16 
BULLETIN 1271, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
in weight. Low labor requirements for disking on farm 4 are like- 
wise affected by the use of the large horses. On the 10 farms having 
the lowest labor requirements for harrowing, 4-section harrows 
cutting 22 to 26 feet were used on all but 1. Of the 10 with the 
highest labor requirements, a 22-foot harrow was used on 1, a 20- 
foot on another, and smaller harrows on the others. The man- 
labor requirement for disking on farm 13 was low on account of the 
use of a tractor and tandem disk. 
The lowest labor requirements are found on farms having the 
largest fields. On farms 1, 3, and 6, having the lowest labor re- 
quirements for plowing with horses, the average size of field was 
39 acres. On farms 15, 17, and 20, with the highest labor require- 
ments, the average size of field was 13^ acres. Distance of fields 
from farmstead also affects labor requirements. On farm 5, although 
the fields were large and the horses much larger than the average, 
the labor requirements were high, because fields composing about 
one-third the acreage plowed were nearly 2 miles from the farm- 
stead, 7 whereas on most of the farms few fields were over one-fourth 
of a mile from the farmstead. 
On farms 1,3, and 4, with low labor requirements for disking, the 
fields averaged 27^£ acres; and on farms 17, 21, and 22, having high 
labor requirements, the average size of field was only 83^ acres. 
Much time is lost in turning around and in working the headlands 
on the smaller fields. 
Sod plowing requires more labor than stubble plowing. Most of 
the plowing included in this study is stubble plowing. The high 
labor requirements on farm 17 are due in a large measure to the 
fact that the acreage plowed included some permanent pasture with 
a tough bluegrass sod. 
STANDARD REQUIREMENTS PER ACRE FOR SEED-BED PREPARATION OPERATIONS 
The following are suggested as standards of accomplishment in 
seed-bed preparation: 
Operation and implements used 
Plowing with 2-bottom gang plow and 5 horses 
Plowing with 16-inch sulky plow and 3 horses.. 
Disking with 8-foot disk and 4 horses 
narrowing with 22-foot harrow and 4 horses 
Hours of labor 
INI an Horse 
Acres 
covered 
in a 10- 
hour day 
These standards can easily be attained on farms having large- 
si zed implements, large teams, and large fields conveniently located 
in relation to the farmstead. The plowing requirement is for stubble 
plowing. It would have to be increased for sod plowing according 
to the toughness of the sod. The usual depth of plowing in the 
Windom area, 5 to 6 inches, is assumed in setting these standards. 
FALL PLOWING 
Approximately two-thirds of all plowing on these farms is done 
in the fall for the following year's crop. In presenting graphically 
the seasonal distribution of labor on individual crops, this fall plow- 
'i h" f .i in building mi rounding I bem. 
