A Farm Management Study in the Great Salt Lake Valley

A FARM MANAGEMENT STUDY IN THE GREAT SALT LAKE VALLEY By George Stewart, Agronomist, Utah Agricultural Experiment Station In a recently completed farm-management study of the Great Salt Lake Valley, it has been found that farms combining several en- terprises such as dairy-beets, dairy-grain-hay, and general diversified farming pay greater returns than do farms specializing on only one sort of product. This study was begun in 1915, but on account of violent changes in production, prices, and costs due to the World War, was temporarily postponed. During the winter of 1922-1923 the original farm records were restudied and supplemented with new data in such a manner as to make the work representative of the region both before and after the war. In all 428 farms in Salt Lake, Davis, and Weber counties were studied. It was found convenient to segregate them into five groups, as follows: (1) diversified, (2) beets, (3) grain-hay, (4) general livestock, and (5) miscellaneous specialized. Of the 428 farms, 142 were found to be engaged in a composite farming business, that is, they were combining the enterprises ordinarily carried on by two or more separate types of farm. These combination farms were classed as (l)dairy, (2) dairy-beets, and (3) dairy-grain-hay. The total income of the farm was called "family income," the

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128 IMPROVEMENT ERA TABLE NO. 2. — Summary of income data on all farms according to size groups. Size of Groups 0-20 | 20-50 | 50-100 100-200 | 200-up | All Farms No. of Farms | 57 192 119 1 45 15 428 15.3 $5,119 34.2 $9,006 70.3 $14,421 148.3 | 313.2 |$24,530 |$28, 122 63.6 Avg. Total Invest. _ .| $12,298 Avg. Value of Real 1 Estate (per acre) | 228 230 157 | 144 73 168 Avg. Farm Income __| 344 668 1 120 1803 2323 927 Avg. Family Labor | 77 96 150 320 593 149 Avg. Family Income „ | 421 764 1270 2123 2916 1076 Avg. No. Adults 1 3.6 4.1 4.4 5. 6.2 4.3 Avg. Family Income 1 per capita (adult basis) | 117 186 289 425 470 350 Labor Income at 8% | -66 | -52 -34 | -159 73 -57 Labor Income at 5% _| 139 308 543 | 822 1198 435 estimated value of work done by the family other than the operator as "family labor," and the difference between these two is "farm in- come." When interest on the total capital invested is calculated at 8 per cent and deducted from the "farm income" the remainder is "labor income at 8%". It was thought, however, that 5 percent might be a fairer rate of interest on farm lands and consequently interest at that rate was deducted from "farm income" to get "labor income at 5%" — the amount thought to be due to the labor of operator as such. A summary of the study is shown in Tables 1 and 2, the farms being grouped according to type of farming in the first table, and the same farms regrouped according to size in the second. There were made in addition many interesting compilations concerning the value of land and size of mortgages, the education of the farmers as related to income, the social conditions of the farm families, and the details of each enterprise attempted on any con- siderable number of farms. Even a brief review of these topics would have to be given in a separate article, if they are to be more than men- tioned. This article attempts to show only the general findings with reference to the business phase of farming. When the study was com- pleted several modifications to improve farming in the region suggested themselves. Modifications to Increase Profit Analysis of the survey data and careful observation in the dis- trict during the survey and during subsequent years suggested certain modifications that might increase the profits of the operators. Five chief modifications that have promise in this respect are: (1) to in- crease the size of the small farms; (2) to combine the most profitable types of farming, especially by increasing the number of dairy cows; (3) to improve the quality of farming by using better cows, better pasture, better seed, and better handling of manure; (4) to inaugurate a systematic crop rotation, thereby permitting better management of

A FARM MANAGEMENT STUDY 229 labor; and (5) to make use of miscellaneous but neglected sources of livestock, crop, and labor revenue. Increasing the Size of Small Farms — Farms smaller than 20 acres yielded only $139 labor income and those from 20 to 50 acres in size $308, whereas those in the three larger groups — 50 to 100 acres, 100 to 200 acres, and 200 acres and over — made $543, $822, and $1,198, respectively. The lesson here is obvious: farms need to contain at least 50 acres and preferably 100 to 200 acres. The prob- lem of increasing the area, however, is by no means an easy one. The high price of land, the high rate of interest, and the home instinct of the farming population all combine to make it extremely difficult under present credit conditions to purchase land and pay for it out of the farm income. Not much land is rented, but operators of small farms could probably do nothing to such good advantage as to rent additional land. Many are hopeful that at a reasonably early date there will be such improvement made in our rural-credit conditions as will permit of the purchase of areas of land up to 50 and 100 acres on terms that will materially reduce the present ruinous interest rates and costly renewals. How soon such steps may be taken, what form the bank- ing machinery may assume, or what degree of effectiveness it may reach is not possible to predict. It is apparent, however, that the farm operator of less than 50 acres should thoroughly investigate every reasonable opportunity for increasing the size of his farm. Renting such additional acreage as he can profitably handle is probably the cheapest method of obtaining additional land. The small farm does not seem adapted to profitable farming in the region, except in a few especially favored trucking sections. General farming on less than 50 acres does not permit economic use of man labor, horselabor, and equipment, nor the introduction of crop ro- tation. Combining Enterprises. — Beets, dairying and diversified farming are considerably more profitable in the region than are hay and grain, general livestock, or specialized farms. A combination of dairying with beets and with hay and grain was much more profitable than any type by itself. This is probably because of three things: (1) Both dairying and beet growing utilize the operator's labor and family labor. They are among the most intensive forms of field crop and livestock farming and produce high returns per acre. (2) A small number of dairy cows can utilize a considerable quantity of otherwise nearly un- marketable feed and plant products that bring only low prices. The manure is of great value and may have been more carefully handled than on general livestock farms in which the labor incomes and crop yields were only intermediate. (3) A city market for milk gives ready sale for small quantities and good prices that would not continue if a surplus was produced.

230 IMPROVEMENT ERA After increasing the size of the farm, the proper combination of dairying with crop growing seems to be the most obvious method of increasing the farm income. Dairying on a large scale is not urged because the advantages derived from cheap feed and unoccupied resi- dent labor would probably not hold. A large dairy farm requires such a large investment in cows, barns, milkhouses, extra hired help, and marketing facilities as frequently to make the business unprofitable. What is badly needed, however, is the addition to the ordinary farm of as many cows as can fit into the organization without requiring extra investment in buildings, equipment, and hired labor. There is con- siderable unused but available labor and cheap feed on nearly every farm that might well be utilized not only in the care of dairy cows but also by other kinds of livestock. Need for Improvement in Farm Practices. — It is recommended that cows of low production be discarded, that pastures be improved, that seed selection be practiced, and that farm manure be more gen- erally and intelligently preserved and utilized. The frequency with which unprofitable cows occur both in small and large dairy herds has been so often and widely discussed that it need only be mentioned here were it not that the recommendations are so generally ignored. In one ordinary farm dairy herd consisting of 15 cows a test revealed that five were low producers. The sale of these cows resulted in an increase of 33.0 per cent in production and 115.3 per cent in profits for each cow. The importance of cow-test- ing, at least occasionally, cannot be too strongly urged. The keeping of purebred animals is certainly profitable in many cases, but it is not to be indiscriminately recommended without respect to conditions, cost, or experience. The improvements of a grade herd by testing and by the use of a good sire is safe practice on every farm where a few cows are kept. Pasture improvement naturally accompanies improvement of the dairy herd. Even with the poor cows discarded from the herd, good summer feed will do much to increase milk production. In Utah, as a whole, as well as in the region studied, there is much boggy pasture land that grows only coarse sedges (Carex sp.) and rushes (Juncus and Scirpus sp.). These plants have low feeding value and become un- palatable early in the season. Drainage of wet pastures, removal of weeds, occasional mowing of dry seed stalks, and harrowing to scatter manure dropping will all do much to improve the quality and quantity of feed in such pastures. With drainage, sedges and rushes will gradually give place to bluegrass, white clover, and other superior pas- ture plants. It is now recognized that heavy grazing until a pasture is eaten close, with the animals immediately removed to another pasture maintains a fresher growth. This also makes irrigation more convenient. The use of good seed is an easy and inexpensive method of increasing crop yields. This is especially true of cereals. Experiments

A FARM MANAGEMENT STUDY 231 at Logan and Farmington on wheat and oats show increases from 5 to 15 bushels an acre merely by planting unmixed seed of best varieties. In Utah county in 1921 the yield of 180 acres of Dicklow wheat (locally known as California Club or Excelsior), sown with clean seed, was 14 bushels an acre in excess of the yields on the same fields sown to the same variety but mixed to the ordinary extent. Tests of silage corn at Farmington show that it is possible to increase the yield by 20 to 50 per cent by the use of better seed and a slight variation in cultural practice. Almost no extra expense is involved in either case. More intelligent use of manure will greatly increase crop yields. The survey shows that the manure is neither wisely handled nor ap- plied in the best possible way or place. Manure piles are sadly neg- lected. Corrals are allowed to fill with water or loose manure piles are left under the eaves of the barn. Horse manure frequently loses most of its value by "heating." Straight-sided compact piles over- come most of this trouble. Careful, long-continued experiments at Logan and elsewhere, show an increase of 50 per cent in the yield of grain, potatoes, and sugar-beets by frequent light application of manure. Five tons to the acre each year is probably twice as effective as 1 0 tons an acre each alternative year or 20 tons each fourth year. If livestock are kept on a combination farm, the manure can be used to good advantage. Even on farms that grow only hay, grain, and pasture, thin applications of manure are highly profitable. Alfalfa and grass pasture both re- spond splendidly to frequent light applications of manure. Rotation of Crops. — It is still a too general practice to neglect crop rotation. All new countries do this to their eventual sorrow. At first grain is the principal crop, but soon others come in. In Utah, alfalfa came before 1860 and yielded so abundantly that it was grown on almost every farm. When fields were plowed up, the crops sown during the next two or three ye,ars produced greatly increased yields, especially if a little manure was applied. But the practice of leaving alfalfa fields unbroken for 10, 15 or even 20 years became common. This decreases profits in two ways: (1) by reducing the acre-yield of alfalfa which nearly always declines rapidly after the fifth or sixth year; and (2) by depriving other crops of the advantage of being grown after alfalfa as frequently as they should be. Five years in al- falfa does as much for the soil as does 20 years. Sugar-beets are one of the profit makers in farming. Many of the best farms, however, grow the crop for several years in succession. Sooner or later this is almost sure to encourage plant diseases, insects, nematode, or other pests in such serious forms as to make continuous cropping impossible, or at least dangerous. This has already happened in much of the area. Where sugar-beet nematode has made its ap- pearance, yields are so greatly reduced as to make rotation the only alternative. Diseases and several insects have recently become estab-

232 IMPROVEMENT ERA lishcd in a few areas and threaten to spread unless rotations afford pro- tection. A rotation permits the distribution of labor, machinery, and irrigation water in such a way as to enable the operator to perform more work and also make his operations more timely. Every oper- ation is much more effective when done at just the right time. If there are three weeks during which a farm operation may be don?, the first week is considerably better than the second, and the second, as much superior to the third. Miscellaneous Sources of Revenue. — This survey found a sur- prisingly small number of hogs, sheep, and poultry on the farm as a whole. Not every farm should keep large numbers of these animals, but almost every farm can support a few hogs, a few sheep, and a small flock of hens or geese with little extra expense in labor or equipment. Each of these may be made to utilize with profit labor or feed, or both, that would otherwise be lost. Whenever labor can be employed more efficiently and feed more fully utilized, then profits increase, because additional sources of income are made to produce with but little extra expense. A few head of each of these three kinds of livestock can be fed on most farms largely on waste products — sheep on weeds and coarse grass from waste corners, fence lines, and roadways; hogs and poultry on extra milk, kitchen refuse, grain screenings, and the like. Poultry also gather a large part of their feed about the yards and corral. Where good produce markets are near, large numbers are proportion- ately less profitable since salable feed must be used. A good home garden, a small orchard, some small-fruit, and other similar enterprises reduce grocery bills and may be made to yield a small income without extra expense. Sometimes a small area of an unusual crop like celery, onions, cabbage or head lettuce, may pay handsomely for a little care. A small field of clean wheat or oats may bring greater returns on account of a higher price for the grain to be used as seed. Miscellaneous odd tasks such as cleaning and oiling harnesses, adjusting machinery, repairing fences, bridges and headgates, and the like may be kept on a list for doing on stormy days or in seasons of slack work. This puts the operator ahead of his work even in the rush season and may permit a few days outside labor — should it turn up. The farmer must be a manager. He should drive his work or it will drive him. Training might help by added knowledge and in- sight. Finally, he cannot afford to neglect farm bureau meetings, or public affairs in his community. Conclusions The agricultural conditions of Great Salt Lake Valley are in great need of improvement. This study, however, indicates that the chief need is a more scientific application of long-established principles.

A FARM MANAGEMENT STUDY 233 There was found no indication of great need for emergency legislation or revolutionary changes in agricultural practice. Small inequalities need correcting but almost every angle of approach bristled with arrows pointing to that sound and century-old adage of Franklin: "Plow deep while sluggards sleep, And you shall have corn to sell and to keep." Birthday Wishes Oh, lad, now the age of seventeen, As you gaze o'er the past, with an eye serene, And think of the joys of yesterday, Of innocent pleasures and childish play, Of all the love and parental care That kept your feet from the tempter's snare; Of the dear, blest childhood, so quickly past, Whose memory shall linger while life shall last; Is it not with a feeling of fond regret, You think of these pleasures that you have met? And still, when your eyes to the future turn With anticipation, your heart must yearn To look from a boyhood so nobly spent To a manhood of limitless accomplishment: With a soul as pure as the lily fair May you enter manhood with a prayer For wisdom, knowledge, faith and power To conquer the ills-of the coming hour. May a life unselfish and full of love Lead you back to the home above. May you meet your loved ones and Savior there. This is a sister's sincere prayer. Alton, Utah, LULU WILSON,