FARMERS EARNINGS IN SOUTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA 9 
The differences in average size of the groups are not particularly 
important as they depend somewhat upon the way the farms were 
grouped. The differences in farming system are, however, partly 
due to differences in physical conditions. 
The crops grown in each group are much the same regardless of 
the particular crop or livestock product which was most important. 
The standard rotation was described in United States Department of 
Agriculture Bulletin 341 as follows (17): 
First year Second year 
Third year 
Fourth year 
Fifth year 
[Corn Csilage) 
Corn.. ^Potatoes 
Iwheat 
/Timothy and 
\ clover. 
Timothy and 
lOats 
1 
clover. 
This rotation still largely prevails, although, as shown in Table 4. 
alfalfa now occupies about one-fifth of the hay land on dairy farms 
and is an important crop on other types. On some farms alfalfa 
is grown as part of the regular rotation; on other farms the alfalfa 
fields lie outside of the regular cropping system, occasionally a new 
field being started and the old one plowed up. 
Table 5, showing the percentages of crop land in the different 
crops, gives a better statement of their relative importance. As 
would be expected, silage is an important crop on only the dairy and 
beef farms, while the proportion of special crops is highest for the 
poultry, potato, and truck-crop farms. In general, however, the 
relative acreages of the different groups of crops, and even of the 
important individual crops, are surprisingly constant for all the 
different groups, indicating how generally all the farms tend to follow 
about the same cropping system. 
Table o. — Percentage of area in specified crops, by groups of farms 
Percent- 
age of 
total area 
in— 
Percentage of crop 
area in— 
Percentage of 
crop area in 
specified grain 
crops 
Percentage of crop 
area in specified 
hay crops 
00 
e 
3 
Group of farms 
a 
DO 
1 
a 
2 
o 
a 
1 
2 
C3 
a 
I 
* 
CO 
t 
5 
S 
BD 
a 
u 
a 
"as 
$ 
3 
3 
> 
o 
>> 
g 
t? o 
u 
a — 
s 
o5 
<g q 
□ 
- 
U 
O 
CO 
w 
U 
O 
U 
■- 
u 
< 
h 
Dairy 
9? 
58 
44 
7 
43 
6 
•n 
18 
6 
lii 
17 
3 
8 
4 9 
Small dairv 
23 
23 
55 
57 
51 
38 
7 
6 
37 
48 
S 
8 
23 
18 
19 
17 
7 
3 
12 
14 
17 
2 
11 
9 
12 
4.0 
^ I ushr oom-dairy 
5. 5 
Mushroom 
21 
59 
41 
3 
47 
9 
23 
12 
6 
12 
21 
3 
9 
4.4 
Crops 
20 
59 
49 
3 
42 
6 
21 
19 
8 
16 
16 
6 
4 
18 
Poultry 
25 
49 
37 
6 
47 
10 
27 
10 
13 
20 
4 
10 
6.3 
Small poultry 
17 
37 
53 
37 
10 
W 
16 
11 
11 
16 
S 
■ 
8 4 
Beef... 
39 
16 
49 
60 
33 
34 
8 
4 
56 
44 
3 
18 
6 
17 
19 
11 
8 
6 
i 
28 
4 
2.5 
Truck crops. 
34 
2 
3.0 
Potato 
13 
63 
40 
2 
44 
14 
18 
19 
3 
11 
23 
7 
14.0 
1 Includes cowpeas, soy beans, and oats, cut for hay, as well as hay crops shown separately. 
74652°— 26t 2 
