FARM MANAGEMENT ON IRRIGATED FARMS 51 
VARIATIONS IN FARMER'S RESOURCES INFLUENCE THE SELECTION OF ENTER- 
PRISES AND THE RETURNS FROM FARMING 
In planning a good farm organization, one of the first things to be 
considered is a careful analysis of the available farm resources. 8 
This is necessary in order to appraise properly the quality and impor- 
tance of the available resources which contribute to the earnings of 
the farm business. 
If a farm has good uniform soil and markets are available for the 
crops grown, it may not be desirable or good business in an individ- 
ual case to keep more livestock than can utilize unsalable or waste 
products. Where the production of crops for sale is profitable, live- 
stock production is usually not economical unless a considerable part 
of the production is made from low-grade and waste feeds and labor, 
which is cheap or would otherwise be more or less wasted. 
In selecting and apportioning enterprises on a large farm it is im- 
portant to estimate carefully the extra costs of labor and materials 
involved in the production of large acreages of such crops as potatoes 
and rutabagas, which require considerable expense for extra labor and 
materials. The probable returns from these extra costs should be cal- 
culated in advance to determine if large-scale production will be 
profitable at the current costs of labor and materials. 
On land that is not productive it will be necessary to devote more 
of the farm to crops which will assist in building up the soil. This 
will require more livestock to consume the extra quantity of pasture 
and low-grade feeds resulting from the change in crop organization. 
If the water supply on an irrigated farm runs short in the latter 
part of the season, it will be necessary to grow crops that mature 
earlier or require more water in the early part of the season. 
The fitness of the operator to handle different enterprises success- 
fully is a resource upon which often depends the efficient utilization 
of all the other resources of the farm. Fitness involves f^arm train- 
ing, experience, and personal likes and dislikes. A person will usual- 
ly attain greater success in an activity with which he is familiar and 
in sympathy. Such an activity not only gets the benefit of success- 
ful experience, but receives more careful thought and attention from 
the operator. The danger should be recognized, however, of permit- 
ting personal likes or dislikes to become too great a factor in the selec- 
tion and adjustment of farm enterprises. Farming is a business, and 
each farmer needs to make it his business to determine the combina- 
tion of enterprises which will prove to be best suited to conditions 
in the community and on his farm. If a new enterprise seems to 
possess reasonably permanent advantages in production and market- 
ing, the operator should make up his mind to become an expert in 
the new enterprise and to like it. 
MARKETS AND MARKETING CONDITIONS OFTEN VARY FOR DIFFERENT FARM 
PRODUCTS 
The marketing problem has always been, and probably for many 
years will continue to be, of even greater importance than production 
on many irrigation projects in the West. Many farms on these proj- 
ects are particularly adapted to the production of bulky perishable 
8 The farmer's resources are real estate, irrigation water, machinery, other equipment , work stock, other 
livestock, the operator's lahor and managerial ability, any regular hired labor employed, and such family 
labor as is available for farm work 
