58 BULLETIN 1388, U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE 
A more economical utilization of idle and waste resources applies 
to conditions existing on this and many other farms in the area. The 
keeping of about six cows and two sows seems to be justified on this 
farm to utilize the low-grade and unmarketable feeds and pastures 
that occur in the production of alfalfa, potatoes, and other cash crops 
and to provide a profitable utilization for a large part of the idle labor 
which occurs during the winter months and between the second and 
third hay cuttings. 
Small units are seldom economical unless they are supported by 
resources which would otherwise be more or less wasted. When the 
major enterprises are small units, as compared with major enterprises 
conducted by other farm families in the area, the operating cost for 
these enterprises and for the farm business as a whole is consider- 
ably increased. Small units make less efficient use of labor and 
equipment. The major enterprises should be large enough to pro- 
vide profitable employment for the operator and his family for the 
greater part of the year. This is not possible with only 8 acres of 
alfalfa and 5 acres of potatoes and no supplementary enterprises. 
This farmer should try to rent additional land, 20 or 30 acres, or farm 
more intensively the land which he has. If it is not practicable to 
rent the additional land, about the only opportunity this farmer has 
to increase his farm earnings, by adjustments in enterprises, is by the 
addition of more cows, hogs, and poultry and such crop enterprises 
as will increase the net earnings per acre of land. Tomatoes, ruta- 
bagas, and other vegetables usually find available markets in the 
near-by canneries or cities and are often economical to grow, espe- 
cially if the soil is adaptable and the operator is fitted to conduct such 
enterprises successfully and utilize labor that would otherwise be 
more or less idle or wasted. 
FARM NO. 4, A 37-ACRE CROP AND LIVESTOCK FARM 
Description of the farmer and his resources. — This is a medium- 
sized farm, with good soil, on which crops and livestock have been 
combined successfully. Of the 35 acres in crop in 1922, 11 acres 
were devoted to alfalfa, 9 acres to potatoes, 6 acres to wheat, 3 acres 
to rutabagas, 1 acre to corn, and 5 acres to other crops, pasture, and 
garden. The productive livestock amounted to 5 grade Holstein 
cows, 5 heifers, 300 chickens, and 8 turkeys. The operator is 47 years 
old and has a wife and three children. The farm, purchased in 1918. 
carries a mortgage amounting to 45 per cent of its real-estate value, 
There is sufficient equipment on the place to conduct successfully 
the various crop and livestock enterprises. 
Results from the present organization. — Crops contributed 57 per 
cent of the total cash receipts in 1922 and livestock 43 per cent. 
All of the hay raised was kept for feed. One-half of the potatoes, 
all of the wheat, and 83 per cent of the rutabagas were sold. Taxes, 
hired labor, and seed were the highest items of cash expense, amount- 
ing to 65 per cent of the total. The cash income, or the difference 
between cash receipts and expenses, amounted to $1,392. A more 
detailed analysis of the farm business of this farm, for 1922, is given 
in Table 26. 
PRINCIPLES APPLICABLE TO THIS FARM 
Combining livestock with crops is likely to improve incomes from 
farming on most farms in this area. The operator of this 37-acre 
