28 BULLETIN 1388, U. 3. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
trated in the case of one of the 40-acre farmers in this area, who had 
poor crop yields and yet belonged to the group of 10 farmers with 
the highest incomes. When this man acquired his farm, it was 
badly run down on account of careless cropping, and several alkali 
spots helped to reduce yields considerably on certain fields. Realiz- 
ing that successful farming was largely dependent upon good yields, 
this farmer chose and adjusted his enterprises in such a way that the 
productive ability of the soil to produce crops would be gradually 
increased. High-quality cows and purebred sows were purchased, 
and that portion of the land too alkaline to produce fair crops was 
seeded to sweet clover and used for pasture. 
In 1922 this farmer had seven cows and seven purebred sows and 
raised all but $346 worth of his feed. His purebred hogs, high-pro- 
ducing cows, together with the fact that he sold some of his wheat 
for seed and worked off the farm occasionally when opportunity 
afforded, not only put him in the class of the ten 40-acre farmers 
with the highest farm income, but helped him to build up the pro- 
ductivity of his soil. 
SELECTION AND PRODUCTION OF CROPS 
In planning and carrying out a good crop organization for a gen- 
eral farm in the Yakima Valley it is well to consider the following 
questions: (1) Which crops can be grown most economically? (2) 
What are the marketing possibilities for the different crops grown in 
the area ? (3) How do the different crops vary in their demand upon 
the farmer's labor and water supply? (4) What practices are used 
by the farmers who obtain the best yields? 
Prices which prevail at the time farm products are sold on the 
market often determine the relative profitableness of different enter- 
prises during a given year. Severe losses have been experienced by 
Yakima Valley farmers who plunged in crops that had relatively low 
prices at the time of marketing. In surplus-producing areas, such 
as this one, it is very important to consider the marketing program 
when planning the production program. Some of the more import- 
ant marketing problems on farms in this area have been discussed 
previously. 
SELECTING CROPS FOR ECONOMICAL PRODUCTION 
Fortunately, moisture conditions in the Yakima Valley seldom 
cause extreme variations in yield for the principal crops grown 
(Table 18) as these conditions are more or less controlled by irrigation. 
But considerable variation is noted in yields from field to field on 
the same farm, or from farm to farm in the area. These differences in 
yields on the farms, as shown in Table 19, are due moslty to differ- 
ences in soil conditions, topography of the land, and crop pests or 
diseases. It is in the control of crop yields that farmers in this area, 
in common with those in other areas, have one of the best oppor- 
tunities for reducing costs and increasing net returns from farming. 
Just what it means to one of these farmers to increase his crop 
yield is illustrated in the case of wheat in 1922 (Table 20). In order 
to have made $30 per acre, 5 for the use of his own and family labor 
6 See footnote, Table 20. 
