A STUDY OF FARM ORGANIZATION IN CENTRAL KANSAS 
37 
the cornland was plowed before being listed. It was sledded twice 
before wheat harvest and cultivated once after wheat harvest. This 
is typical of the practices followed in corn production in this area. 
Twenty acres of corn on this farm were cut and 16 acres put in the silo. 
Eleven acres were husked from the standing stalks in December. Most 
of the corn in this area is husked in November and early December. 
The husking on this farm was less typical than the other operations. 
Some corn, however, is husked as late as January and February. 
ALFALFA 
Alfalfa is seeded either in the fall or in the spring and usually 
without a nurse crop. The first year's crop is generally very light. 
The stand is allowed to remain so long as it is good, with five or more 
years as the usual life of a field. Many of the farmers pasture 
alfalfa at least a part of the season. Pasturing is most frequent in 
the late smmmer and fall when the alfalfa may be too short to cut 
and other pastures are closely grazed. The number of cuttings 
varies with the season, the more usual numbers being two and three. 
The hay is placed in the barn on those farms having sufficient mow 
room. If mow room is lacking, it is stacked in the field and hauled 
to the livestock as fed. Some alfalfa is cut for seed. 
LABOR REQUIREMENTS FOR ALFALFA 
Man labor and horse work used in making alfalfa hay are shown in 
Tables 19 and 20. The yield per acre and the method of handling are 
the principal factors responsible for the variations in requirements for 
the different operations. On farm 1, a 7-foot mower was used, whereas 
5-foot mowers were used on most of the other farms. The inefficient 
use of large crews is largely responsible for the higher requirements for 
stacking the first cutting on farms 16 and 3. The small acreages on 
farms 9, 12, and 17 are partly responsible for the relatively high per 
acre requirements on these farms. On farm 13, with the lowest per 
acre requirement for hauling the first cutting, the alfalfa field was next 
to the farmstead, which facilitated the hauling. The average require- 
ments for the third cutting were slightly higher than those for the 
second cutting in 1922, which is not ordinarily the case. 
Table 19. — Man labor requirements -per acre for alfalfa, 1922 
FIRST CUTTING 
Farm No. 
Area 
Yield per 
acre 1 
Mowing 
Raking 
Stacking 
Hauling 
Total 
13 
Acres 
8 
19 
31 
24 
21 
16 
8 
8 
40 
5 
3 
2 
9 
36 
Tons 
0.9 
1.7 
1.1 
1.0 
1.2 
2.0 
.7 
.9 
1.9 
1.4 
3.2 
1.4 
1.2 
2.7 
1.6 
.6 
1.1 
Hours 
0.65 
.84 
1.03 
.84 
1.02 
.79 
1.04 
.89 
1.77 
2.47 
.63 
2.27 
1.26 
1.18 
1.15 
1.04 
1.17 
Hours 
0.26 
.31 
.26 
.63 
.53 
.98 
.52 
.76 
.58 
.82 
.31 
1.14 
.57 
.58 
.54 
.41 
.62 
Hours 
Hours 
1.04 
Hours 
1.95 
1 
2.10 
2.24 
2.25 
3.25 
6 
3.53 
10 
3.72 
11 
2.86 
4.41 
8 
3.35 
3.65 
5.12 
5 
5.21 
15 
3.82 
5.47 
2 
4.22 
6.57 
12... 
4.33 
6.94 
6.25 
7.62 
17 
7.88 
9 
9.66 
3 
9.65 
10.12 
M.72 
21.90 
2 3.21 
11.48 
16 
11.88 
Average: 
230 acres, 1922 
2 3.29 
2 1.32 
2 3.55 
3 6.41 
189 acres, 1921 
3 3.35 
170 acres, 1920. — 
3 5.00 
1 Yield shown is for all three cuttings. 
2 Averages are for acreages actually stacked or hauled. 
Total is for acreage stacked. 
