FABM-MANAGEMENT STUDY IN ANDERSON CO., S. C. 25 
COMBINATION OF ENTERPRISES SUITABLE FOR THE BELTON AREA. 
CROPS. 
The cost of producing crops is an indication of the type of farming 
that should be followed. With costs computed by standard cost- 
accounting mothods, cotton was produced at a profit. Corn and 
wheat were produced at an apparent loss, but oats and cowpeas 
were grown at a profit. To understand fully the relation of these 
costs to the type of farming, however, two things must be borne 
clearly in mind. - One is that if the labor and equipment were not 
used for the minor crops they would otherwise be idle. In computing 
these costs, labor and equipment were charged at their full value 
against the minor crops, but nevertheless it would have been wise 
to use them in growing these crops even though they earned only a 
part of their real value, for otherwise they would have earned nothing. 
For this reason, although the indicated cost of producing corn, when 
computed by standard cost-accounting methods, is more than the 
value, it is nevertheless profitable to grow some corn when the farm 
is considered as a whole. In fact, by growing the minor crops, even 
though they do not give a full return for the labor and equipment, 
it is possible to grow the major crop at a lower cost than otherwise, 
for in this way the charges against it for these items are reduced. 
If, however, the major crop can not make up for the lower return on 
the minor crop, the system of farming will become unprofitable. 
The second point in regard to type to be considered is that a crop 
may be produced profitably for home consumption, but when sold 
in the markets of the world it may be unprofitable. The reason for 
this is that as long as crops are produced for home consumption they 
have a value equal to the retail price, but when any more than this 
is grown the value of the surplus immediately falls to the wholesale 
price, except for a limited amount that may be retailed locally. This 
may be illustrated by oats, which were produced in the Belton area 
at a cost of 43.3 cents per bushel. Oats shipped into Belton come 
from the Middle West, and there are dealer's, elevator, sacking, and 
freight charges attached to the prices received by the grower. As 
this is written there is a difference of 20 cents per bushel in the whole- 
sale price of oats at Champaign, III., and Columbia, S. C, the price 
at the former place being 38 cents and at the latter 58 cents. By the 
time the oats pass through the local dealer's hands at Belton and reach 
the farmer at a retail figure the price is 65 cents per bushel. So long 
as the farmer in the Belton area can grow oats for 43.3 cents per 
bushel it is cheaper for him to produce the oats needed for his farm 
than it is to buy them, and he can even to a limited extent compete 
in the local market with the middle western grower. But when he 
sells outside the local market and has to pay dealer's, bagging, and 
shipping charges, or when he produces so much oats that the straw 
