FARM ORGANIZATION IN SOUTHWESTERN MINNESOTA 
77 
A third classification of labor which will serve as a guide in work- 
ing out the labor program for a farmer is presented in Table 48. 
Table 48. 
-Classification of farm operations from the standpoint of the effect of 
frozen ground and snow 
Work that can not be done while 
Work that can be done 
while 
Work that can be done while 
ground is frozen 
ground is frozen but free of 
snow 
ground is covered with snow 
All tillage, seeding, and harvest- 
Husking corn. 
Hauling manure. 
ing operations, except corn 
Storing machinery. 
Marketing crops, livestock, and 
husking. 
Cleaning up farmstead. 
■ 
livestock products 
Setting fence posts. 
Picking up deadwood in 
grove and 
Shelling corn. 
Drainage and tiling. 
windbreak. 
Cleaning, testing, and grading 
Road maintenan e. 
Cutting brush 
seeds. 
Hauling gravel. 
•Hauling seed, feed and supplies. 
Outdoor concrete construction. 
Grinding feed. 
Painting buildings. 
• 
Attending sales and livestock 
breeders' meetings. 
Breaking colts. 
Culling chickens. 
Farm bureau business. 
Cutting and hauling firewood. 
Repairing equipment. 
Indoor repairs and alteration on 
buildings. 
Butchering. 
Pruning trees. 
Putting up ice. 
This sorting of tasks is chiefly valuable where a choice is possible 
within the classes listed in Tables 46 and 47. For example, in the 
second column in Table 47 there is an option between cleaning up 
the farmstead, hauling gravel, and cutting firewood, when the ground 
HOURS 
OF 
LABOR 
50 
40 
30 
20 
10 
Day-to-Day Adjustment of Fixed and Shifting Labor on a 260-Acre Farm 
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JAN. 
FEB. 
MAR. APR. MAY 
■ HOURS OF FIXED LABOR 
JULY AUG. SEPT. OCT. . NOV. 
HOURS OF SHIFTING LABOR 
Fig. 25.— Work of a highly seasonal character should be done when the conditions are most favor- 
able for its performance. Work that can be done at any time should not be allowed to delay 
rush work of a seasonal character 
is too wet for field work. If all are of equal importance the farmer 
should haul gravel, because this must be done before the ground 
freezes. After the ground is frozen and before the first snow comes, 
he is confronted with the choice between the two remaining tasks. 
Cleaning the farmstead should be given precedence because it must 
