UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
>" °^- In Cooperation with the 
Agricultural Experiment Station, State College of Washington 
DEPARTMENT BULLETIN No. 1388 
Washington, D. C. V March, 1926 
FARM MANAGEMENT PROBLEMS ON IRRIGATED FARMS IN HAY AND 
POTATO AREAS OF THE YAKIMA VALLEY, WASH. 
By E. R. Johnson, Assistant Agricultural Economist, Bureau of Agricultural 
Economics, and S. B. Xuckols, Associate Agronomist, Bureau of Plant Industry 
CONTENTS 
Page i Page 
Summary of results. 2 Selection and production of crops 28 
Location and description of area 3 ; Selection and production of livestock 46 
Agricultural history of area 6 Principles governing choice of crops and 
Markets and marketing problems 11 I livestock 50 
A business analysis of present farming in Application of principles discussed 54 
Yakima County 16 
In planning good farm organization for Yakima Valley farms. 
many questions arise. On farms where alfalfa and potatoesare the 
principal sources of cash income, earnings have been largely deter- 
mined by the area devoted to these crops each year and the price of 
the crops when sold. Since price fluctuations for these crops have 
been frequent, farm earnings have been very uncertain and difficult to 
estimate in advance. Many Yakima Valley farmers are puzzled to 
know how to apportion their crops to the best advantage, whether 
some hvestock can be kept profitably, what kind to keep, and 
how much. 
The study 1 summarized in this bulletin was planned for the pur- 
pose of assisting Yakima Valley farmers in their interpretation of the 
principles of production economics, as these affect the management 
of individual farms and the agriculture of the community. 
The information is based upon personal interviews with farmers, 
merchants, and bankers in Yakima County, upon data furnished by 
the Bureau of Reclamation and Office of Indian Affairs of the United 
States Department of the Interior, upon census reports, and upon 
statistics of the United States Department of Agriculture. 
'The writers wish to thank G. O. Baker, Xeil Johnson, and W. R. Singleton of the Department of 
Farm Management, Washington State College, and H. B. Pingry and Grover Burnett for their assistance 
in the collecting of field data. Credit is due Miss Sudie Cox of the Division of Farm management and 
Costs, Bureau of Agriculture Economics, for assistance in the tabulations. Special acknowledgements 
are due to Vice Dean George Severance, head of the Department of Farm Management, Washington 
State College, for assistance in planning the survey and reviewing the manuscript, and A. E. Lovett, 
agricultural agent for Yakima County, for assistance in reviewing the manuscript . Thanks of the writers 
and departments are also extended to those farmers and others who helped to make the study possible by 
their hearty cooperation. 
69220 c — 26 f 1 
