FARM ORGANIZATION IN SOUTHWESTERN MINNESOTA 
11 
STUDY OF PRESENT-DAY AGRICULTURE IN COTTONWOOD AND JACKSON COUNTIES 
METHOD OF SECURING DATA 
To determine how farmers might make these adjustments, an 
analysis of the data showing the requirements and returns of differ- 
ent enterprises on the farms of this area has been made. These 
data were secured by the complete cost route method. The study 
was begun in March 1920. Twenty-four farms in the vicinity of 
Windom as nearly representative of the farms of the area as possible 
were selected. The farmers made a record of all cash receipts and 
expenses, of the amounts of labor used on different crops and live- 
stock, quantities of feeds fed to livestock, of crop and livestock pro- 
duction, etc. These records were collected by a route man stationed 
at Windom who visited each farm two or three times each week. 
Inventories were taken at the beginning and close of each year. All 
fields were accurately measured each year and the crop acreage 
determined. The data presented were obtained during the years 
1920, 1921, and 1922. Of the 24 farmers who co-operated in the 
work each year, 6 moved away during the year and 1 failed to fur- 
nish usable records. During the three years, 65 complete farm 
records were secured. Altogether 36 different farms are included in 
this study. Records from 7 were obtained for three years, from 15 
for two years, and from 14 for one year. 
SIZE OF FARM AND DISTRIBUTION OF CROP ACREAGE 
The average size of the farms studied was 187 acres. Of these, 
137 acres were in crops, 40 acres in pasture, 5}4 acres in farmstead, 
and the remainder in waste land. The total acreage is slightly less 
than the average for the two counties, but the crop acreage is slightly 
greater. The distribution of crop acreage on these farms is shown 
in Table 3. This distribution is also compared with the distribution 
for all farms in the two counties. The farms studied had a larger 
percentage of land in corn, less in wild hay, and less in miscellaneous 
crops such as wheat, buckwheat, soybeans, sorghum, beans, and 
potatoes, than did the two counties as a whole. However, they are 
probably as typical of the general type of farming in the area as 
could be selected. 
Table 3. — Distribution of crop acreages on farms studied and on all farms in Cotton- 
wood and Jackson Counties 
Crop 
Corn,.. 
Oats— 
Tame hay 
Wild hay 
Barley 
Rye.. --.- 
Alfalfa.... 
Flax 
Miscellaneous erops. 
Farms studied l 
Total 
acreage 
,852 
,818 
954 
507 
317 
194 
124 
48 
Farms 
growing 
this 
crop 
Number 
65 
64 
48 
38 
18 
11 
21 
6 
42 
Acres per farm 
Average 
Maxi- 
mum 
130 
107 
60 
39 
39 
35 
94 
30 
12 
Mini- 
mum 
Total 
crop 
acreage 
Per cent 
43.4 
31.7 
10.7 
5.7 
3.6 
2.2 
1.4 
All farms 
cotton- 
wood and 
Jackson 
counties. 2 
Total 
crop 
acreage 
Per cent 
32.2 
33.9 
8.8 
11.9 
3.4 
2.7 
.2 
1.5 
5.4 
1 Average for 65 farm years, 1920 to 1922, inclusive. 
2 Data from the census for 1919. 
