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Show POULTRY MEN FIND RECORDS OF BIG VALUE By CARL FRISCHKN ECHT Assistant Poultryman, Utah State Agricultural College Now is the time for poultry-men poultry-men to start their poultry records, rec-ords, because this is the time of the year pullets that have been properly cared for start to lay. Unlike the business or calendar cal-endar year, the poultry year logically log-ically begins in October, at the time the oncoming pullets are placed in the laying pens, and ends in September of the fol- " lowing year, after the better hens that are to be retained another year for egg production have been selected. Afisr securing a simple, yet COmnlpfp nnnUi'i, i 1- , i-i.n.j Ul.l.UUllt UUU1V in which to record all the facts which affect the success of the business, the first step is for the poultryman to make a financial fin-ancial statement of bis condition, condi-tion, which includes all the assets as-sets and liabilities of his business. busi-ness. This statement often includes in-cludes such items as mortgages, promissory notes, bills payable and bills receivable. It should be made at the beginning and again at the end of the year, to determine th.j net equity" in the business upoi wl.ich the interest is figured, as well as to determine deter-mine the trend of indebtedness not only during the year, but from year to year. After this has been done, an inventory of all the poultry items on hand at the beginning Of the Vpnr chmilrl Kn The term "poultry inventory" simply refers to a record taken twice a year of all the property that the poultryman has on hand pertaining to his poultry business. For convenience, tne inventory sheet is usually divided divid-ed into several units, such as the stock, land and permanent improvements, equipment, poultry poul-try supplies, feed inventories, etc., and space is always pro- vided for recording not only the date the inventory is taken, bin the number, unit price and total to-tal value of each of the differ- ! ent poultry items that are on hand when the inventory is taken. There are a number or rea- auaa "y poultry records should include inventories. In the first place, inventories mark the beginning, be-ginning, as well as the end, of the poultry year, or the exact period of time over which the records are kept. To attempt to keep records without taking inventories in-ventories would be just as ridiculous ri-diculous as it would be for a college athlete to enter a foot race without knowing where or when the race is to sta;t or to end. Inventories are also necessary neces-sary in order to enable the poultryman to determine the total average investment in the entire business for the year, as well as per cent and trend of : ma esiment nom year to I 'year in each department, such as stock, land and improve- merits, equipment, feeds, etc. Inventories are also taken in order to determine the increases and decreases that have taken place during the year, without ! which it is impossible to figure the profit or loss that has been : made. Some poultrymen feel that they are succeeding as long as they have sufficient cash on hand to meet the current cur-rent expenditures, but cash on hand is deceptive. It is no indi- cation of net profit, because cash on hand at different times of the year often comes from the sale of some of the inventory inven-tory that may have been on hand at the beginning of the year. In a like manner, the poultryman may not always have sufficient cash on hand to pay for his expenditures because be-cause he may have purchased stock or equipment that will increase in-crease the value of his inventory inven-tory and hence his assets at the end of the year. Sme little time may be required re-quired to take the beginning inventory in October, especially if the poultryman has never taken an inventory of his business busi-ness before. However, the information infor-mation and satisfaction that comes from knowing his present pres-ent worth and the distribution of his investment is usually sufficient to more than repay him for the effort put forth. Since values used in making inventories affect direstly the maknitude of the total income for the year, care should be taken to use vaules that are not too low nor too high. The actual price to use will vary with the individual poultry setup. set-up. In taking inventory of your permanent improvements, such is land and buildings, it is unwise un-wise to allow unsual periods of inflation and depression to influence very much the values Jsed. In the case of stock (chickens), supplies, feeds, etc.,. the actual market price at the farm, plus cost of transporting from or to the market, for items purchased or for sale is usually the figure that is used. A fair value for each item may be more accurately determined in some cases by seeking the judgment of a neighbor or by imagining what you would be willing to pay for the same if you were the purchaser. A great deal of interest is being be-ing taken in the new poultry account book and the poultry record keeping project that is being sponsored by the extension exten-sion service of the Utah State Agricultural college at Logan this fall. Poultrymen who are desirous of keeping records on their flocks will find it desirable desir-able not only to start their poultry records this month, but to begin by taking a complete inventory of all the poultry items that are on hand at the beginning of the year. |