RESULTS OF FARMING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 19197, 10 December 1925, Page 16

RESULTS OF FARMING.

RETURN IN EUROPE. REPORTS FROM DENMARK. ENGLISH COMPARISONS. Some interesting information has recently been given in the British Journal of Agriculture, on the capital invested in small farms in several European countries and the returns obtained per acre for money invested. The figures given are largely quoted from Dr. Larsen's report on farm costings in Denmark. This gentleman collected statistics from over 400 farms of different sizes in that country and shows the weakness and the strength of the small holding. In dealing with the gross output of farms in the years from 1917 to 1923, he says that the average gross output per acre for farms under 25 acres is £2O Is; from 25 to 50 acres it is £ls per aero •while from farms of from 100 to 250 acres it is £l2 per acre. The total amount of money invested in these farms is put down at from £39 17s to £55 10s per acre, made up as follows: — On farms under 25 acres, cost of land, £l6 10s per acre; building, £lB 8s per acre; working capital, £2O 12s per acre. These figures graduate slowly through the 25 to 50 acres: and the 50 to 75 acres, to the 100 to 250 acres; where the value of land is put down at £l9 18s per acre; buildings, £lO 2s per acre and working capital, £lO. 7s per acre; representing a total capital invested of £39 17s per acre. The most important figures given, are those relating to returns per acre after all expenses have been met, including wages to the farmer at ordinary labouring rates. The figures show that on farms of under 25 acres, the capital invested per acre, is £55 10s; the output per acre, £2O Is; the cost of upkeep per acre is £l7 10s; showing a net balance per acre of £2 lis, or, sifter allowing a normal interest on capital invested of £2 15s per acre; the actual return to the farmer is 4s per acre. Put in another way, the farmer, after receiving the wages of a hired man, receives 2| per cent, on the money he has invested and a bidance of 4s per acre above this small sum.

In the case of larger farms, the returns vary in regular gradation, the capital invested in farms of 100 to 250 is £39 18s, and the output per acre, £l2 4s, while the cost of upkeep is £9 5s per acre, and the net balance, £3, or, after allowing for normal interest, the actual return is £1 per acre. Returns- in England. Mr. A. G. Euston, of the Department of Agriculture, Leeds University, author of the article in the British Agriculture Journal from which we quote says:—" In this respect (the returns per acre), there is on broad general lines an almost uniform agreement between the results obtained by Dr. Larsen, in Denmark; Dr. Laur in Switzerland and those which we have obtained from a more detailed study of a smaller number of farms in Yorkshire. In none of these cases is the small hold- , ing of 30 acres which is so common on the Continent found to be the most economic .unit. After allowing for a normal rate of interest on the capital invested in the holding, and charging the labour of the small holder himself, at the normal rate paid to the hired man, there has been during the last seven years, an annual yearly deficit of 4s per acre on the small holdings under 25 acres. The efficiency of the holding increased with its size up to a maximum which was reached on farms of between 75 and 100 acres, on which a surplus of 30s per acre was obtained -and then f?!l ofi steadily as the holding increased, the surplus on farms of over 250 acres being approximately £1 per acre. The records of Dr. Laur show that if a man be placed on a holding of under 12Jr acres, he would be £2 3s 6d an aero, or roughlv 10s a week better off were he employed as a hired man on a larger farm and were the money which he has sunk or other holding invested in corporation or other Trustee stock. The records of Dr. Larsen show that if a man be placed on a holding of just under 25 acres, he would be 4s an acre, £5 a year, or roughly 2s a week, better off were he to hire himself out on a larger farm and invest his money again in trustee stock instead of in his holding." Unfortunately none of the these authorities mention whether the figures they use include house rent for the farmer s family and the large proportion of their food which they must receive from the farm. If these are not included and there seems to be no mention of them the position of the small holder is by no means so bad as it-appears. What Small Farms are Capable oi. But if the returns from land are not so satisfactory to the individual farmer as could be desired, they show at any rate that small farms are capable of paying a big percentage of wages and of employing a large amount of labour for the amount paid per acre for wages, while ef under 25 acres is £8 12s per acre, and the number of men employed is 4 per acre, while on the farms of 100 to 250 acres the wage paid per acre is £4 2s and the number of men 5.4 per 100 acres. This goes to show that even in the older and colder countries the land is capable of carrying 4 very dense population. The facts which may be adduced from the above statistics and which are likely to be of the greatest interest to New Zealanders, are the low prices of land in European countries; the high cost of working land, and the low production per acre.

It would bo interesting to know what returns per acre could be obtained in New Zealand from farras of from 100 to 250 acres, if the fanner invested as much capital per acre as his European colleague namely £39 18s in which sum the land was put down at £2O per acre. In the first place the money invested in buildings would not be so large, nor would the amount paid per acre for wages while if the balance of the sum mentioned were devoted toward increasing production there is no doubt but what the average return per acre would be much larger.