OCR Text |
Show FARMS MUST EARN MORE There are several reasons why farm earnings are showing a decline de-cline partially due to economic discontent and political agitation. Statistics show that large numbers of tenant farmers have accumulated accum-ulated funds out of farm earnings toward becoming farm owners, but the process is slow and one of considerable difficulty. Increase in valuation of farm land has two effects: purchasers can borrow more money to meet payments, but higher prices for land discourages tenants from buying. Desirability of fajm land is not enhanced by too much academic discussion about employing family labor without wages, or under-, estimating the value of such labor. All reports show that tenants of farm owners having good sized families, and largely employing family labor on the land, are more prosperous and successful than farm operators without families. Where the tenant has no family labor from which to increase his margin of return over necessary expenditures, he carried an additional addi-tional handicap in this struggle to become a farm owner. The same general fact holds true with those who own farms, but are compelled to employ all their labor at present prevailing high wages. , |