UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
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BULLETIN No. 425 
Office of the Secretary 
Contribution from the Office of Farm Management 
W. J. SPILLMAN, Chief 
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Washington, D. C. 
October 24, 1916 
FARMING ON THE CUT-OVER LANDS OF MICHIGAN, 
WISCONSIN, AND MINNESOTA. 
By J. C. McDowell, Agriculturist, and W. B. Walker, Assistant Agriculturist. 
CONTENTS. 
Tage. 
Summary 1 
Description of the area 3 
Type of farming 4 
Crops 6 
Live stock 7 
Relation between income and tillable area. . . 9 
Size of farm .' 10 
Unimproved land 11 
Land clearing 13 
Page. 
Family income 14 
Labor income 14 
Cropping systems and rotations 18 
Efficiency and distribution of labor 21 
Home and farm supplies 21 
Community breeders' associations 22 
Selecting a farm 22 
General suggestions 23 
The cut-over district of northern Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minne- 
sota comprises an area of about 30,000,000 acres which is rapidly 
being developed into farms. This bulletin is based on data secured 
from an analysis of a year's business on 801 farms typical of this area, 
an investigation of farm enterprises on 80 of these farms, and a 
general study of farm practice in various parts of the district covering 
a period of several years. The purpose of these investigations was to 
discover the more profitable farm practices and the factors essential 
in the development of the region. 
SUMMARY. 
1. In this district net profits increase as tillable area increases. 
How to enlarge the tillable area economically is the first and most 
important agricultural problem of this region. Under present con- 
ditions the clearing of land is expensive, usually costing from $20 to 
$60 an acre. 
2. A large acreage of unimproved land is likely to prove an 
unprofitable investment unless it can be utilized for wood products or 
pasture. If, however, its development into tillable land is possible, 
Note. — This bulletin is issued to meet the demand for a publication dealing in a popular manner with the 
essential problems of this region. 
55471°— Bull. 425—16 1 
