20 BULLETIN 694, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
labor income of $445. The 72 farms, 101 to 160 acres, averaging 129 
acres, made an average farm income of $1,172 and an average labor 
income of $434; and the 38 farms over 160 acres, averaging 223 acres 
in size, made an average farm income of $2,272 and an average labor 
income of $1,047. The table also shows that the average farm and 
labor incomes of the cash and share tenants increase with the size of 
farms in about the same proportions. 
The figures in Table XI show beyond question that under the 
conditions which exist in the area covered in Lenawee County and 
with the types of farming established, there is a decided increase in 
net returns and a general advantage in operation as the size of farm 
increases, at least up to the limit reached in this table. This fact 
presents for the consideration of each farmer in the region the problem 
of whether his farm business, as measured by the size of his farm, is 
of sufficient magnitude to permit him to earn a reasonable and - 
adequate income. If not, it is well for him to consider ways and 
means of increasing the size of the farm or of getting the equivalent _ 
of an enlarged farm area. Naturally one of the first ways to suggest 
itself is to buy more land, if possible. If this is out of the question, 
similar results may be secured by renting additional land. If it is 
impossible to purchase or rent more land, then the nearest equivalent 
to an enlarged area is to increase materially the yields on the land 
already owned and operated, and in addition, improve the quality, 
and possibly increase the quantity, of the live stock kept. In enlarging 
a farm business in this manner care must always be exercised to see 
that the expense of increasing the yields and improving the live stock 
is not too great. 
The large farms in this section on the average are yielding the 
greatest labor incomes for their owners and operators, but large farms 
in general require good management also. Ordinarily the man with 
small capital should first buy a farm of moderate size, but occasionally 
men who are good managers find it easier to pay for a big farm than 
a smaller one. 
CAPITAL INVESTED. 
As a rule there is a tendency to buy land before sufficient capital 
has been accumulated. To be limited in capital not only limits the 
acreage of the farm, but often hinders greatly the proper operation of 
the farm in general. Too often the purchaser fails to take this into 
account. While it is not advisable to carry too heavy an obligation, 
generally it is better to secure sufficient capital on a reasonable farm- 
loan basis than to operate too small a farm or be hampered by lack 
of operating capital. On the average, in Lenawee County, there is a 
direct relation between the capital invested and the labor income 
received. . 
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