well as a larger farm income and labor income. The average num- 

 ber of dairy animal units per 100 acres carried on these four classes 

 of farms was 19, 35, 53, and 91, respectively. 



Dairy cows are fed practically the entire year on green forage 

 consisting chiefly of alfalfa pasture (see fig. 7). Increasing produc- 

 tivity resolves itself, therefore, into the problem of increasing the car- 

 rying capacity of the alfalfa fields. It has been found that steady 

 pasturing of a single field throughout the year greatly reduces its 

 carrying capacity. The plants are eaten so close to the ground that 

 they fail to produce the shade necessary to prevent the rapid growth 

 of water grasses, bermuda grass, and noxious weeds that soon crowd 



1 An animal unit is the equivalent of a full-grown horse, steer, or cow. Equivalents in other animals 

 are determined by food requirements, and in this bulletin 2 calves, heifers, or colts, 7 sheep, 5 hogs, 10 pigs, 

 100 chickens, or 50 turkeys are, respectively, regarded as representing food requirements equivalent to those 

 of a full-grown horse, steer, or cow, and are therefore counted as one animal unit. Productive animals are 

 those that contribute directly to the farm receipts. Work horses are not considered among productive 

 animals, because they do not contribute directly to farm receipts. All other animals are considered 

 productive. 



