14 
BULLETIN 633, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
this is a practice very little followed in this region. This phase of 
the problem of maintaining soil fertility will be referred to again in 
discussing the organization of farms in this area. 
To show how important from the standpoint of profit good crop 
yields are, the data given in Table 7 will be of interest. In order to 
make the meaning of this table clear, it is necessary to tell what the 
crop index is. To say that the crop index of a particular farm is 90 
means that the average yield of crops on this farm is 90 per cent of 
the average of the community. The farms included in this survey 
were divided into three groups, the first consisting of those on which 
the crop index was 90 or less, the second those having a crop index from 
90 to 110, and the third those with a crop index of more than 110. 
There were 88 farms in the first group, 86 in the second, and 70 in 
the third. The average size of farm was nearly the same in each 
group. The average of the crop indexes of the first group was 76, 
the second 100, and the third 129. The average labor income of the 
first group was $122, of the second $377, and of the third $676. 
These figures show the outstanding importance of keeping the land 
fertile.* It is one of the most important problems confronting 
farmers in this region. 
Table 7. — The effect of crop index on profits {2.\k farms near Monett, Mo.). 
Item. 
Groups based on crop index. 
90 and 
under. 
90.1 to 
110. 
110.1 and 
over. 
Number of farms 
Average crop index. . . 
Average labor income 
70 
129 
S676 
ORGANIZATION OF SOME TYPICAL FARMS. 
The organization of three typical grain and live-stock farms is 
shown in Table 8. Each of these farms has from 105J to 107 acres 
in crops. It happens also in each case that the operator owns part 
of the land and rents additional land. The first one rents 62 acres, 
the second one 40, and the third one 38. These farmers have recog- 
nized the fact that it is easier to make a satisfactory income on a 
large farm than on a small one, and have chosen a very satisfactory 
means of enlarging their business in the absence of sufficient capital 
to own all the land they can till. It will be noted that they have 
almost exactly the same amount of live stock, the investment in this 
item being about $1,100 in each case. On one of them the value of the 
buildings, other than the dwelling, is very low. This is due to the 
fact that the buildings are very old and practically ready to be 
torn down. 
C 
