BULLETIN No. 713 | 
Office of the Secretary 
Contribution from the Office of Farm Management 
W. J. SPILLMAN, Chief 
Washington, D. C. PROFESSIONAL PAPER October 9, 1918 
s A STUDY OF FARMING IN SOUTHWESTERN 
KENTUCKY. 
By 7 EL ARNOLD, Agriculturist, 
CONTENTS. 
Page. | Page, 
How to measure success in farming.........- 1 | Standard yields and farm values for im- 
Factors which make some farms more suc- portant crops and productive animals..... 10 
cessiultihian Others:s see. ote tec cece oe 2 | A study of five individual farms which, in 
Good farming increases the value of the land. 9 general, illustrate good standards for the or- 
The practical value of standards of farm or- ganization of farms in the areas studied... il 
CANIZALOM Sse se soe eae oa see te ete: 9 
HOW TO MEASURE SUCCESS IN FARMING. 
To be successful as a business, a farm should earn a fair rate of 
interest on the investment and return to the operator fair wages for 
labor and management after paying all expenses, including deprecia- 
tion. In the locality under consideration in this bulletin 5 per cent is 
assumed to be a fair rate of interest on invested capital. It is just 
about what 68 landlords in this locality averaged from rented farms, 
_and is about what the average reliable real- estate loans would net the 
investor. 
Wages for labor and management are commonly known as labor 
income. The average labor income of the 342 farms studied was found 
to be $356.55. The following is a business statement of the average of 
these farms showing how labor income is derived: 
Total capital (cwner’s and tenant’s capital combined)_ $17, 029. 00 
ae oiticon cea pita [eo ni a a ee et 3 A904; 00 
AMEE CIT Se 2) $2, 896. 00 
Total expenses, including unpaid family 
RENT oe ae A el Ree ee Se a 1, 688. 00 
PERT GUIOOT Teme Sa one rer a ect 1, 208. 00 
Five per cent interest on investment ($17,029)_______ 851. 45 
adver INCOME.) = weit ar nee en meen eres TT 306. 5D 
64337°—18—Bull. 718——1 
