A STUDY OF FARM ORGANIZATION IN CENTRAL KANSAS 73 
of the greater acreages of feed crops and smaller acreages of wheat 
should also result in some improvement in crop yields. Increased 
crop yields obtained in this way would not increase expenses propor- 
tionately and consequently would further increase the net returns 
for the resources on the farm. 
EFFECT OF PRICE CHANGES UPON THE RELATIVE RETURNS FROM THE TWO PLANS 
Radical shifts in the price of wheat or in the prices of livestock 
products would affect the returns secured from these two types of 
organization. With wheat at $1.25 per bushel at the farm and all 
other prices and costs remaining the same, the margin of income from 
the more diversified plan of operation would be cut to about $250. 
A further increase in the farm price of wheat to $1.60 per bushel with 
no change in the other prices or costs used in the illustration would 
result in approximately equal returns from the two types of organiza- 
tion. However, such changes in the price of wheat without similar 
changes in costs of wheat production or in the prices and costs 
affecting other enterprises are highly improbable and can not be 
depended on to make straight wheat farming in this area generally 
more profitable than a system where wheat production is supple- 
mented by the production of feed crops and livestock. 
EFFECT OF INCREASING THE SIZE OF BUSINESS UPON RETURNS 
In the illustration the wheat acreage was reduced 52 acres and the 
acreage of feed crops sufficiently increased to provide feed for addi- 
tional livestock. Another alternative open to the farmer is that of 
renting or buying more land to provide for the production of feed 
crops without reducing the acreage of wheat. The effect of increas- 
ing the size of the farm by renting 52 acres of wheat land so as to 
keep 212 acres in wheat is shown below. 
Total production of wheat on 52 acres (bushels) 728 
One-third for rent of land (bushels) 243 
Seed (bushels) 65 
308 
Salable surplus (bushels) 420 
Increase in crop sales (420 bushels wheat, at 90 cents per 
bushel) $378 
Increase in cost of labor, materials, and threshing — 
Twine • $12 
Threshing 87 
Labor 100 
Total 199 
Increase in net returns over plan of expanding the acreage 
of feed crops by reducing the wheat acreage 179 
Increase in net returns over the present plan of operation — 675 
This plan of renting additional land in order to maintain the 
E resent acreage of wheat would make it necessary to keep the* 10 
orses, which would materially reduce the margin between available 
feeds and the requirements of the livestock. Practically all labor 
necessary to take care of the additional wheat acreage would have 
to be hired. Assuming that there is no change in the efficiency 
with which the larger organization is managed, the increased size of 
business would result in a small increase in the net returns to the 
resources. To obtain this increase would require more careful plan- 
