FARM MANAGEMENT IN CATAWBA COUNTY, ^. C. 
11 
had average farm incomes of $710 and labor incomes of $301, while 
the 36 farmers who had a yield of wheat averaging 11.9 bushels 
per acre had an average farm income of $1,207 and an average 
labor income of $585. 
In spite of the fact that the low yield, the topography, and the 
type of farming followed make the cost of raising wheat high and 
its production therefore relatively less profitable than that of some 
other crops, farmers grow wheat here because they do not like to 
buy flour for bread and do not think it is a mark of good farming 
to do so. Moreover, the presence of local flour mills makes it easy 
to have their wheat ground. A small acreage of wheat does not 
materially interfere with other crops. It fits well into the rotation 
and is a good nurse crop for clover. Wheat sells at a higher price 
here than in the wheat belt, and a little wheat to sell in the summer 
brings in ready cash when it is needed most. The wheat crop is 
thus the medium through which important steps in raising the cotton 
crop are financed. 
The corn crop occupied 28 per cent of the crop area in 1912 and 26 
per cent of the area in 1918. The average yield per acre was 23 
bushels in 1912 and 24 bushels in 1918. In both years in which 
the study was made there was only one farm that did not grow corn. 
The acreage of corn which the farmer should grow is a question that 
arises annually. Table 8, showing the relation between the acreage 
of corn and the farm and labor income on 297 farms for 1912 and 
304 farms for 1918, may help to solve the question. 
Table 8. — Relation between per cent of total crop land in corn, and total receipts, farm 
income, and labor income on 297 farms for 1912 and 304 farms for 1918, Catawba 
County, i\ r , C. 
Per cent of crop area in corn. 
1912. 
1918. 
10 per 
cent 
and 
less. 
10.1 20.1 
to to 
20 per 30 per 
cent. cent. 
30.1 : Over 
to 40 
40 per; per 
cent. cent. 
AH 
farms. 
10 per 
cent 
and 
less. 
10J 1 20.1 
to to 
20 per | 30 per 
cent. cent. 
30.1 
to 
40 per 
cent. 
Over 
40 ; All 
per | farms, 
cent. 
Number of farms. . . 
Crop area 
Acres in corn 
Total receipts 
Receipts from corn. 
Farm income 
Labor income 
5 
40.1 
4.6 
$687 
16 
306 
62 
56 111 
61.3 53.7 
9.8 13.3 
$1, 333 $937 
13 40 
573 394 
134 56 
86 
47.1 
16.2 
$860 
52 
379 
123 
39 
37.4 
18.0 
$740 
72 
328 
278 
297 
50.8 
14.1 
$919 
42 
413 
87 
5 
33.0 
2.8 
$1,441 
4 
906 
375 
61 
59.9 
9.3 
$2, 332 
58 
1,292 
726 
123 
49.2 
12.3 
$1, 733 
80 
972 
545 
84 
42.4 
14.5 
$1,615 
134 
902 
492 
31 ! 304 
36. 8 ! 47. 9 
17.4 i 12.7 
$1,146 $1,726 
195 101 
665 i 985 
326 ! 542 
Disregarding the first groups of farms, both in 1912 and in 1918, 
since there are only five farms in each, too small a number to make 
the conclusions very reliable, it will be seen that for both years the 
farmers making the highest farm incomes were those growing the 
smallest acreages of corn. 
