Florida Agricultural Experiment Station


 APPLICATION OF LABOR AND MATERIAL REQUIRE-
 MENTS DATA

 PLANNING THE FARM BUSINESS
 The general organization of a farm should be planned so that
greatest profit is obtained from the use of the farm labor and
resources over a period of years. Such a plan must be flexible
to allow for annual adjustments based on price outlook. For a
particular farm there are probably several plans of organization
of approximately equal merit. The plan chosen will depend on
the personal likes of the operator.
 Labor and material requirements data are useful in planning
the most profitable use of land and labor.
 For the purpose of illustration a detailed study was made of a
small successful farm as it was operated in 1942. This 80-acre
farm has been under the management of the present operator
for 28 years. The farming is done with 1 mule except for
breaking land, which is done with 2 mules. The extra mule is
obtained by exchanging with a nearby 1-mule farmer. In this
way both farmers break land with 2 mules. The general organi-
zation of the farm is similar to most farms in western Florida.
The farm organization as operated in 1942 is shown in Table 16.
For purposes of illustration, normal yields for the area and
1935-39 average prices are used both in the 1942 plan and in
the alternative plan shown in Table 17.
 Cash crops are shown in the first section of Table 16. Feed
crops and the kind and number of livestock to which the feed
crops were fed are shown in the second part of the table. The
last part of the table shows the livestock sales. Based on normal
yields for the area and 1935-39 average prices, the normal cash
receipts for this farm would be $435 a year under the 1942 and
previous organization.
 An alternative plan is presented in Table 17 which is arranged
in the same order as Table 16. The feed requirements used in
Table 17 are based on the standards already presented in this
publication.
 The alternative plan calls for 0.6 more acres of sugarcane
because man labor requirements on this farm were light during
the fall months when sugarcane is harvested. The farm is well
equipped with a good sheltered mill so that this additional acre-
age could be handled. The alternative plan also calls for fewer
but better tended cattle because the farm does not provide