xt74b853gq61 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt74b853gq61/data/mets.xml   Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station. 1944 journals kaes_circulars_004_401 English Lexington : The Service, 1913-1958. Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station Circular (Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station) n. 401 text Circular (Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station) n. 401 1944 2014 true xt74b853gq61 section xt74b853gq61 ~ * Q O
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1 I UNIVERS|TY OF KENTUCKY
I   COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND HOME
    ECONOMICS • EXTENSION DIVISION
  Thomas P. Cooper, Dvan and Director
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CONTENTS
i _ Page
f
` THE PARTS OF A FARM BUSINESS ................................ 3 i
PROFIT TO BE EXPECTED ........................................ 5 A I
CAPITAL TURNOVER IN FARMING .............................. 7 1
COST OF LIVING ON FARMS ...................................... 8 I
OTHER VALUES OF LIVING ON THE FARM ........................ 9 e
HOW TO LEARN FARMING ..............................,......... 9  
1
SELECTING A FARM ..................,....................,...... 10 ,
Buying a Farm for an Investment .................................. 11 ¥
Buying a Farm for a Place to Live and Make a Living ................ 11
How Large Should a Farm Be? .................................. 11
` What Kind of Farming Should One Plan to Follow? ................ 12
How to Select the Crops .............................,........ 12
How Much Importance Should be Placed on Selecting
Rich Land for a Farm? ...................................... 14
Is it Better to Buy Improved Soil or to Buy Improvable Run-
down Soil and Improve it? .................................... 14
Is it Better to Buy a Farm With Good Buildings and Fences
or to Build them? ........................ . ................. 15
What Kind of House Should a Farm Have? ........................ 15
How Much is One justified in Spending for a Farm? ................ 15
How Much Should One Have for a Cash Payment in
Buying a Farm? ............................................ 16
SOME GENERAL COSIDERATIONS ......,..,.,...............,.... 16

 armin as a usiness
F g B
By Lxtwiuznciz A. Biumrono
Lge War` prices for farm products and current profits in farming are
focusing attention on advantages in farming as a business. Fear of
3 inflation is causing investors to look toward farm land as a safe place
5L to put surplus funds. Plans for offering rehabilitation to ex-service-
7 men on farms and for aid to them in financing the purchase of farms
are contained in a law recently enacted by Congress. Both farm pro-
8 Hts and land values have increased during the past decade, rather
9 sharply since about 1940. Numerous requests are coming to colleges
9 of agriculture, the farm press, and others for information about enter-
ing the farming business. Such requests usually come in such ques-
lo tions as these: X/Vhere is a good place to buy a farm? How large
11 should a farm be? How can I finance the purchase of a farm? Vlhat
11 crops are best to grow? \Vhat kinds of livestock are most prohtable?
Please send information on how to run a farm.
H Such questions imply that directions for buying and operating
12 [arms are [airly easy to give and simple to follow, not unlike a recipe
12 [or canning, or directions for spraying. Though the matter is not so
simple as that, a short statement is needed giving the basic principles
14 involved in successfully buying, organizing, and operating farms, and
V indicating also in general the return that may be expected. Books,
14 bulletins, and circulars dealing with the many farm practices already
are available. These farming practices, numbering into the hundreds,
15 the author makes no attempt to discuss in this circular.
lt is the purpose of this circular to supply in convenient form,
15 answers to questions about the business of farming, pointing out some
15 of the IHOSI elementary facts about the business with the hope that
the facts given may help some to get established in farming on a
16 substantial business basis. and may save others from the misfortunes
16 that befall many inexperienced persons who lack the knowledge
necessary for success.
THE PARTS OF A FARM BUSINESS
Successful farming requires an understanding of the nature of the
business. Farmers have three basic sources of income. These are
management, labor, and the use of capital investment. liarmers use
3
it 1; 3   Q il

 4 Exriznsion Cmcutmz No. 401
` management to decide what things to do, when to do them, and how
much of them to do. They use labor in doing the things decided
_ upon. Both labor and management are used in connection with
capital investment, consisting of land, buildings, livestock, machin-
ery, supplies, and so on. Each bushel of corn or gallon of milk pro-
duced, for example, is the result of certain proportions of labor,
° management, land and other capital. These basic sources of produc-
tion call for balance or good proportions. Where there is too much
- land in proportion to the labor available, the land cannot be used to
best advantage, and where there is too much labor in proportion to
land, the labor is likely not to be used to good advantage. Again,
where land and labor are in good proportion, but there is too little
operating capital, opportunities of production must be sacrificed;
Compared with operating units in other industries, a farm usually
is small. On the average a farm business uses about $9,000 in capital
investment and employs somewhat less than the full time of two men.
Farm business units are so constituted that management, capital, ,
and labor are applied mostly by one man. The farmer thus is usually
the manager, the superintendent, the foreman, the skilled worker
and one of the common laborers. He is also the capitalist. This is
but another way of saying that most farm businesses are too small to
justify corporation financing, hired management, or an assortment
of workers and a division of labor. Of course some few farmers invest
hundreds of thousandsof dollars in their businesses, and they can
afford such specialization.
Since the average farm is mostly a one-man business, the successful
operator must himself possess most of the knowledge, skill, and judg-
ment needed in the business. Farming perhaps calls for the use of
a larger variety of knowledge than almost any other business. One
needs to know how to do things ranging all the way from such simple _
mechanical operations as hitching to a plow, to such managerial
operations as buying and selling. Farming calls also for many skills,
and successful farming calls for the use of judgment on a great num-
ber and variety of problems. One has to judge when to do things.
what is the best thing to do, what investments to make, when to ex-
pand, when to contract, and many other things.
Many people do not distinguish between the practices of farming
and the business of farming. There is a vast difference between the -
manual practices of plowing, milking, and hay pitching, and the
business of prohtably determining when, where, and how much to
plow, what to plant, and the best number of cows to milk. Being
reared on a farm and knowing the manual skills does not assure t,

 FARMING AS A Business 5
W knowledge of the farming business or ability to exercise sound judg-
*9 ment. Neither does success in the management of some other business
lh assure success at farming. There is no more reason to believe that a suc-
¤‘ cessful grocer or lawyer will succeed as a farmer, than to believe that
0* a successful farmer will succeed as a grocer or lawyer.
»r,
c- . PROFIT TO BE EXPECTED
fh Agriculture is a conservative industry. lt is an industry of free
[O and full competition between individual producers. Like other con-
[0 servative businesses, farming in normal times provides conservative
*1]* returns. Farming, too, is a small business enterprise and because of
ile its smallness too much cannot be expected from it. For one who
knows how to farm and who has or can command sufficient capital,
lly farming offers an opportunity for a modest income and a wholesome
ral utc.
an. How much do farmers earn? From 1935 to 1939, when war prices
al, . were not affecting the returns, the six million farmers in the United
lly States averaged about $1,600 for each year gross income. Of this
;er $1,600, about 80 percent was ·in cash and 20 percent in things pro-
is duced and consumed on the farm. For 1941 the average gross income
K0 had climbed to about $2,200 per farmer, of which things used at
im home amounted to about $340. Not all of the $1,860 cash receipts,
€$[ however, was available for the family living, since farm operating
TBD expenses, property upkeep, interest paid, taxes, labor, and rents used
about two-thirds of it. About $600 in cash was therefore left for
ful family use, on the average, and about $340 in products.
dg? Average earnings of farmers in Kentucky are pretty well in line
of with the national averages, as is shown by the following farm business
me statements on investments and returns of Kentucky farms. Two tables
plc _ are given, representing different sections of Kentucky and different
·ial sizes of farm business in 1939, before the wartime increases in prices
lls, and incomes occurred. The statements are compiled from the records
lm- of actual farms, representing probably somewhat better than average
igs, farming, inasmuch as only the more progressive farmers are likely
GN- to keep adequate records from which such summaries can be made.
The Hrst table gives a financial summary of 106 farms in the Outer
ing Bluegrass region of Kentucky. Twenty-nine farmers operating farms
thi? - under 90 acres and averaging 70 acres, were netting about $878 in 1939
ihff in cash and products after deducting all farming expenses and interest
t0 on money used. The term "Operator’s wages for labor and manage-
zing ment" means about the same as the term "wages or salary" of persons
Lure t, who work for others. lt should be emphasized here that in addition

 6 Exiicwstox Cmtzutaut No. 401
Table '1.— Average investment and returns an 106 farms in the
Outer Bluegrass Area, Kentucky, 1939
Farms of Farms of Farms of Farms of Z
Item. less than 90-139 140-249 250-400
90 BCYCS BCYES HCTES RCTES
Number of farms in group ...... 29 31 · 38 8 · I
Average tillable acres ........... 70 113 187 324
1 Investment, total ........,...... $7 275 $11 229 $18 338 $30 60I
. Real estate ................. 5613 8758 14 316 25052
V Livestock ................... l 072 I 635 2 580 3 259
All other ................... 590 836 1 442 2290
Receipts, total* ................ $2 096   3022   4 583   6652
' Expenses, total ..,.............. 854 1 206 2 139 3 076
Receipts less expenses .......... 1242 1 816 2444 3576
Interest on investment at 5‘V’t[,   364 561 917 1530
Operator’s wages for labor
and management ............ 878 1 255 1 527 2 046
* Includes value of items produced for family living and house rent. A
to the $878, the farm families would have for living or other use
whatever part of the interest on the investment was not paid out.
That is, if these farmers had no debts their families would have the
additional $15364 to use for living expenses or for investment or other
uses. Financial summaries of farms of larger size are given in the
remaining columns of Table 1. The 8 farmers using 324 acres (aver-
age) and $30,601 in capital investment averaged $2,046, net, as wages
l for labor and management.
Table 2 gives an income summary of 35 farms in Kenton, Boone,
and Campbell counties, for the year 1939, classified according to the
kind of farming followed.
Other such records of farm businesses are available for other sec-
tions of the state. Those given serve to show the approximate re-
turns that some of the better farmers in selected sections of the state
are making from their investments and labor.
The gross value of production per acre is a valuable means in
determining how much one can expect from a farm. ln Eastern
Kentucky each acre of farm land produced about $10 worth of prod-
ucts in 1939. In the Central Bluegrass an average of $22 per acre in
products was produced; in the Outer Bluegrass, $19; in the \/Vestern
Pennyroyal, $12; in the Lower Ohio Valley, $12. These figures in-
clude the values of all products sold, traded, or used by the family.
Figures for sales alone would be considerably smaller.
In wartime, however, man nersons, as mentioned in the o enin ‘
Y 1 P 3
paragraph, are inspired by prospects for profits in farming. In any
business during wartime of course, profits may be large or small,
depending largely upon need for the things produced. Opportunities

 FARMING AS A Business 7
Toble 2.- Average income on 35 forms in Kenton, Boone, und
*_ Campbell counties, Kentucky, 1939
5 ¤f ”__—TTT£’i_'JTT'T—4T_}H·—{tEQT if wTBZil§ T
00 Item Amount fruit and specialty
L dairy farms farms
(QS ` Number of farms in group ....,........ 15 9 ll
[—`l Average size of farm (acres) .....,...... 131 S-1 165
’9_L Total capital investment ...........,.,. $10 640 S8 000   620
rQ— Total receipts ......................... 2 471 2 123 3 07-1
R9 Total expenses ......,..,.............. 1 083 1 182 1 588
{gf) Receipts less expenses .,......,......... 1 388 9-11 l 486
  Interest on investment at 5% ........... 532 ~100 781
lil) Operator’s wages for labor and
V6 management, total .............,..... S 856   5-*11 S 705
*30 cash .......................,....... 422 128 147
W Products used at home ......,....... #13-1 »f1El 558
*~ i
to grow high-proht crops such as tobacco, as well as the usual crops
use and livestock are attractive at present (1943-44) prices, especially to
ut those on fixed salaries whose effective purchasing power is daily di-
me minishing. Opportunities in Kentucky to pay for farms within the
my war period may not be so large as they were during the last world
war, because the acrea e that can be ut in tobacco on each farm is
the . g . P . . .
,€l__ fixed by the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, and thus a
acs farmer cannot expect to buy a farm and pay for it through a large
“ expansion of this crop. Older farmers well remember the large num-
ne ber of farmers bankrupted as a result of buying farms during the last
hé Wal`. It is very easy to pay for a farm purchased at a low Figure, with
hi h- riced roducts, but next to im ossible to a for one urchased
P Y P g
CO at a wartime figure, with low prices. Table 3 shows a contrast ol
Y6 earnings of some farm businesses for predepression, depression, and
\N7orld War II years.
M6 . . . .
Opportumties to make money at farming are attractive at present
in and will perhaps remain attractive as long as the war lasts. Difficulties _
_m of operating farms are also increasing because of shortages, particu-
$(1. larly of labor and materials.
in
_m CAPITAL TURNOVER IN FARMING
in- The returns from money invested in [arming are slow as com-
Qly. pared with returns in some other businesses. Twenty-hre percent
annual gross turnover on the total investment is a good turnover [or
ng general farming in normal times (See receipts and total investments
.ny in Tables 1 and 2). Farming is a business of producing living things,
111, and living things require time for growth. Such crops as tobacco,
ies corn, and wheat re uire a tear; others`such as alfalfa, red clover,
l

 8 Exrmwsiou Cmcutmt No. 401
T¤b1e 3.—- Changes in f¤rmers' wages
Wages to labor and management
Area and year  
Predepression Depression World War II
years years years
 
Oldham and jefferson counties, 1927 .......4... $1 750 ..... . ....
Green, Taylor and Adair counties, 1929. ...... 928 ..... . ..,.
_ Bourbon, Clark and Montgomery counties, 1929. 1 856 ..... . ....
i Christian county, 1929 ..........,..........,. 3191 ..,.. . ....
Warren county, 1929 ........................ 1686 ..... . ....
Todd county, 1929 .......................... 2036 ..... . ,...
4 Oldham and jefferson counties, 1930 ......,.... . . . . . -552 279 .....
Mason county, 1931 ......................... . .... -294 .....
Marion and \Vashington counties, 1931 ..... .. ..... 29 .....
Union county, 1931 ..........,.............. . ,... -261 ,....
Shelby, Oldham and jefferson counties, 1932... ..... -268 .....
Todd county, 1932 .......................... . .... -142 .....
Owen, Grant, and Fleming counties, 1932 ..... . .... 24 .....
Outer Bluegrass, 1940 ....................... . ..,. . .... $1500
Western Pennyroyal, 1940 ................... . . . . . ..... l 645
Union and Henderson counties, 1941 .......... . ..,. . ..,. 3544
Hopkins county, 19-11 ................... . . . ..... . .... 1 870
Outer Bluegrass, 1942 ............,.......... . .... _ · V, ..... 4239
bluegrass, and strawberries require more than a year. Tree fruits
require several years.
If one determines to improve a poor soil he will not get full re-
turns sooner than two or more rotations, which may be 6 to 15 years.
Producing good herds of livestock is even slower. Of course, one can
buy good herds, but this is expensive, too expensive for the beginner
who needs to live from money made at farming. Most successful farm-
ing businesses are the product of a good portion of a lifetime. One
should not become discouraged at the expense and time before his
investments have had a chance to pay.
COST OF LIVING ON FARMS
Good farmers secure about half the family food supply from the
farm. This comes at a cash cost much below city prices, but it is not
by any means a free gift of nature. Milk and meats are the most
valuable items. In addition to food, the farm furnishes a house, and
often some fuel. The value of living from the farm will usually
amount to $300 to $500 per year. Running water and electric current
usually cost more in the country than in the city. Transportation
costs are also higher. Purchased entertainment costs more because
one has to go farther to get it. Most farm families keep a car and use `

 Fnmmc As A Busmmss 9
it for both business and pleasure. However, farmers live more cheaply
? than city folks mainly because they spend less. \tVork clothes are less
QE expensive than business suits—milking a cheaper form of exercise
L_ than golf. Not so many farmers belong to service clubs, bowling
-· leagues, fishing clubs, and the like. Since the farm may furnish much
  of the food and the house rent it is an economical place for persons
·- with large families.
__ OTHER VALUES OF LIVING ON THE FARM
  Country life has many values other than those measured in dollars.
-- The country is unsurpassed as a place to rear a family. Here the
  children quickly assume responsibility. They usually acquire good
·· attitudes toward life and a variety of knowledge and skills. Many of
00 the satisfactions of life are produced and consumed directly on the
ii farm. The farmer does not need to buy exercise in the form of golf
.70 or bowling; he gets exercise as a by-product of his business. The
  housewife does not need an expensive lap dog for a pet, as she is
closely associated with the farm animals. Neither recreation nor
_ amusement need be purchased on the farm. The inner satisfactions
mls that come from working with life and living things cannot be bought.
There is daily opportunity for creative work for all the family in
l m` things made and produced. Each farmer can be an artist; each farm
im*S· home and business a product of the farmer’s talents and manage-
can ment. Again, the farm offers a wide variety of opportunity to derive
mw satisfaction through the use of such skills as making a new fence 0r
Um' a new road, and in developing living things, such as a better ear of
Om corn, or a ribbon-winning calf.
his
HOW TO LEARN FARMING
One HIHY learn about farming in several ways, blll one can learn
the process of farming only by farming. Farming is an art. An art
the can be acquired only through practice of the skills making up the
not art. lf a successful farmer wanted to enter a merchandising business
nost he would likely enter through a subordinate position in order to
and learn the business. It would usually be folly for him to invest heavily
tally in something he knew nothing about. It is even less wise for one
rent who has never farmed to invest all his savings in a farm before he
tion learns the business of farming. If prospective farmers were willing
ause to learn the farm business first, they would not make so many disas-
. use · trous mistakes. The almost universal error of the city man is to con-

 10 Exriawsiox Cmcumn No. 401
sider success at farming easy, and thus to have overconfidence in his
ability and a lack of appreciation of the ability of farmers he so fre-
quently criticises for not having business sagacity. Middle-aged men
can rarely afford the time it takes to learn.
On the other hand, the newcomer in farming has one outstanding A
advantage. He is not handicapped with ideas and habits that have
‘ been outmoded or which are not suflicient, and if he will enter farm-
ing intelligently and pursue the study diligently, he may surpass
. many who have had farming experience.
One may get helpful information from professionally trained
workers and from farmers. The first information sought should deal
with the broader phases of buying a farm and organizing the business.
Such problems as purpose in farming, size of farm, location and fer-
tility, distribution of capital, and the like, are to be considered ahead
of information on the practices such as varieties of plants to grow.
rations for the livestock, insect or disease treatments, and so on. In
getting needed information it is a good idea not to talk with too
many farmers. To do so before one is able to evaluate opinions is
likely to lead only to confusion because of the differences of opinion_
likely to be encountered. The counsel of one successful farmer who
is willing to take the necessary time to analyze problems, and who
i _ can be persuaded to help, is worth more than the snap judgments
of many. Usually those who are the most capable of giving advice
are also the most reluctant to give it.
Professional workers in Colleges of Agriculture, Land Banks, Gov-
ernment agencies, and others, are trained in giving advice and are
equipped with bulletins and circulars on a variety of farming subjects.
SELECTING A FARM
The Hrst thing for one who is considering buying a farm to do is
to decide why he wants it. Then select a farm to meet that specific
motive. One may want a farm to live on as a country home while
earning a living otherwise. Others may want a farm as a place to
invest acquired funds and upon which they do not expect to live.
Still others desire farms upon which to live and from which to make
the living. A farm to live on while the living is earned elsewhere
does not need to be large, though it may be large and pretentious.
Here the only requirements to be met are the desires of the purchaser `
and his ability to maintain the place. For a sound investment, a farm
must meet more exacting requirements. For a place to live and to
make a good living, the requirements are fairly rigid. lf the beginner

 FARMING AS A Business ll
iis hopes to make money at farming he will do well to go where farmers
re- are making money. It takes more experience and knowledge to oper-
en ate a poor farm successfully than a good one, as good soils cover up
mistakes. Cheap farms are a great attraction to many; so are little
ng I farms; but both are expensive to operate. Cheap farms are cheap
.ve because farmers in the locality know that they are worth little, The
m- outsider is a good target for land agents with cheap farms to sell.
ass Good farms do not have to hunt buyers. They do not have to be
advertised in papers with wide circulation. The inexperienced will
gd do well to stay close to home and friends and good land in a pros-
cal perous community.
css. `
€1._ Buying a Farm for an Investment
ad A farm has always been considered a secure place to invest funds,
>w, by many who do not care to operate a farm themselves. The land
In cannot get away, they reason. Many such investors are willing to
oo accept low rates of returns as interest on their investments. Such
is investors have perhaps constituted the largest group of bidders for
on_ the better farms in recent years.
ho Size of farm, nature and quality of improvements, and quality of
ho land need not be demanded in quite the exacting terms for such in-
nts vestors as for those who expect to operate their own farms. Investors
ice are not so much affected as operators by labor and machinery econ—
omies. They may be less concerned about social surroundings. They
ov- usually have larger equities and surplus funds for needed soil and
are building improvements, and thus can wait longer for returns.
sts. ·
Buying a Farm for a Place to Live and Make a Living
A farm with which one expects to earn a living and on which the
, is family expects to live should have (1) size enough to produce the
im. money needs of the family, (2) soil of profit-making capacity, (3) ini-
lilc provements in keeping with the needs of the family and the produc-
[O tion of the farm, and (4) desirable social surroundings. Such a farm
WL should be bought on a basis that will enable the purchaser to operate
{kc it effectively and that will give reasonable promise of security. These
Cm points are considered separately in the remainder of this circular for
,uS_ the purpose of answering questions which are most frequently asked.
  How large should the farm be?
[O The acreage for rotation crops (including pasture) should be
my enough to support a farming business large enough to meet the costs

 12 Exrmvsrow Cincumx No. 401
of keeping the family, operating the farm business, keeping up the
land and improvements, and retiring the indebtedness (if any) on
· the farm. It should be large enough to provide these returns when
prices for farm products are low. The kind of crops suitable to be
grown and the fertility of the soil will of course influence the acreage
needed for these purposes. For example, a farm that will grow good
‘ tobacco will not have to be as large as one that will produce only V
such crops as grains, hay, and pasture. By referring to Tables l and 2
V one can gain considerable usable information about the size of Ken-
tucky farms in acres, and about the amount of investment needed to
produce certain wages for the operator’s labor and management.
Another way to consider the size of farm needed for the family
is by the amount of labor used. Enough cropland to keep one or two
men productively employed in growing the crops and in keeping the
livestock that can be supported by the crops grown, is basic to good
farming and farm living. Smaller farms tend to waste labor, as they
neither provide full employment of workers nor permit economical
use of the common labor-saving implements and machines. Larger
farms provide better opportunities for proht because labor, farm
equipment, and capital can be used to greater advantage. Many good
farmers prefer farms even larger than three-man farms. Some farmers
' prefer to farm as operating tenants on large farms, using their own
capital funds for operating equipment and livestock rather than to
farm as owners on small farms.
What kind of farming should one plan to follow?
Most farms in Kentucky grow several kinds of crops and provide
for keeping several kinds of livestock. However, there are varied
kinds of soil and topography in the state each of which is especially
adapted to specific crops or kinds of crops. On some farms a large
proportion of the land is best for corn; on others a large proportion
is best for pasture, and so`on. Those farms largely suitable for corn
carry cattle and hogs to advantage. The location of a farm and the W
kind of soil may make it good for a dairy farm or a truck farm. Adap-
tation of crops is a very important consideration in choosing a farm
for making a living.
How to select the crops
The safest procedure for the newcomer is to produce about the
same crops and grow them in about the same proportions of acreage
as the better farmers in the community. All things considered and

 FARMING AS A Business 13
he over a long time, no one crop pays better than others. If it did, all
on the farmers would be growing it exclusively. The question of which »
en one crop to grow is similar to asking if a groceryman should handle
be bread or canned foods or potatoes. The answer, of course, is that
tge most grocerymen should handle several food products. Returns from
od crops come from labor used in producing them, from land, and from
ily · operating costs. Some crops require relatively much labor, as tobacco;
l 2 others require much land and little labor as wheat. Truck crops re-
en- quire much labor and much expense per acre. Tobacco brings more
to per acre than wheat or corn, but it may not bring more per dollar
invested, and per day of labor. Competition has so adjusted prices of
iily farm products that the combined returns to land, labor and operat-
wo ing costs tend to become equalized. If one crop has the advantage
the long, land prices will rise so that added interest and taxes will offset
>od the advantage. Land in the Bluegrass of Kentucky is high not only
hey because it is good land, but also because it produces well a high-
Lcal priced crop. WVere it not for tobacco, central Kentucky land values
ger would certainly not be so high.
trm Farmers select series of crops to grow as well as individual crops.
>od A common series is corn and some tobacco on land plowed from pas-
iers ture; the second year the corn and tobacco are followed by small
»wn grain—wheat, rye, oats, or barley. The reason for this is that the small
. to grain can be sown on the corn and tobacco helds immediately after
the corn and tobacco are harvested. This practice protects the land
from washing over winter and provides another crop even though
small grains are usually low-profit crops in Kentucky. The third year
Ade this land is used for hay such as red clover, alfalfa, or a mixture of
pied hay plants. Hay crops can be seeded in the small grain in the spring
any and are ready for harvest the next year, or third year of the rotation.
uga In order to balance the feed produced, the labor needed, and the use
[ion of equipment, the farm is divided into blocks or helds and a field
Dm plowed each year. Thus the land is in continuous use, all crops are
the ` grown each year, a continuous livestock program can be carried out,
hl} and the equipment and buildings used to greatest advantage.
arm Persons inexperienced at farming are likely to think that the
products they pay most for in the city are the most prohtable to the
farmer. They are also likely to think that the crops which have a
high return per acre are the most prohtable. Neither of these is true
the any more than that an automobile salesman should make more money
cage   a groceryman because his percentage of profit 1S larger and the
and nng he sells is bigger.

 14 Exrmvsiou Cnzcutax No. 401
How much importance should be placed on
— selecting rich land for a farm?
Too much emphasis cannot be placed on securing good land.
Good yieldsl are exceedingly important. There is little proht in
average yields, as costs of production equal the value of the products.
. Another advantage is that; farms with high crop yields can usually
be bought for a price more nearly in line with their producing value
V than farms with low crop yields. Many farms that can be bought as
low as $10 per acre are not worth that amount. Such [arms are not
worth farming as they are, and may not be worth improving. For-
tunately many of the poorer soils of Kentucky can be profitably im-
proved. Those that are not too steep for the use of such machinery
as the mower should be improved so that good crop yields can be
secured. If one is buying land that normally produces less than 35
bushels of corn, 15 bushels of wheat, or 3,000 pounds of legume hay,
he should plan for soil improvement. He then would, of course, want
to make sure that such land can be improved economically, and at
what cost to him.
Is it better to buy improved soil or to buy improvable
l run-down soil and improve it?
The choice depends upon the buyer. One having the money to
tide over, can spend for soil improvement and wait for the improve-
ment to make returns. But if one must go deeply in debt he must
have faster returns. The decision is a matter of time. How long can
I wait? How soon must I have l`unds—funds for th