xt7kwh2d9g4v https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7kwh2d9g4v/data/mets.xml   Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station. 1923 journals kaes_circulars_001_3_172 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. 172 text Circular (Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station) n. 172 1923 2014 true xt7kwh2d9g4v section xt7kwh2d9g4v EXTENSION CIRCULAR NO. 172
Why Some Farms Pay
By W. D. NICHOLLS.
'l`11u1 1l1··1·1· i~ il {i'1‘1'ill llll1'1‘l`Cll<'1f i11 the prontableness of
.1`1l1‘1il> lI11< l11*•‘i| lilillllgjllh 11111 \'1‘1'_\' i'11r1·ibly by the investigations
(11.1l!1‘ l)1'I}il1'l1ll1.lll 111 l'l&l1'li1 .l';1'111l*11|ll1‘S011110 University of Ken-
1111·l1_1·. \\`lil1’ll l12l< 2llIill_\'Z1‘1l the l1l1Nli11‘SS 111Y 1ll111t1l`(3(1S of farmers
1l111·i11g 1l1·· pu~1 _\`1‘lI1', 'l`l1·· 1l··1>u1·11111·11t showed, for instance,
llllll 111 .`·1u~··11 uml l·`l1·111i11;; (i1•lllI1l1‘S, for the farm year ending .
.\lur1·l1 1. 1E12II. 241 1`:11·1111·1·s u\‘1·1‘ug1.·d $1,029, while the 15 most
1~1ii1·i··111 1.ili`liI•‘1`< {i\`l‘l`£|§l‘1l $3.21121. us wages for labor and man-
ug1·111·*11i 1`··1‘ 1l11· yeur.
'l`ll1· 1·111<1umli11! l.il1‘111l` i11 1111* 111·111·r profits of these 15
fu1·111··1·s wus 1111· gl`l`il11°1` 1‘l1l1‘l1‘1l<‘}` in 1llC control of expenses
uml 1'1I>1 1.1 I11·111l111·1i1111. l"111' i11s1um·1·. the cost of producing bur-
l1·y 111l»u1···11 ru11u··1l 1`r11111 1111· il 1111111111 1111 one farm to 33c on an-
111l11·1· 1I£l1'l]1. 'l`l1·~ 1·1·<1 i11 1111* durlc 111'1‘»1‘l11`(‘L1 district ranged
{1-11111 S1.- 111 JI~.· p1·1· I1Ul1ll11. 'l`l1c 1·11»1 of ]1l‘(111l11‘iI1g milk was 1312
per gullon 1·111· 1·m· l.£l1`1li uml 4>1· 1111 2111 udjoiniiig farm. The
1·11<1 111`p1·11·l11··i11gl1;1_ywus $11).12 per 11111 1111 one farm and $20.75
1111 u m~iu1111111·i11g i`u1·111. 'l`l11· lf1\\` cost furniers made money; the
high cost 1.2l1'111·‘1`$ 111*1 111(11l1’}`.
11111* li1‘ll1 \\`l1l1'll yu1·i1·1l g1·1·u11y was the cost of horse labor
w11i1·11 1`&l1lQ•’·l ull 1ll1‘ wuy l·l'11]I1 8111: 1111 one furin to $2.37 on an-
111l11‘1' 1`£11'1ll. t`··r 1·:11·11 duy 111e horse \\`111'l{011.
WHY SOME FARMERS MADE MONEY.
A11 unulysis 1·1` 1111· 211 1`£ll'111S i11 )l£l$111l uml 1*11011111lg Coun·
ties >1111w1·11 why s111111.· 111:1111- 1111111ey uml some did not. The most
l11111111`12lll1 1`u1·1•11·s 1l1·11·r111i11i11g proiiis were shown to bc:
1. i·11`1`1·1~1i1·1· 1·111111·11l 111` 1‘X111‘1]S(‘$. us nieusiired by the percentage
111` 1111:11 l‘X11l‘1l5l‘N 111 1111:11 1‘e1‘eiptS.
2. 1,1ll1111`1‘1`Ii11‘l1*111'}'. us i111Ii1·:111—1l by the amount of productive
\\`(11`l[ :11·1·1111111lisi11~1i per 1111111.
I5. .1\ $111111 1‘11111i111· 111. 1‘1·1·1·i111s per 11111 ucres of land.
4. (1111111 1·1‘11p yields.
5. (il1()(1 l`l‘1Ill'i1S per ll\'(‘$1111‘l( 111111.
6. U111111 1;11u1i1y 111` 111bu1·e11. us i1111i1·u1e1i by the price received D9?
]111ll1l(1.
7. Good diversity 111 1.‘1l11‘1`111'1$OS 111111 il we1l—bu1anced business. .
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I
4 ]{1‘11/111-/1‘y ]'.l.l'[(`)lNll(})l ('1`r1 11/111- .\'11· I.` ‘.'
l V T111111- 1 slimvs 11 1-1111111111-i<1111 111. 1111- 11111~1 111·111i1111111- 15 l`111-111s
Hllll the i1\'€‘1'ilQ1‘ 111 1111 l.ilI`1l1S.
HOW TO REDUCE PRODUCTION COSTS.
` The 1`(11l(1\\'111Q` 111-1- s111111- I1|1l1ll$ 11l\` 1111<.-1·1·11111-1- 111' \\-lll1°ll 1111*
21111011 the $111-1-1-s>1'111 1'111-1111-1·~ 111 1·1·1l111-1- 111-111111111i1111 1·11~1\ 111111
° - 1l1i1l(C I1101'C 11111111-y.
‘ Give gi-1-1111-r11111-111111111111·1111~1-1·1·i11g1111-~·1i1. 11 1·11~1~ 111·;11·1_1
as 111111-11 10 (‘l1l11\'i111} 21 111111 111-1-1- 11< J1 11-1-1111- 11111·1·. 1111111- 21 1`·~1·»
tile acre p1·1111111·1-< 111 111111. lll(l 1·11~1 111-1- l11l\1l1`1.
lv G1-t1l1e 11111Nl 11111 111. 1.ill'lI1-Q1'11\\'I1 1'1-1·1i1iz1-1-s 11_v 11111·1111·i11g 111··
11111].11121005 i11 1111- 111-l1ls \\`l1l1 lllilllllllli. l'|l1`l1\1ll1l{\. 1-11111-11 >11-11-.-J
211111 other 11111-1-. Make Q`l`l‘Z111‘1' 1l\(` 111. 11-;-111111-< lil11- 1-1-11 1·l11v1-1-. ·
cowpeas i1l1l1 SO}`l)•JL1l1S.
‘ Reduce 1111- 1-1111iv1111-11111-1-1-11;-1-. $11111 1-1111iv111i11;-1l11- 11111111-‘1'
- 12111Ll and 1111111v 111111 111 ll{‘\1 i11 g‘1·11» £111·1 1·111v1-1· 1111111 111·i1·1-~
improve.
p D111`ll1g' 1111- 15y1-111-»111·1`111·1· lll1` \\`iI1'. 111-11-1-~ 1·11~1·_ 1111 1111 1111-1¤
age, Z1l)O1lI iff} 21 }'1'i11`. '1`l11- p1·i1·1- 11-11111-111-)- 1`111· lllll 111-x1 1`1-11:
yea1·sp1-011111.11;- will 111.- (11111-11\\4il1`l1. 'l`l11< 1lll`111l\ 111111 llll` 1·11111l111-
sis must be p1111·1-11 1111 l,’l'l111f>l1l}' 111111 1·igi11 l'¤11l1l'1•l 111. 1-x111-11~1~~.
especially i11 1111- l111_\`l11Q 111. 11111s1- 1llll1LJ'< 1vl111~1- 111-i1-1-< lll'1° 11111
0f 1i11e. Less 1111,1111- >111111111 111- lllllllll 111111 1111-1-1- 5111111111 111* lllllllll
exeliziiigiiig of 11111111-. 111-1l111·1- 1-x111-11s1-< 11_1- 11-~~ 11111-11-»1111;· llllll
1]]OI`C g1`i1Z111g'&1111l 1111g`g`l11g' 1111\\‘11 1-1*1111s, (11‘11\\‘ l11l1l'1‘ 1'_\’1- :11111 11-\~
I wheat.
Save 111011ev 11)* Q1'11\\'l112' 111111-1- g-111-111-11 111-1111111-e l.l11` 1111-
family 211111 111111-e 11111111-gi-1111*11 l.1‘1‘(1$ ll11l` lll1` l.£11'111 >1111·l;, "'1`111· .
sui-est way 10 11121liC \\'21Q'1*S 1111-se l1i1_\'$ is 111 11111 <111l11' 11111111* 1111
v0ge'[alJ1eS, fruit, \\'11(ll1. ]1l1‘21l. 11(111l11'_\' 111111 112lll`}` 11l'1111111’l> 1.--1' -
I use 21t1101l1(}. Not siiice 1111- 1l11_vs 111 l1f1I1l•‘\]11l11 >11i1-1s 111111 111l1·1\\' I
candles has it 111-1-11 S1') 1-<~1-1111111 111 11111111- 1111* l.ill’111 111·1111111·1- 111·1~1 1
0f the 11111111)-B living;-." 1
Save expense 11;- 1111111;- _1·11111- (111.11 1-1-111111-i11;-. 1lll1l(1` _v11111- l
i O\\'11 farm g111es &111•····l eorn i< reutly.
\\'lt·~n going to the 1iel·l to plow. tulte un extru point and 21
wt‘•·m·h to put it on with. This niuy >2l\'(' u trip to the house or
to t··v.n. t·· :‘··t u new point.
l`ui·i·_x· u i>t»··ll`illlh··i·t l··u-lri»··m·il. Set ilttwn in thi» the jolts to be done on
ruiny ·luy» uml }Hll'l\ <·l` tluys. reutly ut u ]l1(11ll0lll.S]lOllCL’.
l{··iit··1iti»··t‘ tltut the >ut···~t wuy to i·e·lt1i·e the eoxt of luhor is to
w»·i·l; with the hii·etl niun uml tli1·e·-t hiin while you work. Ben-
jumin l·`t·;ml•·li' nin~t either holtl l¤1`{ll'l\`l‘..·
t`·»n>i·lei· the Nevin; ol. lul»t»i· l»y liuviiigone llli1l1tll‘l\`¢J11101'Q
lit»i·>· », t`·»it~itlei· the n~e of the tl11···e»l1<•1·se ltreuking plow. Re-
i·lut··· the ·»m·-li··i·~e t·nltix‘utoi· with the two-horse cultivator
wl1ei·e·.‘e1· }>l'il·'lll‘illlll’.
llo \\¤¤l`l{ ut the ]¤t···i»··r ti1m·. -\ hulf tluyk work with thc
we·.··l··i· or li::i·i···w wlten the weetls ure _in»t sproittiiig will kill
]ll<¤l‘<‘ we~··l~ thun two tlu_x·{ work letter when the weetls have
gwtlten u ~tut‘t.
Ftutly t·ut·el'nlly how to i·etlm·e the eost ol' horse work. Many
l{ei.tm·l thun T5 tluy»` work per horse in 31
yeur uml >¤·im·tiim·> lt·>s thutt Sl) tluys. llooil l·ill'lll<‘l`S often get
lll4>l`t‘ thun twiee us ntuny tluy»` work us the uverztge of their
11eiglil·ot·s. thei·el»_x· etttting the eost ol' their teztin lultor in half.
'l`lle~‘e goml l':ti·im·i·s plun their work uml eurry u tneinorzniduin
lnttttk with gt li~t till ltuil \\`t'§llllt’l' _it¤l>s wltieh they (lo \\'l1011 tl10}`
eui-`t tlo ont»i·le work with the teunis. This enuliles theni to
keep the teuni\ l»us_x· every tluy tltut is snitultle lor outside work.
lCt~tlm·e the exitemes ol` lieeitittg work-stock hy turning them
out on pu~ture uml leetling lightly when not ut hztrd work.
i`ui·i·y the \\`l>l`l(·Nl(l(‘l{ thru the lute full und winter cheaply 011
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6 Ifeafueky Extension, Circular New 172
· ‘ such roughage as sorghum, eorn t`odder. uml a little grain.
Save the good hay for tl1e time when the teams are wtwlting
hard at such work as breaking luiul uml eultivuting erops.
Increase labor etlieieney by improving the turm lu_x·ont. _
. One Kentucky farmer removed a tumbled-down stone t`em·e Iu··
tween two small tields. ground tln- limestone uml applied it to
_ . the land, sowed grass uml clover uml doubled tlu- yieltt.
. Another farmer eleared a thieket out of ilu- inidtlle ot` u
field, thereby doing away with short rows in cultivation. Thi.
work was done at odd titties uml with regular turm labor at
- . practically no cash outlay.
IMPORTANCE OF A WELL-BALANCED FARM.
The 241 farms were elassitied aeeording to the lllllIllu‘l' ot`
- points in which they were strong; that is, in whieh tlu-y ex·-e···l~··l
the average farm by 10fQe or more for each point. 'l`lu- l'¤*stlll>
are shown in Table 2. l`orty-seven farms were not strong in
any point; these gave net earnings of $100 for the yeur`s work
A and management of tl1eit· operators. Sixty-tive i`urms were
strong in one point; the net earnings on tlu-se av·-raged $titLT_i>tl_
Sixty—six farms were strong in two points; these gave iu-t earn-
ings of $1,253. Forty-tive farms were strong in three ]»·»ints·
these returned net earnings of $1,740.00. l·Ziglit··en t'urms were
strong in four or more points; the net earnings on these aver-
aged $2,172.00.
‘ These tigures indicate the importanee of a well-i»uiuiu·etl ‘
farm business. It is not merely good crop yields. or liighryieltl- l
ing live stock or high-prieed tobaeeo which determim-s proiits. .
Very often a farmer ovcretnphusizes or makes a lu»bl»_v nt' on--  
factor and neglects other vital factors. Sueh t`urim-rs slu»nl·l I
' bend their efforts toward strengthening the points ot the busi-
ness in which they are weak rather than spending mltlitionul 1
effort on the point in which they already exeel. It` u t`urin is
strong in the seven points or a majority of them it is almost I-
` certain to return a profit. I)
It will be valuable for any farmer to compare his t`urm with
the average farm and the best 15 farms as shown in Table 1.
·i

 Why Some Farms Pay 7
TABLE 1. Business Statement of 241 Farms and the Best 15 Farms.
` Mason and Fleming Counties.
, Average of
. ITEMS Axerage ot B
241 F ESI
I arms 15 Farms
1. 1:£ll`ll2 IIl\'1·§ls I]Ill(‘ II SllIlII`llC1C‘(1 I -
]`l'··Z}I ]i11·· QI _ _ _   __,,_,___,_,_______... I 1,773 4,086
3. I!li··l`¤·>I on I`Jll`lll Ill\'(*FIll]•"1][ ut 6%--I 1,076 1,305
IZ. I-`·¤rn:··i·<‘ I·lll`llIl]!!< f¢n·lzll>r>1·nn¢l I
m:en;i:··11i<·m (line G siililmcterl I
1Al`·ll!l Iil1¤~ JI . - ..,,,.....t......,. I 697 I 2,781
T. \`:ilm· nl` fowl uml ntllvr perquisites I I
1`zrr1i>I:r¤·l ily 1`urm for the family I I
livinr .- ,   ....,.......,..................... I 332 I 422
Q. 'I`·»l;;l not ¤~:l1·11iuu:< ,...., - .,............_,..l...., I 1,029 I 3,203
l·Zl·`l·`l<`ll-ZNFY FACTORS I I
I I
Control of Expenses I I
I€xp·#yz~··< I»··r $100 in(·0m¢;· .,_,.,..........,....,.... I 52 42
I
Lnircr Efficiency I
l‘x·i·I!iii»ii·.·I~ wm·I< slslys por man ,._............,. I 203 258
l‘;···¤Em·Ii·.·0 wi>rI< iluys {wr horse ..,_....,..,..,. I 47 56
I
Volume of Sales I
Ilmw igwts p·-1· 1*¤•l il(‘I`OS in farm __.,.............. ' 2.443 I 3.851
I I
cmp views I I
Yi.Il»I .iy` I-lim; pur ;I(·r0 ________,____,_______,____,___ _-I 3511u.I 41 bU·
YL III ··I’ Iiiingiiwii por ;1(·r(> ,_,_,,_____..._____,._,,_,. I 1.0941I)S.I 1,192 1b$·
I I
. Ounlity of Live Stock I I
Yi··I»I i»I` v;IIl·;iI pur :141*0 _   ,__,_,___,.__.,_,... I 12.411U.I 154 bu·
1Il‘IllY`1l$ pur Iiv··stm·Ic unit ....,..................... I 56.% I ;6-03
1:l‘IIlI`1IS p··z· $100 1`<*L*iI full ,___..,_._...........,.... I 103.60 I 1¤>1·19
I
Quality of Products I 0 9
I’1‘ii·i· pvr III. for tnI>;1cc0 ................... . ..........~ 23··>€ ·‘Sc
Diversification of Enterprises I I
I]I‘l`('l‘IlI(l$l<‘ of 1··—l·l~ipts frmn crops ............ I 61.9%} §5·§_%
1`I‘l`1'<‘l1I&lS<‘ <»1` l‘l*1‘1‘I]IIS from live stock-.I 34.% I ·>9·,o
I _ 2--. L2---
. \ .

 F
K!
I
1
S ]f1`11f111·/ry Iz`.1·/111s1`1111 ('l.I`1'Il{1lI' .\`11· II ;’
TABLE 2. Effect of Number of Strong Factors in the Farm Organi-
· zation on Profits.
(Factors are: (11 labor o1`1`i1·i1~111·y, as in11i1·111··11 by 1111·J11·1»11111·1iv1»
\\'Ot‘k units 21CCOl11})llSll£’ll {wr lllilll. 121 1‘1·1·1·i111s 111-1* 11111 i\1‘l`1‘S, 1321 ('I]I])
yields. (41 returns from live s1111·1<, 151 1·111111·111 (lll t·x111·11s1·s, us lll•*il$-
11I`€(l by DQTCQHIHKG Of expenses 111 I`l‘\'l‘l]1l$, 11i1 1111:1li1y 11I` 111l1z11·1·11, us
1 iI1diC£1te(l by the D1‘i(‘·} per {111111111, 1T1 ;;11111l 1li\‘1·1‘:=i1y. "S11‘1111u" 1·Ql1'\l1l`S
are those better th;111 the il\`U1`llLZ£‘ by lu'; 11r 11111rt·¤.
l·`:11‘111··1"s N1·1
NO_ Of SUCH; pucmrs N11. 111` l"ilK`Y1l$ l·Z:11‘11111:s
, ` i'lll` Y1‘1lI'
No strong fz1C[OI`S ....... V .... . ...V .. ~lT Sllllbbllll
One strong fLl('[0l` .... 1 ...,     .,,, 63 1i11T1•111
Two strong factors ,____     _____,_,__, ` G1] ]_Q3;:_1111
1
Three strong f;1t·1ors ______,___,_______,,____ ` 43 ]_T[1I_1l|l
F0u1‘ or more Strom: factors ,,,, _ ` N 3173,1111
` `
All f111‘111S .........,,_......,,,,....,,_,,,....,, of 211 1_11j11_1111
` `
, WHO WILL OWN THE FARMS TEN YEARS FROM NOW?
The }‘1·111·s 1l1z11 111*1- _i11<1 i1ll1‘&I¤l will 1··~1 l'11I`lIl1‘l'~ ;1~ ll1·‘}'
llE1\'(? ]l(’\'1‘l‘ l11·1·11 1··~11·1l l11·l'111‘1·. 'l`l11· i111·1`1i1·i1·111 liiuli-.·1~~t 11111-
1l11ce1‘, the 111:111 \\`llO llil< 11111 l1·;11·111·1l ll11\\' 111 1-1·1»1111111ix1~_ xxill l·1·
forced Olll 111il111si111·», 'l`1~11 }`l‘£ll`S l.]`l>lll 1111113 llll` l·i!I'lll\ 11l' l{l`ll‘
A i tuuky will l11; 11w111·1l by lIl1*l] who l1;1x·1~ ll'lll-llllll ll11\\' 111 111·111l111*··
c{`1icie1-1tly illltl :11 21 low cost.
l‘1
Oil 11;
1111111
111 111.