Authors

C.R. Hoglund

Publication Date

4-15-1944

Pamphlet Number

11

Document Type

Pamphlet

Description

A new farm record project was started in 1943 by the Agricultural Experiment Station in cooperation with the Agricultural Extension Service. Previous to 1943 it had been customary for the Extension Service to summarize farm records sent in to the state office by farmers. The purpose of the new project was to obtain more detailed farm record information which would be useful in planning improvements in the organization and operation of farms in the various areas of the state. The analysis of the records and the preparation of the report was carried out by the Experiment Station under the direction of C. R. Hoglund. The organization and educational work in the field was handled by the Extension Service with George E. Anderson in charge. The following county agricultural agents actively cooperated in the project: J. Ervin Boyd, Minnehaha; C. M. Culhane, Moody; Carl 0. Reed, Clay; and Howard Schultz, Lake. It is expected that two or three additional counties will be added to the project in 1944 in this area. Most of the farm record cooperators were visited one or two times during the spring and summer and again at the end of the year when the records were closed. Thirty-eight farm records were closed but only 33 are included in this report. The records not used were either not typical of the area or were not complete enough to use. The cooperators kept records which included cash receipts -and expenses, beginning and end of year inventories of feed and seed, machinery and equipment, buildings and land, and livestock; crop record; livestock record and a record of farm produce and fuel used by the household. Supplementary information was obtained on the family labor supply, feed fed to productive livestock and on crop and live stock practices used. Climatic conditions were favorable for both small grain and better than average for corn and other intertilled crops. March, April and May moisture averaged over one inch less than average and the total yearly rainfall ranged from one to over two inches below normal. Lack of moisture accompanied by high winds during April and May did some damage to both small grain and corn. Favorable climatic conditions during late simmer and fall made possible high com yields. Operator's labor earnings have been calculated on a full owner basis in order to more nearly compare all farms on an equal basis. However, each cooperator received an earnings’ statement on the basis of his actual tenure situation. The farm record data used in this report have been tabulated for high profit and low profit farms as well as for the group average. Summaries of farm inventories, crop acreage and yields, livestock numbers, farm produce and fuel furnished the household and farm earnings are given in the following tables for the high profit, low profit and the average of all farms. Farm organization and efficiency measures have also been prepared for these three groups of farms.

Number of Pages

14

Format

application/pdf

Publisher

South Dakota State College

Disciplines

Agricultural Economics

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