FARM MANAGEMENT.

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 167, 16 July 1924, Page 11

FARM MANAGEMENT.

PRINCIPLES TO FOLLOW.

(Loftiire given at Danraville Farm •School. 3/7/24, by J. C. Jenks.) j L i Tlie study of farm managenifTit (or farm econoni}-) is not =o mue'.i a study of the various details tbat comprise the art of farming as an inquiry into the I way in which details may best he combined into an economic unit—the farm as a whole. When -we have learnt how best a specific object may be attained,, it remains for us to decide how it will fit into management apd contribute to prosperity. It is necessary f."r us first to pay some brief attention to t":iree fundamental factors on which the prosperity of the agricultural industry of any country depends. I Land is the lirst of these factors, anl. rent (or interest on capital as represented by land) is the first charge on I farming- operations. The value of land may be divided under two heads —(i) . unimproved value (accessibility, water,' nature of soil, contour, climate, etc.),' and (ii) improvements (clearing, fencing,' buildings, grassing, etc.). It is well to remember that tbe improvements make all the difference to the productivity' - of land, and in deciding upon the price payable for any particular piece of land, we must remember to allow ample margin for improvements, the ratio between the natural value and cost of improvements will of course vary according to circumstances. The rent payable for land may quite easily be above its economic value, but, leaving aside all speculative figures, we. cannot escape from the fact that the price of land inevitably tends to rise where, as is the . case in New Zealand, we have a limited supply and a constant demand. Capital.—Even when permanent improvements have been accounted for, there remains the necessity for working capital in order that we may exploit the resources of the land, and failures in farming of recent years have been due in no small measure to shortage of the necessary means for stocking and equipping the farm. Inadequate capital ' leads to the enforced utilisation of. inferior live stock, inefficient implements and a shortage of manure and seed; those all tend to bad farming, a low income, and a poor return for labour. It is not easy to fix definite figures, as circumstances vary so immensely, but probably £2 to £6 per acre for a grazing or pastoral farm and from £8 up to £15 or even £20 per acre for a dairy farm are fairly safe estimates. Working capital should yield interest, just as it would if invested outside the farm. Labour.—Owing to local conditions, such as the scarcity and costliness of skilled labour and the predominance of grassland farming, most of the work done on the farms of North Auckland (and the same applies to most of the Auckland Province) is performed by tlie farmers themselves and their families; but it must not be forgotten that such labour is entitled to -wages, even though those wages are partly represented bycheap living in the form of a house, milk, vegetables, etc. Another important point is the fact that labour and equipment and therefore working capital are closely interrelated. Inefficient equip-' ment raises the cost of labour per unit I of produce. Where indifferent cows are milked, the cost of labour per lb of butterfat is far higher than is the case where good cows are milked, because the poor cow requires nearly as much labour as the good one, and there is a smaller return. A weak or slow team means a higher cost per acre for cultivation, "and the facie rule applies through farming. The prosperity of New Zealand farming depends upon a high output per man. Bearing these three fundamental factors in mind, we can now discuss from a human point of view a few of the many interesting problems that farming presents. The size of the farm, for instance, depends largely upon the amount of capital available, and, seeing that in New Zealand there is an increasing population, a limited amount of land, and that the average farmer possesses only a small amount of capital, it is not only nationally desirable, but economically necessary, that the average farm, especially in the dairying industry, be comparatively small. The actual size will vary with the quality of the land and the type of farming adopted. The small farmer is, however, faced with high overhead expenses and soaiewhat greater working expenses per acre than is the large fanner; for instance, the same set of implements that will suffice for 5 acres will also 'be adequate for 50 acres, and a 3-acre paddock costs more per acre to fence than does a 30-acre paddock. This can be overcome to a large extent by co-operation among neighbours, at any rate as far as implements are concerned, a system that is often difficult to practise but well worth a trial, since the small farmer cannot well afford to purchase and maintain a good team and set of implements, yet j needs them urgently because he, above all others, must attain a high yield from his limited acreage. Intensive and extensive farming is a question that frequently occupies the attention of practical farmers as well as agricultural economists. Extensive farming rests on a low expenditure per acre, and is best represented by the large pastoral sbeep-rnns and cattle-' stations: it entails cheap land, involves little labour, and is justifiable in situations where transport is difficult. Intensive farming rests on a high return per acre, and is best represented by marketgardening and orcharding, and to a j certain extent by dairy farming. It is I justifiable, in fact necessary, on rich and I high-priced land where transport is good and labour abundant. Intensive methods j will have to be increasingly adopted as' the farming population increases. Intex- i sive farming does not necessarily imply cropping, since pastures can be fanned quite intensively, but it is a common feature of small intensive dairy farms that a certain proportion of the land is devoted to crops in order to get the best results from the pastures. In the j most highly developed parts of Taranaki, for -instance, the proportion of crops to grass varies from 1:7 to 1:15,1 and, under certain conditions, such as j light land better adapted to crops than to grass, a high proportion is often advisable. j i X3V>-bc~con tinned^, —*?