FARM ORGANIZATION IN SOUTHWESTERN MINNESOTA 45 
noted. Often there are several factors affecting the requirement for 
a given operation on a particular farm. For example, the labor 
requirements for husking corn on farm 15 were high, both on account 
of two men working with one team and because the fields were small 
and distant from the farmstead. In other instances, the factors caus- 
ing variations may be exerted in opposite directions and offset each 
other. For this reason it is impossible to evaluate accurately the 
effect of each factor in raising or lowering labor requirements. How- 
ever, it is apparent that low labor requirements are generally as- 
sociated with large implements, large teams, experienced able- 
bodied laborers, balanced power, and equipment units, and large 
fields conveniently located with reference to the farmstead. These 
conditions make possible standard requirements materially lower 
than the average. A farmer using these standards requirement in 
computing the probable labor demand of any cropping system he 
may be planning should include these factors in his organization, or 
increase them in proportion to his inability to do so. 
The suggested dates for the performance of the various crop 
operations are usually the most satisfactory and can safely be used 
in planning the labor program, although seasonal variations will 
make occasional adjustments necessary for individual years. The 
number of workdays available for each operation is computed with a 
fair allowance for weather interference. 
In planning a system of cropping for an individual farm these 
tables of usual dates and days available for the various operations will 
indicate when different crops will require labor and what .competition 
between crops will occur. By computing the total labor require- 
ments for the acreages of crops planned and comparing them with 
the workdays available, the farmer may determine whether his labor 
supply is sufficient to meet the demands at all times with a reason- 
able margin of safety, or whether he must either change his cropping 
plan or hire additional labor to handle the heavy demands occurring 
at certain seasons. 
UNIT REQUIREMENTS OF LABOR AND MATERIALS FOR LIVESTOCK 
The unit requirements for livestock include hours of man and 
horse labor and pounds of feeds of the various kinds. In addition 
to those requirements that can be measured in terms of physical 
units there are other requirements such as medicine and veterinary 
services, that can be measured only in terms of money value. Al- 
though these occur very irregularly, they have been included in the 
tables of requirements, because the farmer must in the long rim 
make provision for them. In so far as possible the product of each 
class of stock is indicated in terms of physical units. Where there 
are joint products the quantity of each is listed. In case of mature 
animals, such as horses or cows, the requirements are listed on a per 
herd basis. Hog requirements are based on 100 pounds- of pork 
produced. For other classes of stock the " animal-unit " 9 basis is 
9 An "animal unit" as denned by the committee on terminology of the American Farm Management 
Association, now the American Farm Economics Association (see Record of Proceedings of Eighth Annual 
Meeting, December, 1917, p. 192) represents an average mature horse or cow, or the equivalent in other 
livestock, based on the amount of feed eaten and manure produced. In this study the following numhers 
of other livestock will be considered equivalent to a mature horse or cow, 2 colts, 2 young cattle, 5 mature 
hogs, 10 pigs, 7 mature sheep, 14 lambs, 100 chickens. 
