20 BULLETIN 1400, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
FACTORS AFFECTING FARMERS' EARNINGS IN CHESTER COUNTY 
IN 1922-23 
SELECTION AND COMBINATION OF THE ENTERPRISES 
The comparison of the earnings of the different groups in Table 16 
brings out the point that proper selection and combination of the 
different crop and livestock enterprises are the first requirements for 
profitable farming. Leaving out the mushroom farms, a statistical 
study shows that the differences in operator's earnings on the farms 
surveyed were closely related to differences in the receipts from the 
different livestock and crop enterprises. 6 The three enterprises of 
greatest importance were the dairy enterprise, the poultry enterprise, 
and cash crops. Nearly all of the differences in earnings due to 
differences in the combination of enterprises were due to differences 
in these three enterprises, sheep, hogs, and beef animals being impor- 
tant on only a few farms. 
As lias already been indicated by the financial results for special 
farms, beef production and hog production much beyond that re- 
quired for home consumption seem unprofitable for Chester County. 
So few sheep were found that it was obvious that they had not proved 
profitable in the area. 
For most farms in this region it was more profitable to market the 
feed crops through dairy cows and chickens than to sell cash crops. 
Where potatoes can be grown as a supplementary crop without extra 
expense for hired labor and are properly cared for, they should add 
to the farm profits. There was such a wide variation in potato yields 
the year of the survey that it was not possible to measure the average 
effect of the area of potatoes upon the operator's earnings. 
On some of the smaller dairy farms much larger poultry flocks were 
kept than on other farms of the same size. The general result of the 
study of these farms was that it did not pay most farmers to increase 
the number of chickens kept to such an extent that it was necessary 
to cut down the size of the dairy herd. 
The combination of the different crops to produce a maximum of 
product at a minimum of cost is undoubtedly an important factor in 
profitable farming. Hut under the relatively low crop prices prevailing 
during the year of the survey it made very little difference how much 
of the feed for the dairy herd was raised on the farm. Statistical 
study showed that on the average there was a very slight decrease in 
earnings for each increase in the proportion of the feed purchased, 
but that this relation was not very significant. Though under the 
unusual price conditions the year of the survey it made little difference 
whether a farmer raised or purchased his feed, so far as the earnings 
for a herd of a given size w T ere concerned, in years when purchased 
feeds are more expensive in relation to farm-raised feeds than they 
were in 1922 it would apparently pay to feed the cows more largely on 
home-grown feed. 
SIZE OF THE FARM BUSINESS 
The size of the operation is an important factor affecting the profits 
in almost any type of business enterprise. The larger the enterprise 
the larger the profits in a sucessful year and the larger the losses in 
an unprofitable year. 
•Correlating operator's wtminga with crop receipts, dairy receipts, beef receipts, bog receipts, sheep 
receipt.-,, and poultry receipts gave a multiple correlation of #=0.729. See discussion on page 56. 
