18 
BULLETIN" 648, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
SIZE OF BUSINESS. 
Farm-management surveys, this one included, have uniformly 
shown that the size of the farm business is probably the most impor- 
tant factor in determining the returns the farmer secures for his 
year's work. It is obviously impossible to secure a large return from 
a business of small volume, even if the margin of profit be a wide one. 
On the other hand, the larger the business the greater the possibility 
of both profits and losses. The influence of the size of the farm 
business on the returns is shown in Table VI. The sources and 
amounts of the farm receipts and expenses, and the net returns, 
presented from several different points of view, are shown for the 
groups of farms of different sizes and for the white and colored 
farmers separately. 
Table VI. — Relation of size of farm and race of operator to farm receipts, 
expenses, and net income (Brooks County, Ga.). 
Farms with total crop area 
of— 
All 
farms. 
All 
white 
opera- 
tors. 
Item. 
Less 
than 
50 
acres. 
50 to 
74 
acres. 
75 to 
149 
acres. 
150 to 
249 
acres. 
250 
acres 
and 
over. 
All col- 
ored 
opera- 
tors. 
18 
24 
27 
21 
16 
106 
86 
20 
33 
63 
111 
192 
389 
145 
166 
54 
82, 091 
$4, 049 
87, 180 
811,110 
824, 500 
$8, 992 
813, 329 
.83,275 
Receipts: 
$413 
101 
35 
11 
$845 
185 
39 
23 
$1, 420 
460 
92 
70 
$2, 560 
931 
99 
14 
$5, 527 
1,482 
155 
118 
81,964 
584 
81 
46 
$2, 213 
702 
87 
49 
$896 
Live stock (exclusive of work stock)... 
80 
53 
31 
560 
1,092 
2,042 
3,604 
7,282 
2,675 
3, 051 
1,060 
Expenses: 
$232 
44 
21 
37 
$541 
88 
40 
63 
$996 
124 
83 
71 
$1, 846 
172 
138 
114 
$4, 195 
325 
92 
198 
$1, 416 
142 
75 
90 
$1,639 
158 
84 
101 
$453 
73 
36 
Decrease live stock (including work 
42 
334 
732 
1,274 
2,270 
4,810 
1,723 
1,982 
604 
$226 
167 
$360 
324 
$768 
575 
$1,334 
888 
$2, 471 
1, 959 
$952 
720 
$1,069 
826 
$456 
262 
59 
267 
12 
33 
39 
377 
14 
53 
193 
479 
14 
98 
446 
544 
16 
133 
512 
612 
18 
306 
232 
453 
15 
116 
213 
507 
15 
132 
194 
228 
14 
:o 
371 
S61 
432 
480 
$118 
784 
$98 
1,139 
$119 
1,448 
$102 
816 
$101 
897 
$88 
476 
$159 
598 
8S2 
1,2.58 
1,550 
917 
9S5 
635 
Estimated value of operator's labor 
$153 
$270 
$372 
$442 
8900 
$405 
$446 
8231 
Per cent return on investment a 
4.4 
4.6 
6.4 
8.9 
6.7 
6.2 
6.2 
6.2 
a Unweighted averages. 
