WILL MORE FORAGE PAY? 11 



American farms. Statements at the end of each of the regional 



sections summarize what can be said about the work done to date. 

 (See pp. 36, 54, and 79.) Following are some tentative observations 

 of a more general nature arising out of the study. 



1. In all sections of the country are farmers who have made prog- 

 ress in developing systems of farming that make more use of the forage 

 crops. Many of these farmers are above average in managerial ability, 

 skilled in handling of livestock, or have adequate capital reserves for 

 making changes in their farming systems. The present farming sys- 

 tems of some of these farmers have been achieved through a process of 

 evaluation and experimentation covering extended periods of time. 

 Although they have made use of results of research and of the expe- 

 rience of other farmers, considerable effort and ingenuity have been 

 necessary to adapt them to their individual situations. . 



2. There is an extremely wide range in farmer investment for han- 

 dling and harvesting forage. In some instances forage is harvested 

 by livestock grazing it off: in others heavy investments are incurred 

 for field choppers or balers, elevators, barn driers, silos, etc. This is 

 an important consideration in obtaining the greatest economic advan- 

 tage from farming systems organized to give greater emphasis to 

 forage production and utilization. 



3. Where shifts are made from cash-crop systems of farming to 

 those that emphasize forage production and its utilization through 

 livestock, additional skills and a higher type of management are re- 

 quired of the farm operator. 



4. Factors that tend to encourage production and utilization of 

 more forage in farming systems are : 



(a) Reserves of capital accumulated during the war years which 

 farmers are willing to invest in developing more stable farming sys- 

 tems. A temporary reduction in current income can now be experi- 

 enced with but little inconvenience for the sake of more stable future 

 incomes. 



( b ) Realization is growing that soil resources are exhaustible and 

 that increased emphasis on forage production and utilization affords an 

 effective means of maintaining and even of increasing fertility reserves. 



( c) State and Federal educational and action programs, with their 

 emphasis on soil and water conservation and stability in farming, 

 together with the various incentives offered to induce change, continue 

 to be important in stimulating farmer interest. 



(d) Development of new and improved forage crops and the in- 

 creasing body of knowledge regarding possibilities for profitable 

 utilization are having a cumulative effect. 



(e) Wartime experience with high prices for feed grains, particu- 

 larly in feed-deficit areas, stimulate farmer interest in home-grown 

 leguminous forages of high quality. 



5. Factors that tend to retard production and utilization of more 

 forage in farming systems are : 



(a) Greater current returns from competing enterprises. 



(b) Difficulty in some areas and on some farms in financing the 

 investments necessary to initiate and develop systems that produce 

 and utilize more forage. Principal outlays that may be involved in 

 additional forage production are for fertilizers, grass seeds, fencing. 

 and equipment for producing, harvesting, and storing the crop. Those 



