10 BULLETIN 9*72, U. S. DEPARTMEiSrT OF AGRICITLTURE. 



Purchased concentrates were charged at the prices paid. The 

 home-grown grains were given the farm price, plus extra charges for 

 hauhng and grinding, when necessary. The value of silage was based 

 upon the value of the grain and roughage in it, less the difference 

 between the cost of harvesting the corn and the cost of putting it 

 into the silo. 



PASTURE. 



The rent on permanent pasture was obtained by adding the inter- 

 est and taxes on the land and the upkeep and repairs on fences. 

 Where meadows or stalk fields were pastured, the rent was based 

 upon the prevailing rate in the section, or upon a fair rent based upon 

 the quantity of feed obtained from the field. The rather common 

 practice of allowing the stock to roam at will over fields after the 

 crops had been harvested made it impracticable to express the pas- 

 ture charge on an acreage basis. 



In normal years pastures usually are poor from the last of July 

 until September. During the war the high price of grain tempted 

 many of the farmers to plow up pasture land and sow it to grain, 

 so that the acreage in pastures was greatly reduced. 



Sweet clover furnishes good pasture in this section. On one farm 

 20 acres were sowed to sweet clover, with oats as a nurse crop. The 

 oats yielded 32 bushels an acre, and 15 head of cattle and 8 horses 

 were pastured for two months after the oats were cut. The follow- 

 ing summer the sweet-clover pasture carried 18 head of cattle and 8 

 horses from May to September, inclusive. 



On another farm 13 J acres of sweet-clover pasture carried 21 cows, 

 6 calves, and 4 horses from June 1 to September 15. The grazing 

 could have begun a month earlier with beneficial results to the pas- 

 ture, as the plants were too large and coarse by June 1. 



LABOR. 



Grain growing is the principal type of farming in this section, and 

 on many farms in summer the herds were cared for and milked late, 

 after the men had done a hard day's work in the fields. Table 6 

 shows that in summer nearly four-fifths of the work about the dairy 

 was performed by the manager or by the family help. In winter 

 nearly three-fourths of it was performed by the manager with the 

 help of his family. 



In all items involving a charge for labor, expressed in dollars and 

 cents, the cost of management has not been included. When the 

 manager worked, his time was charged up at the same price that he 

 would have had to pay if he had hired a man of equal skill to take 

 his place. The reason for not making a definite charge for manage- 

 ment is because no satisfactory basis has been found upon which to 

 make this charge. 



