Show planned F farming arming Is within reach farmers can easily figure out cost of production on own land ry by n R H WILCOX agricultural economics department university of 0 illinois 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 jarmer farmer to come within 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 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 rowin conditions land planted to corn lias 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 for hogs grown under farm conditions finds that el eight bt bushels of corn li is required to produce pounds of bog on the hoof this man then plans his hog program on the basis that each acre of his bis land planted to corn should mal make e pounds of live pork ile he also knows the acres of corn land needed to feed his horses a milk cow or two and his chickens ile he fits the number of sows bows bred to the normal expectancy pec tancy of growing 1575 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 lie he does what the building contractor does gives himself a safe margin and op crates upon a plan of a 3 macres acres of corn for every sow such stich planning before the cropping season starts not only may mean th the e saving of considerable caish outlay but also many times may result in the difference between profit and loss these planned production figures en able the farmer to determine the kind and number of stock his farm will safely carry conclusions with respect to the amount of live stock can be based upon a large quantity of in formation available in the way of ta bles on feed labor and capital re quire ments of live stock production the farmer can adjust t the informs tion where necessary from his knowl know edge and experience in handling live stock |