UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
BULLETIN No. 705 
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY 
Contribution from the Office of Farm Management 
W. J. SPILLMAN, Chief 
Washington, D. C. 
J&r^3L 
July 27, 1918 
PROFITABLE MANAGEMENT OF GENERAL FARMS 
IN THE WILLAMETTE VALLEY, OREGON. 
By Byron Hunter and S. O. Jayne, Agriculturists. 
CONTENTS. 
Page. 
Scope of the bulletin 1 
S umm ary and conclusions 1 
Agricultural history of the valley 2 
Types of soil 3 
Definitions of terms used 3 
Use and value of land 5 
Use of capital 5 
Page. 
Types of fanning 6 
Some factors which influence efficiency 8 
Some factors which influence crop yields 14 
Relation of soil type to percentage farm in- 
come is of capital 19 
Causes of the difference in efficiency 20 
Starting clover on the clay soil 21 
SCOPE OF THE BULLETIN. 1 
This bulletin is based on information secured from the analysis 
of a year's business (1912) on 212 general farms in Marion and Polk 
Counties, Oreg., and a general farm practice study in the Willamette 
Valley covering a period of several years. It presents some of the 
more important factors which influence the profits on the farms 
studied, shows why the "valley" or silt loam farms are operated 
more efficiently than the ' 'red hill ' ' or clay farms, and makes recom- 
mendations that should materially increase the profitableness of 
general farming throughout the Willamette Valley. 
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS. 
Of the 212 farms embraced in this study 68 are located on the clay 
soil and 144 on the silt loam soil. 
i The figures presented in this bulletin are those secured in a typical year before the war, 1912. It would 
be impracticable to offer recent figures, because of the unstable conditions prevailing the last few years. 
The prime emphasis is not to be placed on the presentation of comparative profits for one year, but on the 
lessons which these figures set forth. In short, it is the desire merely to indicate some of the fundamentals 
of farming success in the Willamette Valley, drawing upon one typical year for practical illustrations and 
showing the relationship between the various factors in farming. 
59107°— 18— Bull. 705 1 
