OCR Text |
Show ' j On . Utah County Farms I' With The Extension Agent I with the averages of nil farms, ' the most profitable and the least . profitable farms. It is hoped that ! from this analysis each farmer can find the weaknesses of his j farm buiness and can thus strive ; to improve it, says Mr. Thomas. ( Not only did the nios:. rpofitable j group of larms have higher crop yields, but -they had more casn crops such as sugar beets, and tomatoes. The avergae crop sales from the most profitable farms was 1323 compared to $176 from the least profitable-farms. profitable-farms. Another difference in the two-groups two-groups of farms was the efficiency with which labor was used. The operators of the most profitable -farms worked 271 man work days or 2710 hours during the year. The operators of the least profit- able farms worked 245 man work, days or 2450 hours. With labor making up a considerable part of farm expenses, and with its being ! expensive relative to the price oi farm products, it is very important import-ant that it be used efficiently. The size of these two groups uf farms, whether measured in terms of crop acres or capita invested, was not greatly different. differ-ent. The most profitable farms had an average of 118 acres, of which 72 acres were cropped. The total farm investment was $11,-G76. $11,-G76. The least profitable farms had an average of 164 acres, of which 67 were cropped. The total farm' investment for this group of farms was $12,115. With the prices of farm products pro-ducts the lowest they have been for 37 years it is a signal accom plishment tor a group of farmers i to so organize and manage their farms that they made $943 for' their efforts. This is particularly ! true because the .things that the .farmer, must buy are relatively high, and moreover, a considerable part 'of his expenses are fixed, such as taxes, interest, depreciation deprecia-tion of building and machinery, and insurance. Only by the application appli-cation of the most efficient farm practices and farm management; methods was it possible for any j farmer to make a profit. ! To each farmer cooperator was returned a summary and analysis I of his farm business, together with measures of his efficiency. This ', was accompanied by comparisons t i . DKOtTH KKLIKF SITUATION IN I'TAH A new estimate under date of August 10 lias been made of feed available in the state of Utah. The earlier estimate of hay available is not chncd essentially. The state's hay supply is approximately approximate-ly 40 per cent of normal. Subsidized Subsi-dized feeds have fallen to such a low supply that the low amount of hay is even more intense as it affects the livestock industry than i the low per cent indicates, says William Peterson, state director 1 of drouth .relief. that for the nation' as a whole, feed available is only 64 per cent of normal. The experience of the scarcity of feed in 1919 and the high prices that were paid during the following winter is an outstanding out-standing memory with many of the cattle and dairy men of the state. In that year there were many cases where more was paid to feed the animals the last six weeks of winter than the animals were worth. This condition has been recognized and the federal government's cattle- - purchasing program provided to -give relief. It is the best Droeram nffpiwl- it Lowest In 20 Years Last year the production of sugar beets in Utah was 912 thousand thou-sand tons. The August forecast for this commodity is 210 thousand thou-sand ton. This means a tremend- ! ous loss in sugar beet pulp, mo- lasses, and beet tops. The index number for summer pasture is only 33 per cent and that of the range 53 per cent. These are the lowest figures recorded in 20 years. Rains in August and September may help the pastures and ranges but will not materially 1 alfect the winter feed supply. ) Just as sure as there are seasonal sea-sonal changes winter will come with the necessity of feeding livestock. live-stock. The intensity of what the winter might be is conjecture. Because Be-cause the supply is 60 per cent I below the feed normally available for feeding cattle during the winter, win-ter, a program has been outlined for a 40 per cent shrink in cattle to be fed. This means that there ! should be disposed of in the state of Utah approximately 170 thousand thou-sand head of cattle. Forty thousand thou-sand head should be sold through the normal channels for commercial commer-cial meat consumption. The 130 thousand should be obsorbed in the government cattle buying program pro-gram These figures can only be general estimates, but in the face of the drouth the state is experiencing ex-periencing and the definite assur- . ance of a short winter food supply it seems only sensible for this year that every farmer reduce the number num-ber of livestock to be fed in proportion pro-portion to the feed available and what normaiiy should be neces- ' wry to feed such a number of I livestock from .November until May. 1 One-third Completed Up to and including August 15, there had been purchased 46,119 1 cattle in the state of Utah about one-third or what is estimated for disposition. The program should be complete by November because the object of making this sale is to save feed for the winter supply j is the best program we know of that will be offered. A report from the federal government gov-ernment says on the basis of present estimate of crop and feed supply in relation to livestock numbers and the drouth, officials i believe it may be necessary to purchase as many as seven million mil-lion cattle and calves and from two to five million sheep and goats. When snow comes feed will not be available in many localities. The feed on the farm should be sufficient to maintain the cattle through the winter. The cattle purchasing program is proceeding satisfactorily, reports re-ports Mr. Peterson. "The estimate of reduction made for the state is only a general estimate but the responsibility of what reduction should be made on each farm is that of the owner. Already too much hay which should be retained re-tained for winter feeding in being feed to stock which normally should be on pasture. This is cutting cut-ting the supply for winter and the urge is that a reduction be made immdeiaiely to conserve all the feed possible for winter so a large number of the best livestock in the herd may be kept as a foundation founda-tion for the future livestock industry in-dustry of the state. Make Inventory The very best facilities have been afforded by the FERA for the transportation of the cattle both by rail and truck.. Full cooperation coop-eration is solicited from every person per-son who finds himself short of feed to do everything possible to make this program function. Again it is advised to make a careful inventory of the feed available avail-able and kep on the farm only, enougli of the best cattle as a foundation herd that can be safely safe-ly carried through to the next grazing season. This should be the method of determining how many cattle should be sold from each farm. nnd the cattle buying program should not be carried on into the period when feeding of hay and grain is necessary. Every farmer is urged to make & careful inventory of feed available avail-able and then to cull and keep i the best animals as a founda- j tion herd for the future and to dispose of the balance as rapidly rs the program will permit. ( Word has come recently to this 1 office that the federal government 2 is going to provide feed in case none is available. This office has not been advised that any feed will be available to be furnished by the federal government other than that being provided through the Feed Loan office. Shortage Is General "j Feed in the whole United States I is short. A recent report indicates FA ISM ACCOUNTIN G PROJECT HEVEALS INTERESTING DATA During the year 1933, 129 farmers farm-ers in the state of u-ah kept accounts ac-counts of their farm businesses in cooperation with the State Agricultural Ag-ricultural College extension service. serv-ice. At the end of the year the account books werfe summarized and analyzea by the department of agricultural economics. The primary purpose or this work was to obtain measures of farm profits and to disclose the factors of farm organization and management that are associated with farm profits, states W. Preston Thomas, extension economist, who was in charge of the survey. Labor Income Labor income is the chief measure meas-ure of farm profits that was used. Labor income is the payment to the farm operator for his year's ! work as laborer and manager on his farm. It is calculated by subtracting from the total farm income, all farm expenses, in- I eluding the value of all family ! labor (except the farm operator and interest on the capital invested. invest-ed. In addition' to the labor income, in-come, the farmer has farm privileges, privi-leges, which include a house to i live in and (arm produce for family living. Futhermore, the j family has the interest on their equity inthe farm, and the value of the unpaid family labor. The average labor income of the 129 farmers whose farm account books were summarized was $193. This is rather a small wage for a year's labor and management. However, there were some farm- ! ers who did considerably better than the average. One-third of the farmers who had the highest labor incomes averaged .$913 as a wage for tneir labor and management, manage-ment, tun me one-third who had the lowest labor incomes lacked $502 of having anything in return i for their labor and management. |