A STUDY OF FAKM ORGANIZATION IN CENTRAL KANSAS 65 
high. Furthermore, the bringing in of new wheat lands in Canada, 
Argentina, and other countries will tend to keep the price of wheat 
low for some years. Consequently the farmers of this region must 
give more consideration in the future to choosing those lines of pro- 
duction which, under the changed conditions, may be combined with 
wheat production for a more profitable utilization of their resources. 
In times when the prices of commodities purchased by the farmer 
to use in producing farm products are relatively high as compared 
with the prices of commodities which he sells, it is particularly im- 
portant that the farmer should make every effort to get the best 
utilization of his fixed resources. Under such conditions expendi- 
tures for hired labor, new machines, etc., must be made with the 
greatest care if they are to be paid for out of the returns. The 
principle applies at all times, but when farm products are relatively 
lower in price than are products purchased by farmers, it takes 
better and more careful management to make such expenditures 
profitably. 
In choosing enterprises, therefore, many considerations are in- 
volved. The objective sought is the greatest net profit for the 
time of the farmer and unpaid members of his family and for the 
farmer's investment. In general, that combination of enterprises 
will return the highest net profit and be most desirable for McPherson 
County farmers which (1) gives stability to the business by including 
crops whose regional adaptations differ so that complete failure of 
all will not occur in the same year, (2) obtains a maximum of the 
advantages to be derived from the complementary and supplementary 
relations between enterprises, (3) utilizes fixed resources such as 
the labor of the operator and his family and investments in buildings, 
machinery, and other permanent improvements and equipment, as 
completely as is consistent with the other factors to be considered, 
(4) adapts the rate of turnover of the various investments to the 
needs of the farmer for cash income, and (5) makes due allowance 
for probable price fluctuations for various commodities and the 
relative cost of things the farmer buys as compared with the things 
he sells. Many of these factors are not susceptible of accurate meas- 
urement, but careful consideration of all permits the formulation of 
intelligent judgments concerning the desirability of the many possible 
combinations of enterprises. 
APPLICATION OF PRINCIPLES GOVERNING THE CHOICE OF 
FARM ENTERPRISES 
As an illustration of the application of farm organization data 
and of the principles governing the choice of enterprises, a farm repre- 
sentative in size and type of many farms in McPherson County has 
been selected. The following is a statement of this farm business as 
it existed in 1922: 
Inventory of resources 
Real estate: 
Total crop area acres. _ 273 
Pasture do 38 
Farmstead do 5 
Total • do 316 
1816°— 25t 5 
