FARMING IN SOUTHWESTERN KENTUCKY. 9 
tion and planting. To follow such a system successfully requires 
exceptional experience and good judgment on the part of the farmer. 
Such being the conditions, the proportioning of crops on the 
land each year is an important factor in profitable farming in this 
section. This proportion is in a general way quite uniform on farms 
of the same size and type and has become very definitely established 
by custom. Hence the successful farmer in this locality makes the 
amount of each crop he should grow a matter of first importance, 
and the rotation must be adapted more or less accordingly. 
The building up of the soil by means of lime, commercial fertil- 
izer, legumes, and live stock will undoubtedly result in more regular 
systems of rotation. 
GOOD FARMING INCREASES THE VALUE OF THE LAND. 
The average price of land represented by the 342 farms studied 
was $64 per acre, ranging generally from $50 to $150. The average 
net earning capacity of the land, as previously stated, was $3.14 per 
acre,! so that the average price would just about be supported by 
the earning capacity of the average farm, figuring interest at 5 per 
cent, or about the net rate which farmers with money to loan can 
get in this locality. Thus, if the average farm in this community 
can be made to earn $5 per acre, the value of land here would be 
pushed up to $100 per acre. This fact affords an opportunity for 
increased profits to the farmer who has skill in growing crops and 
live stock and who, besides, understands the principles of farm 
organization for this locality. 
THE PRACTICAL VALUE OF STANDARDS OF FARM ORGANIZA- 
TION. 
In nearly all inquiries made by farmers and others relative to 
organizing and operating a farm, some or all of the following ques- 
tions are asked: (1) What crops, and how many acres of each, should 
be planted? (2) What kinds of live stock, and how many of each 
kind, should be kept on the farm? (38) How much labor is required 
to do the work, and how many work animals are needed? (4) How 
much working capital is needed for live stock, machinery, and sup- 
plies? (5) What should be the receipts and expenses for a year’s 
business on the farm? (6) What yields are to be expected from 
crops, and what returns should be expected from the various kinds 
of live stock ? 
Though these can not be answered with precision, all are practical 
questions which every farmer should carefully consider, and which 
1As was pointed out on page 3, $3.14 is what the average farm would earn for a 
landlord if he rented it. This Ges be 5 per cent on a valuation of about $63 per acre. 
64337°—18—Bull. 713 
