The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, March 8, 1917, Page 12

| { g Business » Repofts Show Farm I ncomes Are Small This is a department of the Leader devoted to news, facts, information and opinicns of interest to farmers as farmers and as business men, f Average From Over 100 Minnesota Farms Proves Farmers Earn $60 a Month By Homer Dixon HAT makes a successful farm business? What does your farm pay you? What is your ? 9_) farm going to pay you? Did you get as much for your work last year as you paid your hired man? If not, why not? These are some of the questions asked the farm- ers by the farm management depart- ments of our state experiment sta- tions in their demonstrations held this past year. Their reports, which have just been issued, present some very striking facts relative to the farm business. On this page is a table giving reports of the average profits of 100 farmers in Clay and Ottertail counties in Minne- sota. It will be seen that the mea- sure of success of each farmer is his “labor income,” or the amount he makes for his year’s work above all farm expenses and interest on his in- vestment. It will be observed further that only farm business expenses are included in the list of expenses, as household and personal expenses have to do with his private life and hence are not included in the business state- ment. On the other hand, in addition to his labor' income, the farmer has his house rent and whatever meat, vegetables, etc., the farm may supply for his living. MUST SUBTRACT INTEREST ON HOLDINGS According to these figures the aver- age farmer throughout west central Minnesota made a labor income of only about $750 in 1915, after taking out 5 per cent interest on his investment. In addition the farmer has his house rent and such items as the farm fur- -nished for family consumption—milk, eggs, butter, potatoes, pork, firewood and garden stuff. These facts make it difficult to compare the farmer's labor income with the salary of a city dwell- er. It has been estimated by, the farm management division of the Minnesota college of agriculture that these items are usually worth about $350 per family, which, however, if paid for at city prices would be much greater. Many farmers who have their farms clear of debt or nearly so, feel that it is unfair to charge interest against the total investment. It is a fact, however, that a farmer who says that he could sell his farm and invest the proceeds above his indebtedness so as to secure not less than 5 per cent, would still be able to work and secure a salary in addition to this. As long as the money invested would have the - This 1s Ladd » i This is a drawing from life, by J. M. Baer, Leader artist, of Dr. E. F. Ladd of the North Dakota Agricultural col- lege. Dr. Ladd is famous throughout the Northwest for his investigations into the milling value of wheat, show- ing how present grades cheat farmers; for his authorship and enforcement as pure food commissioner; of pure-food laws, and for his origination of the North _Dakota trade mark, which was explained in the last issue of the Leader. * planning for the future. power of earning 5 per cent interest if invested elsewhere, it -seems only fair to charge that much when in- vested in the farm. Now it is true that the year 1915 was an unusually profitable year for most farmers through this section, especially for those who raised small grain. In Otter- tail. county the labor income for 1914 was $304, as compared with What the Average Farmer Earns The figures are for the prosperous y'ealz of 1915. Clay County Ottertail Co Aver. of 56 Aver, of 52 farms at farms, Pelican Hawley Rapids and 19%6 Erhard, 1915 Receipts: Potatoes ....... STatelatere s ot 476 C R Wheat: . iras . 557 742 Oats and Barley ...... 268 e Hay and other crops ... 132 193 4 Increase feed and supplies ....... 218 41 Cream and butter ........ SO on 192 330 Cattlep AL mnd O St oTe olee s ia’s 207 335 Hogs oot tian erSseTafatareiaiaty 167 334 Other stock ......... i aeTeretate . 119 125 Miscellaneous income ........ secaecetaesans 147 51 Total ....... 5 Sesseeuinien e des $ 2,483 $2,151 Expenses: Tiab oL . s 2 e e e aletsieiele’s o aiels SISO S a $ 270 Machinery, buildings and fences ... 147 : 121 Feed and seed grain bhought ...... . 94 86 Threshing, silo filling, twine .....ec00ienee . 118 87 Taxes and insurance .......... cialviereeiete s el 116 i 78 All other farm eXpenses ......ceesesseseccs 116 70 Totalsisr=lgtmnrsey cesessevssensesee $ 944 $ 712 Net income of farm ... $1,439 Capital: Real estate .. $10,866 Live stock 1,790 Machinery, feed, etc. ....covvvivenn.n. 3 924 Total Interest on total capital at 5 per cent Labor-income’ ... civviceeanases $760 for 1915. In Clay county for 1914 it was $414 and for 1913, $313, as compared with $734 in 1915, The ordinary year, however, may be expected to be about $400. But each year some farmers make much more than others. In 1915 in Clay county the highest labor incomes were more than $2,000. At the other extreme were six men who received nothing for their $13,580 Your Boyand Your Business Make Partners of Sons onthe Farmto Keep Them There HE farmer of temérrow must be a good business man if he is to win out,” is a statement we have noticed in a recent periodical. The farmer of to- morrow is our boy of today; he is the lad who is doing your chores; who is coming home from school each after- noon with new ideas gathered from his day’s work, and he is thinking and Spring is coming on and in the warm sunshine which is to come, will he linger on his way from school to think and dream of the time he is to be a man—when he is to have a farm of his own? But what of the present? Is your boy going to loiter on his way home dreaming of the far distant future and dreading the evening’s chores, or is he going to hurry home to a pleasant task which must be performed before the morrow? Are you helping this boy see the "application of his school work to his home duties? Have you asked him to get his pencil and paper and help you figure out some little problem in regard to changing the pasture fence for next year, or how much it would cost to drain the low place out of the meadow? Are you preparing the boy to meet the business problems of the farm as they arise? It is as important for the boy to know how to figure up the milk sheet as it is for him to know how to milk the cow. But first the boy must be interested. He must be made in some way to take an interest in the farm. Many fathers make pals of their sons and in this way secure _their interest. Others make partners of them and allow them to own a calf, colt or have the use of a plot of ground. Think of the thousands of young business boys and girls who fed pigs, grew corn and rais- ed tomatoes this past season. We be- lieve that this is one of the best ways in getting the boys interested in the business side of farming. Give them . a piece.of land for their very own. En- courage them in the keeping of proper records as to the labor spent upon it, products removed, etc., so that they will become acquainted with business principles early in life. Get them into the habit of doing things in a business way. Let the boy know about this plot now. Encourage him to join the boys’ and girls’ contest work by giving him the use of a plot of ground or a sow that is about to farrow. Help him along in this way and you will find him home from school every evening, right on time, no matter how bright the sun shines. Encourage him to spend more of his time in practical thinking and less in dreaming about the future. Make his work as pleasant as possible and work with him to see the applica- tion of his school work to his work at home. Get him into the habit of doing things in a business way. Encourage him to use his pencil, because ‘“the farmer of tomorrow must be a good business man if he is to win out.” FOR A GARDEN A windbreak will stop a lot of snow which largely soaks into the ground when it melts. This makes a good place for a garden and for small fruit. The snow may be hard on tree fruit, breaking off branches in settling. The roots from the trees will extend out to a distance at least equal to the heights of the trees which means that the strip next the trees will not be good for most crops. But beyond this strip, there will be four or five rods in width and in many cases more which will have 2 better moisture supply than if there were no trees. The windbreak will also protect whatever is grown in this belt. This protection enables crops to grow better and especially vege- tables and fruits. TWELVE year’s work and made less than 5 per cent interest on their invests ment. There were 15 farmers in Ottertail county that made over $1,000 labor income in 1915, while at the other extreme we find 19 farmers that made less than $500, Two farms made approximately $2,250 each as their labor income. Surely this wide variation in the profits of farmers emphasizes the ime- portance of keeping such records as will enable a farmer to determine some of the weak spots in his method of conducting the business. FOUR FACTORS DETERMINE PROFIT “The records taken in the past three years,” says the Clay county report, “have been carefully studied and each year they have shown clearly that four of the most important factors in the success of the farm business as care " ried on at Hawley are as follows: “l. A large size farm business. “2, High productivity of live stoclk “3. Good crop yields per acre.~ “4. Effective use of man and horse labor. “Very few men make more than a very moderate labor income unless they exceed the average of their neighbors in a majority of these fundamental factors. The successful men were not those who were high in one or two of the points and low - in others, but rather those who wert a little above the average in most of ‘these points.” Now we .understand that Hawley, Minn,, is a great . potato producing region, but nevertheless the four factors of success as brought out in this report can very well be applied to any farm. .Maybe the size of your business is small because there is not land enough. More likely, there is not enough business on the land as work- ed. “If the farm includes waste land, or land raising only wild hay, the farm business will be made larger if this can be drained or otherwise im- ,proved, and put to raising more valu- able crops.” One of the best ways of enlarging the business is by the use of live stock. This makes more work, more expense and a larger net income, often making a large business out of a medium- sized farm. “The successful men are those whose stock yields are well above the average of the locality. Some se- cure these increased returns by using purebred sires and raising well graded herds; others increase the production of common cattle by better care and feeding. They believe it pays to do it. A combination of these methods is re- quired for maximum results.” A big factor as found through this investigation is to raise a better quality of hay. Prairie hay is all right for horses, but if fed to cows for milk production,.it must - be supplemented with expensive concentrates. Clover or alfalfa require much Iess grain feeding to accomplish the same results, though even with clover hay, grain may often be fed with profit. “The wide variation in crop yields and prices obtained from one Year to another is one of the principal reasons for the fact that greater profits are re- turned some years than others. Under a one-crop system, good crop yields are of much greater importance than under a system of mixed farming, for a farmer risks more on a favorable season for the one crop. But even in any one year, and under mixed farm- ing conditions,-crop yields better than the average are almost essential for success.” 7 Reports of this nature lead us to ask the question, “Does your farm pay?” You owe it to yoursélf to know the answer, In order to find out it is necessary to keep such’ records as will enable you to determine the financial results of the year’s business, In order to keep such a record, you must take a detailed inventory of the farm and equipment at the beginning and close of the year, in connection with a record of receipts and expenses. Your state experiment station’ will ‘be ready and glad to co-operate with you in keeping this record, and in most cases will fur- - nish you with a ‘“farmer'’s account book,” complete in every detail, ‘in which to keep your record. Does your farm pay? Secure one of these books and find out, < )