64 BULLETIN 1296, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGBICTTLTtJBE 
RATE OF TURNOVER 
The length of time that must elapse between the time of making 
investments in an enterprise and the time when the first cash income 
is received from that investment is an important consideration for 
many farmers in choosing enterprises. Most farmers do not have 
sufficient funds to pay farm and living expenses for a considerable 
length of time while waiting for returns from their farm business. 
Funds might be borrowed for these purposes, but some farmers may 
be unable to borrow these funds and others may not choose to do so. 
Furthermore, the prices of products that have a slow rate of turnover 
are frequently very different at the time the products are sold from 
the prices that were expected when the original investment was made. 
As a result, those enterprises which return a cash income soon after 
the first investment in time and funds are preferred to make up at 
least a part of the farm business. Milk cows and poultry are popu- 
lar for this reason. They return a fairly constant income, perhaps 
small in the amount available at any one time, but frequently suffi- 
cient to meet incidental farm and living expenses. This prevents 
the accumulation of debts and aids the farmer to keep his expen- 
ditures within his income. 
Milk cows are preferable to beef cattle on farms where funds are 
somewhat limited, because beef cattle frequently do not make any 
return in cash income for two or more years after the initial invest- 
ment is made. Hogs require a period of waiting of approximately 
one year under usual conditions. Poultry begin to make a return 
within a very short time after they are taken into the business. 
Wheat requires approximately one year at the least. Corn, oats, 
and other spring crops have a rate 01 turnover which requires some- 
what less time than does wheat. Four to Gre years or more are 
required to get full returns on the seedling of alfalfa, and the usual 
tenant is not certain that he will remain on the farm so long a time. 
EFFECT OF CHANGES IN PRICES OR COSTS UPON THE SELECTION OF ENTERPRISES 
A farmer can not choose his production practices once for all time. 
As the relative prices or relative costs of different products change, 
a farmer will find it to his advantage to make some adjustments in 
his enterprises. Some of these changes in prices or costs are of a 
temporary and minor character and can not be easily anticipated. 
Changes in farming may involve buying new equipment or learning 
new things, and a farmer should not be continually changing his 
business because of these minor price fluctuations. 
Many changes in relative prices or relative costs are of a cyclical 
character and of such duration that a knowledge of their probable 
movements enables a farmer to increase his returns by quickly 
adjusting his business to take advantage of the changes. Other 
changes in relative prices frequently assume a fairly permanent 
character and necessitates considerable adjustments in the farm 
business if the farmer is to make the best use of his resources. For 
example, the McPherson County farmers have long depended upon 
wheat as their principal source of cash income and it will no doubt 
continue to be the most important cash crop of the region for some 
time to come. However, the price of wheat is relatively low, whereas 
the cost of harvest labor and all kinds of equipment is relatively 
