GRAIN AND HAY FARMING
An important and primary factor in the production of all wealth is
labor. Aside from the professional and domestic classes, the people of
the world devote themselves to three forms of work: (1) Changes in
substance, or natural products; (2) changes in form, or mechanical
products; (3) changes in place, or exchange of products. The second of
these forms of work gives rise to manufacturing; the third, to trade
and commerce. Under the first sub-division two classes of natural
products may be recognized; first, what, for want of a better name,
may be called chemical products, such as ores, coal and salt, from
which are derived mining and the metallurgical arts; and second, vital
products, or, in other words, vegetation and animals. It is work
applied to the production of vegetation and animals that gives rise to
agriculture. Agriculture is labor applied to the production of living
things.
KINDS OF AGRICULTURE
The industries which deal with the production of living things may be
divided, theoretically, largely on the basis of the character of the
results, but to some extent upon the nature of the activities
involved.
{ Grain Farming--Cereals and }
{ grasses. }
{ } Agriculture
{ Plantations--Cotton, sugar, }
{ tobacco, coffee. }
Plant Production {
(Soil Culture) { Truck Farming, Market }
{ Gardening--Vegetables. }
{ } Horticulture
{ Fruit Growing--Fruits. }
{ }
{ Forestry--Trees, shrubs. }
{ Stock Raising--Work, meat, fats, hides.
{ Stock Feeding--Meat, fats.
{ Stock Breeding--Animals.
Animal Production { Dairy Farming--Milk, butter and cheese.
(An. Husbandry) { Sheep Husbandry--Wool raising.
{ Poultry Raising--Eggs.
{ Beekeeping--Honey.
Mixed Husbandry
The manner in which this theoretical classification has worked out in
actual practice will be indicated in some measure by the inquiries of
the United States Census Bureau. The twelfth census has classified
farms on the basis of their principal income. If 40% or more of the
gross income of the farm was from dairy products, it was called a
dairy farm; if from live stock, a live stock farm; if from cotton, a
cotton farm. If no product constituted 40% of the gross receipts, the
farm was classified as a miscellaneous or general farm.
In 1900 there were 5,740,000 farms in the United States, which were,
according to the rule just stated, classified as follows:
FARMS CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO PRINCIPAL
SOURCE OF INCOME
Gross
Average income
Total area, size per
Kind of farm. acres. Number. acres. farm.
Hay and grain 210,243,000 1,320,000 159 $760
Vegetables 10,157,000 156,000 65 665
Fruits 6,150,000 82,000 75 915
Live stock 335,009,000 1,565,000 227 788
Dairy produce 43,284,000 358,000 120 787
Tobacco 9,574,000 106,000 90 615
Cotton 89,587,000 1,072,000 84 430
Rice 1,088,000 6,000 190 1,335
Sugar 2,689,000 7,000 363 5,317
Flowers and plants 43,000 6,000 7 2,991
Nursery products 166,000 2,000 82 4,971
Miscellaneous 113,144,000 1,059,000 107 440
----------- --------- --- -----
Total 844,000,000 5,740,000 147 $656
Including miscellaneous or general farms, there are just a dozen kinds
of farms mentioned. Of this number, nine kinds obtained at least 40%
of their products, and probably much more, from vegetable rather than
from animal forms. However, live stock and dairy farms constitute
about one-third of the total number of farms, and almost one-half the
farm acreage. There are four kinds of farms on which the production of
grain and hay forms an important part of their activities; namely, the
hay and grain farm, the live stock farm, the dairy farm, and general
farm. These constitute, in the aggregate, 75% of the farms of the
United States, and by virtue of their larger area, they occupy 85% of
the total farm area.
GRAIN AND HAY STATISTICS
At the close of the nineteenth century less than one-half the area of
the United States was owned in farms. Only one-half of this farm area
was considered to be under cultivation. The total area in cereals was
one-tenth the total land area, while 3% was devoted to hay and 2% to
all other crops except pasture.
Without going into details, it may be stated with reasonable assurance
that: (1) During the last half of the last century, the production of
cereals has increased much faster than the population. For example, in
1850, there were raised in the United States one ton of cereal grains
per capita; by 1900 this amount had increased to one and one-half tons
for each inhabitant.
(2) Since the number of persons engaged in agriculture has decreased
in proportion to population, the quantity of cereals produced in
proportion to persons engaged in agriculture has increased in still
greater ratio. So far, therefore, as the amount of cereals is
concerned, the farmer has been getting an increasingly larger return
for his labor.
(3) The quantity of cereals has increased in proportion to the arable
land. This may be due to one or more of three causes: (a) greater
average yield per acre; (b) greater proportion of cereals to other
crops; or (c) to a change in the ratio of the different cereal crops.
The following table, giving the average yield of grain, reduced to
pounds per acre, shows not only how the substitution of one cereal for
another might affect the total production of cereal grains, but also
suggests to the young farmer how he may modify the total product of
his farm:
Yield Lb. Lb.
in bu. per bu. per acre
Maize 24.2 56 1355
Barley 23.7 48 1138
Rye 15.0 56 840
Oats 26.2 32 838
Wheat 13.2 60 792
Rice Paddy 746
Buckwheat 14.0 48 672
Yields will vary relatively in different regions and with different
types of soil, and should be studied with reference to one's
conditions.
(4) The wheat and oat crops have increased about six and one-half
times in 50 years, the hay crop five and one-half times, while maize
has increased four and one-half times. Cotton, the only other great
staple crop, has increased four times in the same period. The oat crop
has increased the most rapidly of any since 1880. It is interesting,
and may be significant, to note that, while the production of wheat
and barley in Great Britain has decreased about one-half in thirty
years, the production of oats has increased somewhat.
(5) The greatest rate of increase in the production of cereals in the
United States during the last half century has taken place since 1870.
This increase is coincident with three other facts of the utmost
importance: (a) The development of the central West, a treeless
plain--prior to this period much of the farm land in the United States
had been hewn out of the forest, tree by tree; (b) the consolidation
of the steam railways into transcontinental lines; and (c) the
introduction of the self-binding harvester. Formerly it took at least
five men to do what is done today by one man in the harvesting of
cereals.
ADVANTAGES OF GRAIN FARMING
(1) The cost of land excepted, the production of hay and grain
requires a small outlay of money. During the past fifty years, many
thousands of persons have been able to obtain farms of 160 acres at
almost no cost. With a few hundred dollars invested in horses and
tools with which to plow the prairie and sow the seed, these fortunate
persons have oftentimes been able to pay the whole of their expenses,
capital included, from the first crop. The renter who operates a hay
and grain farm usually has but a small capital invested in his
business.
(2) The cereals bring a quick return. Wheat may be sown in September
and sold in July; maize may be planted in May and sold in November;
oats may be planted in April and sold in August. The short period
between seed time and harvest makes the oat crop a favorite one among
renters. On the other hand, it takes from three to seven years to
produce a marketable horse. It may take ten to fifteen years to begin
to realize on an apple orchard.
(3) The products are not easily perishable, and hence can be held
almost indefinitely. The development of the magnificent elevator
system, based upon the principle that the cereals can be handled like
water, greatly simplifies the holding and preservation of these staple
products.
(4) The products are in constant demand, and hence they always find a
market.
Agricultural commodities may be divided into three classes, depending
upon the area which controls the price of the commodity, as follows: (a)
price units world-wide, as wheat, cotton, pork; (b) price units local to
large districts--products too bulky to ship long distances--such as hay,
potatoes and apples; (c) price units local to relatively small areas,
such as strawberries and green vegetables. It is obvious that the larger
the area which controls the price, the more constant will be the demand.
OBJECTIONS TO GRAIN FARMING
(1) It exhausts the soil. About two-thirds of the wheat of the United
States is consumed outside the county in which it is raised.
(2) It requires a large quantity of land to produce a competence. Land
must be low in price, or the interest on the money invested in the
land will consume the profits. The relation of crop to income is
suggested by comparing the gross returns from an acre of potatoes or
tobacco with an acre of maize. The average gross income during a
decade was, from an acre of maize, $9.50; an acre of potatoes, $38;
and from an acre of tobacco, $61.50.
(3) Only such part of the land as is suited to tillage can be used.
(4) The marketing of cereals requires the transportation of bulky
products. Hay is handicapped much more seriously. The distance a
product can be shipped depends somewhat on the price per pound
received for it. If it costs one cent a pound to ship maize to a grain
market, obviously it cannot be transported without loss when it brings
only 50 cents a bushel. On the other hand, two cents a pound may
easily be paid for shipping butter which is worth 25 cents a pound.
The transportation of $2,000 worth of maize to a railway station ten
miles distant is a laborious and expensive operation, but when this
same maize is turned into beef or pork, it will transport itself to
the station with comparatively little trouble. Notwithstanding the
excellent transportation facilities which the farmers of the United
States enjoy, 80% of the maize is consumed in the county in which it
is raised. Cereal production demands better transportation facilities
than cotton farming, tobacco growing or the rearing of domestic
animals.
(5) Capital must lie idle much of the time. The self-binding harvester
or the hay rake is only used a few weeks, or perhaps more often only a
few days, each year. A cream separator or a churn may be used every
day in the year. In the first instance, there is not only interest on
unemployed capital, but the capital is actually deteriorating through
nonuse.
(6) The production of hay and grain does not give continuous
employment. The slightest consideration of the following table must
show that unless live stock is kept, there are considerable periods of
the year in which very little labor is required, while at other times
considerable work is necessary to prevent loss.
TABLE SHOWING THE AVERAGE ACREAGE PER
FARM OF PRINCIPAL CROPS.
New York Ohio Wisconsin Virginia
Maize 3 13 9 11
Wheat 2 12 3 6
Oats 5 4 14 1
Barley, rye or buckwheat 2 -- 5 0
Hay and forage 23 11 14 4
Potatoes, beans or other
vegetables 3 1 2 1
Fruits 2 2 0 1
Miscellaneous crops 2 1 0 2
Pasture, wood or unimproved
land 58 45 70 93
--- -- --- ---
Total size of farm 100 89 117 119
(7) Much depends upon natural forces. While there is opportunity for
the use of knowledge and judgment in the production of high-grade
seeds and even of large yields, there is not the same scope for skill
that there is in some other lines of agricultural enterprise. Skill
means the capacity to do something difficult, and the more effort
required to produce an object the more value it has, provided its
utility is unlimited. The farming which requires the most skill pays
the best if one has the skill to apply to it. This is because those
who do not have the requisite skill are usually unsuccessful.