range a better
rotation of crops. A five-year and, even better, a six-year rotation,
is more effective than a four-year in maintaining the crop-producing
power of the soil and enables the farmer to reduce his cost of
production. It is possible to keep a larger proportion of the farm in
grass and other forage crops, thus reducing the amount of land plowed
annually and at the same time decreasing the exhaustion of the land,
provided the forage crops are fed to live stock upon the farm.

There is an old Flemish proverb which reads:

"No grass, no cattle;
No cattle, no manure;
No manure, no crops."

The point of this proverb is that good grass is the basis of good
agriculture. Investigations have shown that one may go farther and say
that one of the most ready means of increasing the crop-producing
power of the soil is by adding fertilizers to grass land. The large
number of plants per acre enables the plants to utilize the fertilizer
to the highest degree, and plowing under the resulting dense sod is
one of the most effective methods of enriching the soil.

(6) Animals require constant care, thus making possible a more
constant use of labor and other capital. The wheat farmer of North
Dakota sows his wheat in April and May and harvests it in July and
August. He usually threshes it immediately, and is practically without
employment for himself, his teams or his men from September until
April. On live stock farms the labor employed in the summer in the
field is needed in the winter in paddocks and stables.

(7) The management of live stock, including the rearing of poultry and
the manipulation of dairy products, may be made to require a higher
skill than the production of farm crops as ordinarily practiced. The
communities which have given the most attention to dairying and to the
rearing and fattening of animals have generally been the most
prosperous.

DISADVANTAGES OF KEEPING LIVE STOCK

(1) Keeping live stock increases the capital required to operate a
given area of land, especially where animals are kept in connection
with the production of hay and grain. Not only must there be capital
with which to purchase animals, but usually more is invested in
buildings. In a self-contained farm--that is, one which raises
sufficient food for the requirements of the live stock--ten dollars an
acre may be considered a moderate investment