ee 
I 
24 BULLETIN 41, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
It is highly important that the tenant have sufficient working capital, 
which necessitates a medium-sized farm to permit him to use it effi- 
ciently. The tenant, no matter what area of farm he is operating, 
must first pay rent, even though he has nothing left for his labor. 
The only disadvantage the landlord has in owning a small farm is 
that there may be difficulty in renting it. 
RELATION OF THE SIZE OF THE FARM TO THE PROFITS. 
According to the last census the farms in the North Central States 
are growing fewer in number and larger in area. The use of im- 
proved machinery and the expansive type of farming followed have 
been important factors in rendering the small farm a less efficient unit. 
The term “small farm” as used throughout this bulletin is under- 
stood to be synonymous with small business. Under an intensive 
system of agriculture a very large business may be conducted on a 
small area, but in the corn belt, especially in the district covered by 
this survey, none but an expansive type of farming is found. 
A very good indication of the relative returns that can be expected 
from 40-acre, 80-acre, and 160-acre farms is given in Table XVII. 
TABLE XVII.—Comparison of labor incomes on 40-acre, 80-acre, and 160-acre 
farms in Indiana, Illinois, and Towa. 
Operated by owners Operated by tenants 
(71 farms). (66 farms). 
Item. ; 
| 40-acre 80-acre | 160-acre | 40-acre | 80-acre | 160-acre 
| farms. farms. | farms. farms. farms. farms. 
| | 
Number of farms......-...---2.---<2--- ++: | 20 | 26 | 25 | 1 28 | 37 
Number of farms witn incomes of $1,000 or | | 
TTIOL Oe ea a As OA ee ee i ates 0 | iL 5 0 0 13 
VAG Crag OnINCOMES a ete Steere ere ses | $70 | $266 $364 $264 $440 $904 
Of all the farms operated by owners there were 20 of just 40 
acres in area, the average labor income of which was $70. None made 
2 labor income of $1,000. There were 26 men on 80-acre farms and 
only one of them made a labor income of $1,000. Of the 25 men on 
160-acre farms one in five made $1,000 or more. 
Only one tenant rented a 40-acre farm, and he had less than $300 
for his year’s living. Most tenants know better than to rent such a 
small farm, fully realizing the improbability of a good income. The 
average income of the 37 tenants on 160-acre farms was $904. More 
than one in every three made a labor income of $1,000. If the man 
on the 40-acre farm in Illinois or in any of the North Central States 
expects to have as good a living as his neighbor on 160 acres he must 
produce four times as much per acre with no increase in expenses. 
In Table XVIII the farms are arranged according to their size 
to show the relation existing between the area of the farm and the 
income received. 
