OCR Text |
Show REPORT OF COUNTY FARMSURVEY Small Cultivated Acreage Necessitates Ne-cessitates High Return If Income In-come Is to Be Sufficient NO. 1. (From the Preliminary Report of the Washington County Economic Survey.) The following is a continuation of the introductory article published last week on the findings of the farm survey conducted in Wash ington county last spring. The different dif-ferent subjects will be treated from week to week, and it is urged that farmers make a thorough study of the report. Farm Organization Sixty-nine farm records were taken tak-en from the farmers of Washington county in the spring of 1929, based on the 1928 year's business. The survey sur-vey covered farmers living on irrigated irri-gated farms, and who are following follow-ing a general diversified system of farming. These records have been analyzed to determine the capital invested, in-vested, returns from various enterprises, enter-prises, farm expenses, the net returns re-turns to the growers from his farm business, and farm practices that have an influence on production and marketing. Capital Invested The average capital invested per grower, as reported by 69 farmers to Washington county was $7660, with (Continued on page 6) REPORT OF COUNTY FARM SURVEY (Continued fromi page 1) an average indebtedness of $949, leaving a net worth of $6711, which is the farmer's equity in his business. busi-ness. The major investment was in land, comprising 60.8 per cent of the total, while buildings constituted consti-tuted 26.1 per cent, livestock 9.8 per cent and equipment but 2.9 per cent. The average per acre investment in land based on cultivated area, as reported by these growers was $214; $92 in buildings; $34 in livestock and $10 in' equipment. The percentage of farm capital invested in land is below the average av-erage in other sections, while the percentage investment in buildings is higher in Washington county than was found in similar studies in other farm areas in Utah. The average size of farms surveyed sur-veyed was 60.3 acres, with 38.5 acres of waste and pasture, leaving but 21.8 acres as the area of cultivated land. The acreage devoted to field crops under irrigation was 13.5 acres, or 61.9 per cent, while 2.1 acres, or 9.7 per cent were cultivated as dry land, making a total of 71.6 per cent of the cultivated land, planted to field crops, It was reported that 4.8 acres, or 22 per cent of the total cultivated ; land, were devoted to fruit, while but 1.4 acres, or 6.4 per cent were planted in truck crops in 1928. The average per acre value of all cultivated land, as reported by the growers surveyed was $196, with the dry land valued at $30, fruit land $304, truck crop land $288 and land planted in field crops $173. Alfalfa is the principal field crop grown, constituting 38.1 per cent of total cultivated acreage, while 5.1 acres, or approximately one-fourth of the total cultivated area was planted to grain. The indications are that the percentage of the land planted to grain on these small cultivated farms was altogether too high, especially when the low yields per acre and low returns are taken into consideration. Peaches and grapes were the two leading fruits grown in Washington comity, averaging approximately 12 per cent of total acreage while the average acreage planted to truck crops was small, constituting but 6.4 per cent of the total cultivated area. |