48 MISC. PUBLICATION 7 02, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 



has 3 acres of corn every other year. The remainder of the farm is in 

 hay and pasture, which receives lime and fertilizer at moderate rates. 

 There is no expensive machinery on the farm — all of it is valued at 

 about $560. The operator says he works 2 months during the year- 

 long enough to harvest 100 tons of hay. He has a hired man for these 

 2 months. It is the easy way to farm. He no longer grows 26 acres 

 of corn, 9 acres of wheat, and 5 acres of oats, as he did in 1940 (table 9) . 



With the former plan, farm E had a net cash income of more than 

 $2,400 in 1940. Had that system been continued this figure would have 

 amounted to about $3,000 at the medium price level and $4,600 at the 

 high price level. Upon changing to more grassland and operating on 

 a fairly extensive basis, the actual net cash income was more than 

 $4,000 a year for 1945-47. If it is assumed that inputs and outputs 

 will remain constant at the assumed price levels, this actual figure 

 would drop to about $1,500 at the medium price level and it would 

 still be only $2,850 at the high price level. These dollar figures do not 

 include values for conservation or better land as a result of the grass- 

 land program. 



Detailed farm records show that both farm D and farm E have gone 

 far in forage utilization with financial success. There are many alter- 

 natives. Farm E could be made to support two or three times as much 

 livestock. But to do so, fertilization rates would have to be stepped 

 up, more hay produced and harvested, and other changes made, in- 

 cluding more labor. The operator of farm E has reared his family 

 and wants to take life easy from now on. The operator of farm D is 

 a young man. Age, family needs, interests, management aptitudes, 

 etc., result in important differences in the extent to which farmers will 

 produce and utilize forage in their livestock programs. Many of the 

 outstanding examples of farmers who are maximizing forage are older 

 men who want to minimize physical labor. Some do it as does farmer 

 E, on an extensive grazing basis, but others go all out for the latest 

 labor-saving machinery. 



Cash expenses for fertilizer, lime, and seeds on highly developed 

 grassland farms run high (fig. 6). For an 8-year period, farm D 

 averaged $13.68 per year per acre of open land (cropland and open 

 pasture). Yearly averages ranged from $4.09 per acre in 1940 to 

 $28.12 in 1947. Farm E spent only $2.42 per year per acre, which is 

 more nearly in line with similar expenditures on farms I and J. All 

 of these farms are considered outstanding grassland farms in their 

 respective communities. Table 10 shows the cash expenditure for fer- 

 tilizer, lime, and seeds per acre of open land for the four farms for 

 which other data are given in tables 9 and 11. 



Table 10. — Gash expenditure for fertilizers, lime, and 

 for 4 farms, 191$-lfl 



per acre 



Farm 



1940 



1941 



1942 



1943 



1944 



1945 



1946 



1947 



Aver- 

 age 



D 



E 



I 



$4. 09 

 1.43 

 1. 95 



$5.83 

 1. 53 

 1. 28 

 2.07 



$8.45 



1. 19 



2. 51 

 2. 28 



$8. 52 

 1. 80 

 1. 45 

 4.49 



$18. 26 

 1. 36 

 3.49 

 4. 37 



$22. 38 



2. 71 

 1. 88 



3. 92 



$13. 79 



2. 60 



3. 58 



4. 93 



$28. 12 



6. 78 

 4. 46 



7. 35 



$13. 68 

 2.42 

 2. 57 



J 



4. 20 









