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Show Planned Farming Is Within Reach Farmers Can Easily Figure Out Cost of Production on Own Land. By R. H. WILCOX, Agricultural Economics Econ-omics Department. University of Illinois. WNO Service. "Planned agriculture," which has been set up as the goal In the new order of things, is within reach of every farmer. There is Just as much possibility, for instance, for the live stock farmer to come within with-in his estimates of crop production and live stock needs as there is for the construction engineer to come within his estimates of time and cost In connection with building projects. It is true that production may be below normal in some years and above normal In others. In the long run, however, careful estimates esti-mates of the feed needs of the farm and planned production to meet these feed needs results in low live stock costs and a wider margin of net returns below these costs and selling price. Take the situation that exists on a central Illinois farm where under average weather and other growing conditions, land planted to corn has yielded an average of 42 bushels an acre during the past eight or ten years. The operator of this farm, consulting tables of corn requirement require-ment for hogs grown under farm conditions, finds that eight bushels of corn is required to produce 100 pounds of hog on the hoof. This man then plans his hog program on the basis that each acre of his land planted to corn should make 525 J- M TTO fllSO kUOWS puuuua ux live the acres of corn land needed to feed his horses, a milk cow or two and his chickens. He fits the number num-ber of sows bred to the normal expectancy ex-pectancy of growing 1,575 pounds of pork a year from each sow and her pigs. He knows then that three acres of his corn will carry a sow and her pigs, but to be on the safe side he does what the building contractor con-tractor does gives himself a safe margin and operates upon a plan of 3 acres of corn for every sow. Such planning before the cropping crop-ping season starts not only may mean the saving of considerable cash outlay but also many times may result in the difference between be-tween profit and loss. These planned production figures enable the farmer to determine the kind and number of stock his farm will safely carry. Conclusions with respect re-spect to the amount of live stock can be based upon a large quantity of Information available in the way of tables on feed, labor and capital requirements of live stock production. The farmer can adjust the information, where necessary, from his knowledge and experience in handling live stock. |