XI B R.AR.Y OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 6.3.O.7 NOTICE: Return or renew all Library Materials! The Minimum Fee for each Lost Book is $50.00. The person charging this material is responsible for its return to the library from which it was withdrawn on or before the Latest Date stamped below. Theft, mutilation, and underlining of books are reasons for discipli- nary action and may result in dismissal from the University. To renew call Telephone Center, 333-8400 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN DEC 2 L161 0-1096 Organization and Operation I of Farms in the CLAYPAN AREA OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS With Special Reference to Wayne County By A. J. Cross and J. E. Wills Bulletin 579 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION IN COOPERATION WITH THE BUREAU OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CONTENTS Page CHARACTERISTICS OF CLAYPAN SOILS 3 CHANGES RESULTING FROM MECHANIZATION 4 GENERAL TENURE PATTERN IN THE AREA 5 SOIL-TYPE CLASSES IN WAYNE COUNTY 12 GROUPING OF SAMPLE FARMS 15 SIZE OF FARM AND TENURE AS RELATED TO SOILS. . . 18 LAND USE ON SAMPLE FARMS 18 LAND MANAGEMENT AND CROPPING PLANS 24 GRAIN RAISED, SOLD, AND FEED BOUGHT 27 LIVESTOCK PROGRAMS 28 POWER, EQUIPMENT, AND LABOR 39 BUILDINGS 43 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 43 APPENDIX TABLES . ,.49 Urbana, Illinois August, 1954 Publications in the Bulletin series report the results of investigations made or sponsored by the Experiment Station Organization and Operation of Farms in the Claypan Area of Southern Illinois By A. J. CROSS and J. E. WILLS' IN THE CLAYPAN SOILS area of southern Illinois farms are typi- cally small, investments of capital are small, and income from farming is low. These conditions are closely related to the character- istics of the soils and the tenure pattern in the area. The cover illus- tration shows the location of this area. The purpose of this study was to obtain more precise information than has been available concerning the resources of the farms in this area, their organization and methods of operation and their manage- ment problems, as background for further study of the opportunities for making profitable adjustments on individual farms. The necessary information was obtained by studying 198 farms selected by an enumerative sampling procedure. The farms were all located in Wayne county and each consisted of 30 acres or more. They were representa- tive of most of the operating units in Wayne county, those on claypan soils in the neighboring counties of Clay, Jefferson, Marion, Richland, Hamilton, and Edwards, and a large number of farms in other parts of the claypan area. Although the soils are similar, a large number of farms in the northwest part of the area differ considerably from those in Wayne county because they are in the St. Louis milkshed. A large number in the southern part of the area are somewhat different be- cause they are near coal mines. Many miners in that section operate small part-time farms. Although incomes generally are low, progressive farmers in the claypan area are demonstrating the possibilities for better farming by (1) improving their land, thereby increasing the acre-yields of crops; (2) keeping more dairy cattle, beef cattle, or sheep to consume the greater amounts of better-quality forage produced; and (3) using more effectively their available family labor in their farming operations. CHARACTERISTICS OF CLAYPAN SOILS Claypan soils are acid, they are lacking in abundant natural fer- tility, and they are underlain by an almost impermeable subsoil known as claypan. This subsoil prevents natural underdrainage during rainy periods and keeps moisture beneath the subsoil from reaching the roots 1 A. J. CROSS, formerly Cooperative Agent, Bureau of Agricultural Economics, U. S. De- partment of Agriculture; and J. E. WILLS, Professor of Farm Management, Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station. 4 BULLETIN No. 579 [August, of plants when the weather is dry. As a result, when these soils are not properly treated and managed, yields are extremely low. Even though the management is good, crops on these soils suffer noticeably from a deficiency of moisture after 10 or 15 rainless days. In the absence of open drainage ditches, water stands on the level or nearly-level land for several days after a heavy rainfall. Because there is only a short period in the spring when these soils are not too wet or too dry to work, timeliness of operations is essential for successful grain production. If soil conservation practices are not used where there is considerable slope, water runs off rapidly and often causes serious erosion. CHANGES RESULTING FROM MECHANIZATION Although mechanization was delayed in the claypan area, it has increased greatly in recent years and has had a marked influence on farming. According to the U. S. Census, one out of nine farms in the 20-county area had tractors in 1930, one out of four in 1940, and three out of five in 1950. In the present study seven out of ten Wayne county farms of 30 acres and larger had tractors in 1948. 1 Because of the physical condition of claypan soils, the influence of mechanization has been particularly great. In most seasons these soils are in good working condition only for short periods. The acreage that could be plowed and tilled with horsepower was definitely limited, and previous to mechanization large acreages were idle or in grass. In- creased mechanization was an important influence in causing the fol- lowing changes in the 20 claypan counties: 1. Average size of farm increased from 112 acres in 1930 to 114 acres in 1940 and to 127 acres in 1950. 2. Total acreage of idle cropland and crop failure declined from 757,000 in 1929 to 367,000 in 1949, or from 16 percent to 7 percent of all land in farms. 3. Total area in soybeans increased from 78,000 acres in 1929 to 267,000 acres in 1939 and to 766,000 acres in 1949. 4. Total area in corn increased from 818,000 acres in 1929 to 832,000 acres in 1939 and to 901,000 acres in 1949. In 1949 soybeans were grown on a larger proportion of the cropland in this area than in any other area of Illinois. Roughly half the in- crease in corn and soybean acreages from 1929 to 1949 is accounted for by the decrease in idle cropland. The other half is accounted for mainly by a reduction in redtop for hay, pasture, and seed production. 1 In the economic area including Wayne county 87 percent of all farms of 100 acres and more reported tractors in the 1950 Census, 42 percent reported combines, and 23 percent reported corn pickers. 19641 FARMS IN THE CLAYPAN AREA OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS GENERAL TENURE PATTERN IN THE AREA A few active Wayne county operators carry on intensive farming programs on one small tract of land, and a few others have tracts large enough to support extensive farming. But most of these operators carry on extensive farming programs on two or more tracts that are not contiguous (Fig. 1) or, if contiguous, are not owned by the same individuals. The tract on which the farm headquarters is located is usually owned by the operator. This tract generally has a higher percentage of its area in grasses and legumes than any of the others, and usually accounts for the greater proportion of the hay and pasture produced on the farm (Fig. 2). The additional tracts, particularly when rented, are used mainly for the production of corn and soybeans. Most operators who rent land rent individual fields or farms on a crop-share basis. Only three livestock-share leases were found among the farms surveyed. When individual fields are rented for grain, the predominant renting agreement provides that the operator receive two-thirds of the crop and the landlord one-third. If a farmer cuts a field of hay he receives half and the landlord receives half. When a farm is rented under a crop-share lease, the operator usually receives two-thirds of the grain produced and half the hay. He has the use of the farmstead and pasture free of charge or pays the landlord a small amount of cash rent for it. Change in activity of operators. Many farmers in this area, after they pass their most active years, gradually reduce the size of their farm business, but they continue to live on the headquarters tract. Farm A 574 acres Farm B 264 acres Farm C 260 acres Farm D 55 acres The location of the tracts farmed by four Wayne county operators indi- cates the complexity of the tenure pattern in the claypan area of southern Illinois. (Fig. 1) BULLETIN No. 579 [August, OWNED FARMS RENTED PART OWNED ALL FARMS OWNED FARMS RENTED PART OWNED HEADQUARTERS TRACT - ACRES 20 I 4O 60 80 100 120 OTHER TRACTS - ACRES 20 40 i 60 I 80 I 100 I 120 Use of tillable land on headquarters tracts and on other tracts. Average of 198 Wayne county farms, 1948. (Fig. 2) During this transition period of 10 to 20 years a farmer may first rent fewer acres; later he may stop renting and farm only the land he owns. Still later he may rent to younger farmers, on a share basis, some of his tillable land that is best adapted to corn and soybeans. Although livestock numbers are gradually reduced during the tran- sition period, a number of farmers still keep enough livestock to con- sume most of the grain they receive as rent. Some farmers, as they grow older, carry almost as many livestock as they did when they were most active. On these livestock farms most of the reduction in farm income is due to the fact that there is considerably less grain to sell or to the fact that part of the livestock feed previously produced on the farm must be purchased. In the semiretired or retired years the only farming the operator does is to milk one or two cows, take care of a small flock of chickens, grow a garden, or concern himself with some other enterprise that re- quires only a limited amount of effort. Tenure status. As previously indicated, the most active operators own part of the land they are farming and rent part. Of the 198 farms surveyed 106, or 54 percent, were operated by members of this group (Table 1). The land in these farms totaled about 58 percent of all the land farmed, about 56 percent of all the land owned, and approxi- 1954} FARMS IN THE CLAYPAX AREA OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 7 mately 60 percent of all the land rented. Although only 34 of the re- maining 92 farms consisted entirely of rented land and 58 consisted entirely of owned land, each of these two groups accounted for ap- proximately the same percentage of the acreage sampled. This was because practically all 34 operators of rented farms were active and therefore farmed relatively large units, while a large number of the 58 operators of owned farms were approaching retirement or were semi- retired and had considerably reduced the acreage they farmed. Table 1. Acres and Percentage of Owned and Rented Land on 198 Farms in Three Tenure Groups in Wayne County, Illinois, 1948* Owned farms Rented farms Part-owned farms All farms Number of farms .... 58 34 106 198 Percent of farms .... 29 17 54 100 Owned land Acres 8,706 11,232 19,938 Percent 43.7 56.3 100.0 Rented land Acres 8,269 12,340 20,609 Percent 40.1 59.9 100.0 All land Acres 8,706 8,269 23,572 40,547 Percent 21.5 20.4 58.1 100.0 a Farm survey. All farms include 30 or more acres. Size of farms as related to tenure. The average farm comprised about 205 acres (Table 2). Owned farms, with 150.1 acres, were con- siderably smaller than the average farm, while part-owned farms and rented farms, with 222.4 and 243.2 acres respectively, were somewhat larger than the average. About 41 percent of the owned farms were smaller than 100 acres, but none of the rented farms and only about 11 percent of the part- owned farms were smaller than 100 acres. Only 14 percent of the owned farms were larger than 260 acres, whereas 44 percent of the rented farms and 28 percent of the part-owned farms were larger. These facts are shown graphically in Fig. 3. The chief reason why the average owned farm is considerably smaller than the farms in the other two groups is that a large number of these operators are past middle age and are semiretired. They do not rent additional tracts. They carry on a reduced farming program on their headquarters tract, and they rent out some of their tillable land to younger farmers. Another reason for the smaller average size of owned farms is that some of these farms are owned by young men who are part-time farmers actively engaged in nonfarm work. BULLETIN No. 579 o: 49 O> OO^H^CDCOO-JC . . . . c, O O GO I> O t~ "*! C (M C 00 O5 (N I-H * ,-H CO ... .QO H ~ 03 C^iO^OOoOOOCO^ 0^ 00 . OOOt^-OlCO X d'^'CD'* 1C CO 00 I-H CO CO ^H (M CO O "S O^COiOOOC^O . . . - ^ ^ r-t O CO O CO OS (M CO GO ^H (M CO T-H C*-J H T-H ^ -t J 03 d S CO^t-COOOO(MC - -* H H g g o GO CO T-H C^l CO Oj CN O- CD Q5 >AJ ^i D -4 H s 1 P o Oi^t t ( H V O3 te g OJ O 1C iO 00 CO * (M (M T-H1>GO O OCC u o ^^ O^TjHQOt^lM CO 00-*-HCD- d" 5 - - i T3 5 C ? S2- (S 03 CD COCO iO t-H (N ... . t^ t^ O t^ CO O GO T-H (M GO C35 CD C<1 Oi 00 CO GO O CO CD CO O5 (M C 00 CO !M iO * JB" ^ D i 03 d) T-H CO o^ ^o ^f oo co co co f ^ ... . ^5 02 *2 rt w t-'o ^ fc ) n 03 g T-H OO O T)H GO CO O CO t " O D 13 ocT JS P^ CO CO iO GO 5 QJ ~ ^5 N J M 1 CO co co o^ c^ ^^ GO co ^t* oo oi t^* *-H co| t>- CO t^~ CO CO t*- Tf iO O^ 'O ^^ CO T-H CO t^ CO T-H CO iO ^H_O ^ >^ s -kJ 4 2 o S D S - o a . ^ 0) _ 4 11 03 -- = : j C C 1 " p3 ^ ^ fi o3 ^ . c3 r ^j r*^ ^ 1 k illi 1 1 *O ^ S U.-rt *-H *; -Co 0) 2 ^ :: is ^t_J 5 03 o3o3 C -^ -, c . *' C i- 03 S-^3 fib ^-3 - ^3 -0 ^ ,H ro 03 ^^ gj ^i 53 ^O t_i ra rt W t-c *O ^ ^g^-g^l 80 ^5oo js -^ fofS ,3 ^ >iH a 2 -22 f" 1 Ss^^" 1 TI a> oJ r O "T3^i flJ 53 ^ rto gg j sOc a}O>-H*^; S PH O -s -> r73 .0 O gj H S H PH 19541 FARMS IN THE CLAYPAX AREA OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 20 PERCENT OF FARMS 40 60 OWNED FARMS RENTED PART OWNED ALL FARMS 30-99 ACRES PER FARM JIOO-I79 fx?ll80-259 {260-339 340-839 Percentage of farms in various size-groups in Wayne county, 1948. Total of 198 farms. (Fig. 3) The difference of 20.8 acres between the part-owned farms and rented farms is attributable primarily to a difference in renting agree- ments and perhaps slightly to a difference in the age and activity of the operators. The average operator of rented farms was approximately four years younger than the average part-owner operator (Table 3). Operators who farm only rented land usually rent one fairly large own- ership unit; the headquarters tract, and the woodland and wasteland on this unit are included in the total acreage. Operators who own a small headquarters tract and rent fields, rent only tillable land; and woodland and wasteland on the ownership unit on which the rented fields are located are not included in the total acreage. Table 3. Tenure Data for Sample Farms" Item Owned farms Rented farms Part-owned farms All farms Number of farms 58 34 106 198 Total tracts . 94 103 433 630 Tracts per farm 1.6 3.0 4.1 3.2 Percent of farms with One tract 56.9 26.5 21.2 Two to four tracts. . . . 43.1 58.9 65.1 57.6 Five or more tracts . . 14.6 34.9 21.2 Average acres in tracts Headquarters tracts . 116 4 157.9 78.1 103.0 Other tracts. 54 3 42.1 46.8 46.6 All tracts . 92.6 80.0 54.4 64.4 Average age of operators, years . . 52 39 43 45 8 Farm survey, Wayne county, 1948. All farms include 30 or more acres. 10 BULLETIN No. 579 [August, Land use as related to tenure. The average rented and part-owned farms, as just pointed out, had about the same acreages of tillable land, and their land-use programs were quite similar. The average owned unit had about 60 acres less tillable land and a land-use pro- gram that was quite different from the other two. Although rented farms had 53.0 percent of their tillable land in corn and soybeans and part-owned farms had 52.6 percent, owned farms had only 30.4 percent ; and although the rented farms had 14.1 and part-owned farms 11.5 percent of their tillable land in small grain, the owned farms had only 4.8 percent. However, owned farms had about 58 percent of their tillable land in grasses and legumes, while part-owned farms had only 32.8 percent, and rented farms only 27.6 percent. The above data and that in the following paragraph will be found in Table 2, page 8. Since the owned land on part-owned farms is made up primarily of headquarters tracts, and the rented land made up of tracts other than headquarters, there was a larger share of the owned land in grasses and legumes. About 42 percent of the owned tillable land was in corn and soybeans, about 11 percent was in small grain, and approx- imately 45 percent was in grasses and legumes ; while about 62 percent of the rented tillable land was in corn and soybeans, about 12 percent was in small grain, and only 23 percent was in grasses and legumes. Tracts per farm as related to tenure. The average number of tracts per farm was 3.2 (Table 3). The part-owned group averaged 4.1 tracts, the rented group 3.0 tracts, and the owned group 1.6 tracts per farm. About 57 percent of owned farms had only one tract of land, while 26.5 percent of rented farms and none of the part -owned farms con- sisted of only one. About 43 percent of the owned farms, 59 percent of the rented farms, and 65 percent of the part-owned farms had from two to four tracts of land. About 15 percent of the rented farms and 35 percent of the part-owned farms had five or more tracts. 1 The lower activity of the operators who owned their farms, as already pointed out, accounts for the relatively small number of tracts per farm in that group. Because part-owned farms usually have a smaller headquarters tract than rented farms, it is necessary- for oper- ators of these farms to rent more tracts other than headquarters in order to have a comparable size of farming unit. Size of tracts as related to tenure. Headquarters tracts, averaging 103 acres, were considerably larger than tracts other than headquar- ters, which averaged 46.6 acres (Table 3). The average headquarters tract on rented farms comprised 157.9 acres, on owned farms 116.4 acres, and on part-owned farms 78.1 acres. 1 If all contiguous tracts were considered as one unit, the number of tracts per farm would be reduced from 3.0 to 2.8 on rented farms, from 4.1 to 3.7 on part-owner farms, and from 32 to 2.8 on all 198 farms surveyed. 1954] FARMS IN THE CLAYPAN AREA OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 11 The average size of tracts other than headquarters varied less than did the headquarters tracts. The average tract of 54.3 acres on owned farms was only slightly larger than the average tract on part-owned and rented farms of 46.8 and 42.1 acres respectively. This difference is probably due to the fact that woods and wasteland are included with the owned tracts while part-owners and renters who rent tracts other than headquarters generally rent only that part of the ownership unit that can be used for crop production. Factors influencing tenure pattern. The preceding analysis shows the complexity of farm tenure in the claypan region. This complexity exists because the majority of the farmers in the area, being part- owners, operate several tracts of land that either are not contiguous or, if contiguous, are located on different ownership units. Many influ- ences, several of which are quite evident and others of which are not easily discernible, are responsible for the present tenure pattern. Since many operators or their widows choose, in later life, to remain in a semiretired status on the land they own, and rent part of it rather than sell it, there are a large number of ownership units on which fields are rented out to one or several operators. Part-time farmers often operate part of the land they own and rent out the rest of it. Most absentee landowners in Wayne county fall into two general classifications. Those in one group rent out their land as a farming unit, expect an income from it, and help the tenant in organizing a profitable farming program. Another group of owners retain title to their land even though they obtain little or no agricultural income from it. They do this because oil wells are common in Wayne county and they feel there is a reasonable possibility of oil being discovered on their property, and perhaps for other reasons. Some of them let local people live in the farmhouse and have what they produce on the land, or they give them the privilege of subrenting the land in return for their taking care of any business connected with the farm or for paying taxes on it. When there is no farmhouse, some owners give nearby operators what they can produce on the land, or the privilege of subrenting it. for performing the same service. Others rent out fields to nearby operators on a share basis without too much concern about returns. So long as this situation exists there is likely to be a complex tenure pattern on a large percentage of the land belonging to absentee owners. Recent trend in tenure. Although field-renting has been a common practice in Wayne county for several decades, a noticeable increase in the percentage of farms that are part-owned indicates that in recent years the tenure pattern has become more complex. According to the U. S. Census, about 33 percent of Wayne county farms were part- 12 BULLETIN No. 579 [.August, owned in 1930, about 34 percent in 1940, and nearly 43 percent in 1945. More than 50 percent of the survey farms were in this category in 1948. This increase is probably attributable more to mechanization than to any other single factor. Many younger farmers who have accumulated savings in recent years have invested their money in machinery and equipment in preference to buying land, and have rented several tracts in addition to the land they own in order to make more effective use of their machinery and equipment, thereby increasing the average number of tracts per farm. Advantages and disadvantages of present tenure practices. A claypan farmer who operates two or more tracts of land has at least three disadvantages that one who is in a position to confine his operations solely to one tract does not have: (1) He must spend considerable time traveling to work, moving equipment from one tract to another, and hauling grain and hay he intends to feed or store to the headquarters tract. (2) As he may rent several tracts for only one season, it is difficult for him to plan a complete farming program for a period longer than a year. (3) As he rents from more than one landowner, he must make several different renting agreements. Despite these and other disadvantages, most operators who farm additional tracts have increased their incomes considerably by doing so because they have thereby been able to make more effective use of their available labor and machinery. Field renting is attractive to farmers because it does not require a cash outlay for the land, build- ings, or equipment that would be needed in a program built around intensive enterprises such as poultry or dairy. SOIL-TYPE CLASSES IN WAYNE COUNTY 1 Preliminary analysis and observation indicated that soils in Wayne county could be grouped into five soil-type classes. Two classes include only one type, and three classes include two or more soil types. Soil types in the same class have approximately the same slope, about the same productive capacity, and similar erosion and management problems. Operators usually do not distinguish one from another for farming purposes. The amounts of land in these different soil-type classes in Wayne county and in the farms surveyed are shown in Tables 4 and 5. Bottomland soils. The seven soil types that make up the bottom- land class cover nearly 27 percent of Wayne county and account for a little over 29 percent of the land on the farms surveyed. They are 1 For a more detailed description of soil-type classes, see Wayne County Soils. 111. Agr. Exp. Sta. Soil Report 49, 1931. 1954] FARMS IN THE CLAYPAN AREA OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 13 usually flat, have poor natural drainage, are subject to occasional overflow on the upper levels and frequent overflow on the lower levels, and are often covered by backwater during the winter and spring months. In some localities where these soils are so poorly drained that they are not cropped, swamps are found and the land is covered with brush or timber. Gently sloping timber soils. The soil mapped as "No. 13, Gray silt loam on compact medium-plastic clay" in the Wayne county soil report is referred to as Bluford silt loam in the present study. This upland timber soil covers about 27 percent of the area of the county and about 23 percent of the area of the sample farms. There is consid- erable variation in slope, and serious erosion is common where needed conservation practices are not followed. 1 Surface drainage is good and subsurface drainage is fair. Poorly drained flat upland and terrace soils. 2 Poorly drained flat upland and terrace soils are practically level. Characterized by excep- tionally poor surface drainage and underdrainage, they account for approximately 21 percent of the county area and 23 percent of the area on the sample farms. Shallow ponds stand on the land in winter or spring when the weather is wet, and plants suffer extremely from lack of water when several summer days pass without precipitation. Because of the poor drainage, it is difficult to obtain good stands of alfalfa and some of the clovers on soils in this class. Gently sloping prairie soils. Gently sloping prairie soils, made up of Hoyleton and Richview silt loams, comprise approximately 17 per- cent of the county area and 16 percent of the area on the farms sur- veyed. They slope more than the soils of any of the other soil-type classes except gently sloping timber and steep and eroded soils. Because of the slope and poor underdrainage, these soils are subject to serious erosion when preventive measures are not used. Steep and eroded soils. Steep and eroded soils, covering about 8 percent of Wayne county and 8 percent of the area of the farms surveyed, very adequately describe Hickory loam, which is the only soil type included in this class. All this type is subject to destructive 1 In present soil-survey classification the type mapped as "No. 13, Gray silt loam on compact medium-plastic clay" in the county soil report would include Bluford silt loam with slopes of 1.5 to 3.5 percent and Ava silt loam with slopes of 3.5 to 7 percent. For detailed information on these and other soil types, see AG-1443, Illinois Soil Type Descriptions [processed]. 1950. 2 In this soil-type class, upland soils are much more extensive than terrace soils. Hereafter in this publication, the class "poorly drained flat upland and terrace soils" is referred to as "poorly drained flat upland soils." Farms on which these soils are predominant are referred to as "flat upland farms." 14 BULLETIN No. 579 Table 4. Soil Types Comprising Five Classes of Soils in Wayne County, Illinois" [August, Classes, type numbers, and names Percent of county Classes, type numbers, Percent of and names county Bottomland soils No. 108 Bonnie silt loam. . . 72 Sharon loam 23.97 1.78 .75 .83 .07 .03 .02 27.45 26.72 15.77 . 1.35 17.12 Poorly drained flat upland and terrace soils No. 2 Cisne silt loam 7.24 6.59 .02 3.08 1.68 1.19 1.08 20.88 7.83 84 Okaw silt loam . . . 70 Beaucoup silty clay loam . ... 12 Wynoose silt loam . . 1 1 Loy silt loam 10 Deep gray silt loam* . 1 Rinard silt loam* . . . 48 Ebbert silt loam* . . . 26 Wagner silt loam* . . . Total 71 Beaucoup clay 75 Drury silt loam . . . 92 Perks sand Total Gently sloping timber soils No. 13 Bluford silt loam. . Gently sloping prairie soils No. 3 Hoyleton silt loam . . . " 4 Rich view silt loam. . . Total Steep and eroded soils No. 8 Hickory loam a Compiled from Soil Report 49, Wayne County Soils, 111. Agr. Exp. Sta. After Soil Report 49 was published, names of soil types were changed to those shown here. * Soil types that occur on stream terraces. erosion. Where the original covering of timber has been removed and the land has been cultivated, gullies as deep as 15 feet are not uncom- mon. Most of this type is best suited to timber, but if special precau- tions are taken, some of the less rolling slopes can be used for pasture. Table 5. Acres and Percentages of Five Classes of Soil Types on Sample Farms and in Wayne County as a Whole Soil-type class Sample farms" Wayne county Acres Percent Acres Percent Bottomland soils 11,746 9,379 9,181 6,531 3,135 39,972 b 29.39 23.46 22.97 16.34 7.84 100.00 124,512 121,146 94,617 77,638 35,520 453,433 27.45 26.72 20.88 17.12 7.83 100.00 Gently sloping timber soils . . . Poorly drained flat upland and ter- race soils ' .... Gently sloping prairie soils Steep and eroded soils All classes a Farm survey, Wayne county, 1948. All farms include 30 or more acres. b There were actually 40,547 acres in the farms surveyed. Farms with land in both Wayne and an adjoining county were included in the sample if 50 percent or more of their acreage was in Wayne county. Parts of farms, totaling 575 acres, were in adjoining counties, and the soil types on this acreage were not ascertained. 1954] FARMS IN THE CLAYPAN AREA OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 15 GROUPING OF SAMPLE FARMS With the soil-type class used as a basis, 194 of the 198 sample farms were divided into six different groups as indicated in Table 6 and as described below. Each farm was located on the soil map and the approximate acreage of each soil type ascertained. The four remaining farms, which had 55 percent or more of their area in steep and eroded soils, were not included in the analysis as a separate group because they are representative of only a small number of farms in the county, and furthermore averages of items from only four farms would not be of much significance statistically. The main purpose of the rest of this report is to present an analysis and comparison of the farming programs on these six groups of farms. Bottomland farms. Each farm in this class had 55 percent or more of its area in bottomland soils. The average bottomland farm had about 70 percent in these soils. Timber soil farms. Each timber soil farm had 55 percent or more of its area in gently sloping timber soils. The average farm in this group had about 66 percent of its area in these soils. Flat upland farms. Each farm in this group had 55 percent or more of its area in poorly drained flat upland soils, or in these soils and gently sloping prairie soils, but the flat upland soils made up a larger percentage of the total farm area than the sloping prairie soils. The average flat upland farm had about 57 percent of its area in poorly drained flat upland soils. Prairie soil farms. Each prairie soil farm had 55 percent or more of its area in gently sloping prairie soils, or in these soils and poorly drained flat upland soils, but the sloping prairie soils made up a larger percentage of the total farm area than the flat upland soils. The average prairie soil farm had about 67 percent of its area in gently sloping prairie soils. Bottomland-upland farms. All these farms had a higher percent- age of their area in bottomland soils than in any other class of soil types, but on no farm was the percentage more than 55. The average bottomland-upland farm had about 41 percent of its acreage in bot- tomland soils. Mixed-upland farms. All these farms had a higher percentage of their area in gently sloping timber soils than in any other class of soil types, but on no farm was the percentage more than 55. The average mixed-upland farm consisted of about 39 percent gently sloping timber soils. 16 BULLETIN No. 579 s a ^H t- ~ t- TJH is? 1 ^ IM CN i < O i-H o .-^ ^^ * CO co -^ ** o oo cs co 5 CJ , o OS t- CO CO >C (M * 1C Tj* Tf< CO ^H O c a, 1C 1 1 ^ 1C ! 1 li ercen CO 1C O CN 00 O2 O Tt< 00 1-H (N i-H T-l O 1-H CO CN *-l i-H O OQ PH 1 1 2" i 1- QJ C $ O (M 1C I-H CO t- OC o > S *** 5 O5 CO ^H Tf CO CO b- _X OJ 4 ^- ^H C^ t^ "^ C^ ^1 O5 JJ 1 11 z | 1 A,- - ^j "^ S 1 ?co C CO O t^- CN O ^C O "3 1 CH ^ g C) 06 00 00 O rh O ^ 1-H i-H i 1 O ^ ! -23 S PH 1-H - 2 j "S cs 3 " *: | Q*t-l S O t- CO CO O CN !> r3 u ) ) 4 i'S o -**' CO C Tf' ^H 00 * CM CN H ^ f ^ ) x a -u . 33 1 rzj' . CO 1C 1C t^ OO O O oo ~-" i_ 1 3 73 i fe CO CD O CO I-H O IM CD O ^ ^ 4 'S- no PH i-H ) ~" 5 > O ) 1^ o CO (M CO 00 O -* - o .2 M s ^ c a H I-H CO O 1C i-H i-H 4 _ |J /. Po - 3 73 ___^ e o * co c co o ^ =0 4 3 33 CO o 09 I> CO CD O (M Q I-H 1C Ct Q w -rt S c3 C A r _ < SJ3.S i S ll O cj 00 s C5 * X CN Ci (M ^""T a _33.G ^ K fl3-2 H CC ^" t- CO C: t> CN I-H w _ - J C *^ Os CO -H -CO rH ^M sT 33 0> C3 S'xS^ ^ G X^ ^ be "^ : M M to' ' 3 H *^ s 50 2 "o s } -f "c S'i'si ; S* i i"ol w E ^ c3**" J 4 a S , : ~^ ' _2 "w ^ w r^ 72 *"" "rt Oi " M C^ C2 *^O ^ O ^ ~ 5 ^ ^ C X ^*"1- J>; X ^*>- *" "^ ^*%^> '^ -^ ^ H -*- S'elJ'oJ'g'fll.l'las < J -5 " '}. C * G^ C * TS -*-* C g 1954} FARMS IN THE CLAYPAN AREA OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 17 Table 7. General Characteristics of Six Groups of Sample Farms* Bot- Flat Prairie torn- Mixed Item Bot- Tim- , 1 I 1. 1 I I I.I I I If tLlll- iVIIACU 411 upland soil land- upland AI1 farms fs f "" (30) (30) (33) (27) (35) (39) (198) b Acres per farm Owned 127.6 77 ,9 104, 3 84 .8 120.1 86 ,0 100.7 Rented 153.6 48 .8 110 ,9 72 .4 128.6 111 .8 104.1 Total 281.2 126 .7 215 2 157 .2 248.7 197 ,8 204.8 Percentage of acres tillable. . 78.1 86, 5 89. 9 89, ,4 76.0 82. 1 82.2 Tenure of farms Owned farms, percent .... 30.0 43 .3 30 3 37 .0 14.3 23 .1 29.3 Rented farms, percent . . . 33.3 3 .3 18, 2 7 .4 20.0 20 ,5 17.2 Part-owned farms, percent 36.7 53 A 51. 5 55 6 65.7 56 .4 53.5 Tracts per farm 3.0 2 .9 3. 2 2 ,9 3.5 3 3 3.2 Average size of tracts Headquarters, acres 142.5 78, 2 116. 2 88 ,6 100.0 95 ti 102.6 Other tracts, acres 69.3 26 44. 1 35 .6 58.5 44 ,3 57.5 All tracts, acres 93.7 44 2 66 4 53 .7 70.2 59 .8 64.4 Average age of operator. . . . 45 46 44 46 44 43 45 Crop yields per acre Corn, bushels 43 39 38 41 41 42 41 Soybeans, bushels 17 18 16 16 19 16 17 Wheat, bushels 16 14 11 12 19 14 15 Livestock per farm' 1 Milk cows, number 2.6 2, 2 3. 5 2 6 3.6 3 ,5 3.0 Other cattle, number .... 10.8 8, ,8 11. 1 7 ,4 16.6 9 ,8 10.9 Brood sows, number 2.5 1. 2 1. 9 ,8 2.1 1 4 1.7 Other hogs, number 17.0 10 11. 3 6 1 15.4 9, 3 11.5 Laying hens, number .... 145.5 139. 1 132. 6 114 9 168.3 142 7 140.6 Tractors Farms with 26 19 25 16 30 24 142 Farms without 4 11 8 11 5 15 56 Tractors per farm 1.3 8 9 6 1.1 7 .9 Labor per farm per year e Operator's, months 10.5 8. 1 10. 4 8, 9 10.7 11. 3 10.1 Family, months 3.9 2 9 3. 6 3 ,0 4.3 3. 3 3.5 Hired, months 3.5 5 2. 9 8 1.9 1. 9 1.9 Total 17.9 11. 5 16. 9 12! 5 16.9 16. 5 15.5 a Farm survey, Wayne county, 1948. All farms include 30 or more acres. b Four farms are included here that are not included in any of the six groups, as explained in footnote b, Table 6. c Corn yields were exceptionally high in Wayne county in 1948. According to the Illinois Crop-Reporting Service, the average for the five-year period 1935-1939 was 36 bushels. d Livestock included in ending inventory. e Hours of labor done by the family were recorded in terms of man-labor equiva- lent. Each farmer was asked by the enumerator to give the number of hours it would have taken a man to perform the amount of work done by individuals in these classes. 18 BULLETIN No. 579 [August, SIZE OF FARM AND TENURE AS RELATED TO SOILS The general features of the six groups of farms are summarized in Table 7. The average size of all farms surveyed was 204.8 acres, varying from 126.7 acres for the timber soil farms to 281.2 acres for the bottom- land farms. The prairie soil farms, with 157.2 acres, were next to the smallest in size, and were similar to timber soil farms in other general features. Bottomland-upland farms were above average in size, with 248.7 acres. Flat upland and mixed upland farms, with 215.2 and 197.8 acres respectively, were about average in size. Only on timber and prairie soil farms did the acreage of owned land exceed the acreage rented. In these two groups only 3 out of 57 farms were entirely rented, although 31 of the 57 operators rented a part of the land they operated. Ten of the 30 bottomland farms were entirely rented a much higher proportion than in any other group. On flat upland, bottomland-upland, and mixed upland farms about one farm in five was entirely rented. Operators of the two latter groups, and of bottomland-upland farms in particular, showed the greatest tendency to rent additional tracts of land to increase the size of their business. Only 14.3 percent of the operators of bottomland-upland farms owned all of the land they operated; 65.7 percent owned part and rented part. LAND USE ON SAMPLE FARMS The percentage of land classed by these farmers as tillable varied from about 75 on bottomland and bottomland-upland farms to about 90 on flat upland, sloping timber soil, and sloping prairie soil farms (Table 7) . In bottomland areas a good deal of the land is too wet for cultivation and has not been cleared. On upland farms, land classed as nontlllable is mainly steep land that has not been cleared or rolling land that is seriously eroded as a result of past cultivation. Some of this land is used for pasture but much of it is now covered by brush and small trees. Data concerning corn, soybeans, and small grain, cited in the fol- lowing paragraphs, will be found also in Table 8. Data on grasses and legumes appears in both Tables 8 and 9. Corn and soybeans. Corn and soybeans were grown on 59.5, 51.7, and 46.9 percent, respectively, of the tillable land on bottomland, bottomland-upland, and flat upland farms; and 44.1, 42.8, and 33.0 percent on the mixed upland, prairie soil, and timber soil farms. Corn acreages ranged from 26.9 on the timber soil farms to 68.5 on the bottomland-upland farms, and soybean acreages ranged from 9.2 on the timber soil farms to 69.0 on bottomland farms. 1954} FARMS IN THE CLAYPAN AREA OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 19 "fi Ci-H O5 CO CO OM O S & c^ O5 GO t^ O 00 0) C^ 1 1 Tf I-H i-H ^^ $ (M^t^GO GO GO CO * CO ^f ^^ GO o dddt^ CM CO GO CM ^ CD Tt* ^j >C CO GO I-H CO CD ^H C^l CO O 1-1 CM "d *= CO e,-^ S 1C CO I-H O CM >C IM O "aSS- g GO 1C * CNI OSTj* O 2 O^ i-H T^ i-H CO O 3 03 PH H 1 ^ 03 23 COCO CD 1C COCOCO CO OS CO 1C GO ^ S **H C o CD 1C I-H O3 coi> M 1C OS 1C t~- 0) ^j> 2 - 1-H CD CO l-H l-H CO OS o 11 i-H c O-,-~~ ^a "o ^3 C COOS 1C OS GO I-H t^ OS CD b- '3 "o fl J GO Oi t^ rt< CO CM O3 C^ OS CO O5 1C GO COC OS GO CM CO 1C ^ '3. PQ r2 l-H CM o CO -^x-s "S ct> (NCOOOCN coco I-H o K~ icM o t^ "C CN1 ^ CD CD O OH (M i-H ^ o PH 1-H O ^_ V s CO hr\ m oD cS CN OS i-l O2 I-H CO CC icoi d t-- OS CD l^- > o c 3 co a> PH CO I-H T}H l-H co ^ c o a r -5 js s CO OCO GO <* 1-H GO CO Tj< GO O GO CM ^'B o pr^ **-H u CO CO CO CO i-H T^ CO COGO ^H 1C ^ ^O ^ .^ co co os I-H GO OS i-H CM i-H 2 /.> l-H (M "^ 1-^ ~ cc o >- ^a a. a z 773^ d CO-*OO OOCOCD O i-s "p O (O 1 rt< GO CO * Oi-< *- o 5 co^ CM CO i-H 1C O I-H ^ 2 cT 18 1 OS C<) i-H CO 1 s - GO t > * CO ^ - ^ GO ^ 1 ^H **H O COOS CO tC 1C l-H OS CM rt< t^ CD ^^ ^. O ^ C CM O OT3 c" c3 co GO ^H OS I-H COIC O ^ o -~3 v ' Q^ CM CO>Ci-H CM CO i S r/1 PH c-2 ^_T O c P.O c^ S 2 03 ->H g g J2 -2.23 H 5 3 g ,a H ^ rt J2 u O P gOc coO HH ^^ IpnO ** H ^ H H 20 BULLETIN No. 579 [August, fl CS i ^ O>" o t^- "^ I* O t^ i-H O o3 CX <-*-< o 13 co I- 1 H^ 73 g ** y CA a U co ^ ^^.9 " ^^ | S o CO 35 >O CJ5 iO CO CO i-H CO i-H "O g > t-c O , "8^8 X B-io Y co C to C3 CO O 2*2 g- c/5 73 ^^ o ^ "O O O 13 c 1 ^ *g ( 3 1 co GO CJi CO Oi ^ "S u "3 ill ^2 <5 o 3 "o c o i-H CO O i-H S O5 O> d fl^ CO X M IS" P3 "^ O Tt< O O5 O i-H CS ft e a 03 sll Jl- 1 CO E 11 co S o l^-^ T-H " IO O rt< CO CO CO GO 3 ^ o *O o^ 8 c **^ CO CH fj "S -a , l>- CO CO O 00 O i-H 1 II.N & C r rt fa 32 +3 F J5 03 >-H CO CD d O O5 CN 1C CO t^ ' 00 * to co |jl| Ul 3 %M co'o.S 8* CL) O4 ! -^ MH w -in S o _ C iO O >O O O 3 ^^ bC o * W '3 f~^ S VH tZ_ O < r | 00 CO CD CO S rf IO O O O 1-H 1 3 gild V ^1 CO cp O5 GO CO O 3 ^^^- 3 EHS C< rsq ^q ^o t^ CM 2-d 03 CD g" .2 C "3 cs "* 3 a,'> > '^ H g I S g <4H 73 a -M OOC O 3 w jH^ O Co* Jg CO, I i-H i 1 I>- O "Jl'l s c c " ' PH i-H fi 3 ^S-rr-J ^ 1 II O o3 CO iO O O5 O 1C 1 O3 s OSOOt-^Ot^-Tfi O O O CD G G fe 4 T-H aj '^ . I > 3 +=> O 02 ft 03 O OO I> >O T I GO 00 T-H CO OS CO CO ' ' 03 03 1 > * "^ 1-H G O3 ^- H 83^3 ^- >^ hC ^ a ^ .S i "^ t> CO CO (M * O T-H O 1C *n S2 H &C-S n S iC-^OO-HHiC O "^ 3^ 03 o y PH o C^ T-H ^^ T-H T^l CO OO 1C T-H T-H O OS >c oo -^ co t> co O 03^-5 S 60 2 o G S S j r-K *^ **J T-H c^ c^i co P K ^ 5 S S "*? CC 5 -t T> i-* 3 t~ CNJ OS OS C CD T-H O C CM GO OS (M CO C0'o"2 OQ ^ C UO o* CM T-H rfH ^ o ^3 -C t>j o 3 PH H t bC C 03 i+B OGO OO CO OO CO 1C O T-H 111 ^ G -c 11 (^ 1 T-HOi-HiCOStM O CO (M T-H CO T-H * O 00 s3 s 1 8 32 tH T-H ^ o3 P ^c; 3 4 tj 03 S o <* O Tf CO GO O t^ (N T-H co TfH o co oo co O CO 00 -* (M 00 T-H l> B-S^ 4 3 o^ T-H CM T-H CO I> "^rs aT .XT! N oo -3 J 31 2 -2 n rjj ^_ r< CM CO GO t^ CM CM T-H O OS OS ^ -3 G 1-1 o i "fl-H P^ O5 OS OO CO OS *C O "^ CO (M CO T-H O t- *-> CD fi S -2 -2 - D H o'o -Ja 03 "o 03 Tj< 1C OS OS O CO T-H t~. oo >c co t> ic >c T-H co CO 1C OS 1C CO * CO O -^ O r- ' s | [> N B << CO (M 1C T-H GO a) o 2 ^^ *^ -3 *"O o3 H K^ O X co ^-.j S ' t^ ^ ^5 ^ "^ . S S -o - 13 a^ 3 . S ^ G G ^ o _ 1 - . bC -o ^ > cS '" O ^ ^ i j g| I! | : 3 (D G O3 O3 * tn c3 53 C '-J3 ^ . g-C"*- 3 3 0) ^_, oj*^W?^ EH ^ 4J S STj'io O3 P -2c^O p -3o3 oO QTO fe O M HH hH ua ~ >>H ^-S.SSH o> ,2 03 - u "0 gOj/2 MOnnS m'-S 2 t^ f~4 cC 19541 FARMS IN THE CLAYPAN AREA OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 23 varied from 2.8 per farm on the timber soil farms to 11.9 on the bottomland farms. The larger acreage of alfalfa and clover mixtures on the bottomland group than on the other five groups is largely attributable to alsike and ladino clovers grown on upper-level bottom- land soils. A number of farmers used soybeans, cowpeas, or small grain for hay and pasture. These crops accounted for about 7 percent of the hay and tillable pasture on the average farm. In general, farms with major soil types best adapted to soybeans had a higher percentage of hay land in "other crops" than did farms with major soil types not so adapted. While timber soil and prairie soil farms had approximately 0.5 and 4.7 percent, respectively, of hay and tillable pastureland in other crops, the other four groups had from 6.4 to 9.6 percent. Land use by soil-type classes. This section has been concerned primarily with a comparison of land-use programs on six groups of farms classified according to the predominant soil type on the farm. The adaptation of different crops to particular soil types is shown more clearly when land use is related to soil types rather than to farm units on which particular soil types predominate. These data are shown in Tables 10 and 11. Bottomland soils are obviously well suited to corn and soybeans. Over two-thirds of all tillable bottomland in the survey was in these two crops. Soybeans are particularly well adapted to bottomland be- cause they can be planted late in the spring on soils that dry out too Table 11. Proportion of Different Crops Grown on Tillable Land of Five Soil-Type Classes in Sample Farms* Use of land Bot- tom- land soils Gently sloping timber soils Poorly drained flat upland soils Gently sloping prairie soils Steep and eroded soils Soil type un- known 15 All soils Corn perct. 34.7 perct. 16.6 perct. 28.1 perct. 16.1 perct. 3.1 perct. 1 4 perct. 100 Soybeans" , 42.5 13.8 25.4 14.8 2.3 1 2 100 Small grain 16.6 34.4 23.7 17.7 6.3 1 3 100 Grasses and legumes . . Idle 13.4 33.7 31.0 13.4 24.0 22.2 21.9 22.7 7.5 7 3 2.2 7 100.0 100 Miscellaneous* 1 . 17.7 59 7 11.3 9.7 1 6 100 All tillable land . 26 2 23 3 25 3 18 5 5 1 1 6 100 a Farm survey, Wayne county, 1948. All farms included 30 acres or more. Four farms were not included in this analysis because fields on these farms could not be accurately located on the soil map, leaving 194 farms as the total in this analysis. b Includes parts of farms that were located in neighboring counties. c Includes cowpeas. d Includes buckwheat, cane, milo maize, orchards, popcorn, and sunflowers. 24 BULLETIN No. 579 [August, late to be planted to corn. Soybeans were grown on about 30 percent of the bottomland acreage, a much higher percentage than on any other soil type. Although bottomland made up only 26.2 percent of all tillable land in the sample farms, 42.5 percent of the total soybean acreage was on this land. Because it is wet and subject to overflow, bottomland is not well suited to small grains and standover legumes and grasses. The percentage of bottomland in these crops was lower than for any other soil types. Poorly drained flat upland soils are also relatively well adapted to corn and soybeans. Half the tillable area of these flat soils was in the two crops. In contrast, less than one-third of the tillable area of gently sloping timber soils was in corn and soybeans and about half was in grasses and legumes for hay and pasture. These upland timber soils made up 23.3 percent of all tillable land in the survey but were growing only 16.6 percent of the total corn acreage and 13.8 percent of the soybean acreage. On the other hand, they were growing about one-third of the total acreages of small grains and of grasses and legumes. Wheat is well adapted to sloping timber soils because such soils are better drained and wheat is not so likely to "freeze out" in the winter. Wheat also provides winter cover to protect the sloping soils from erosion. LAND MANAGEMENT AND CROPPING PLANS Cropping plans. Only 60 of the 198 farmers interviewed indicated that they followed a systematic crop rotation on part or all of their tillable land. There are a number of reasons for this situation. The land farmed as a unit includes typically more than one major soil type. Tenure is complex, multiple tracts and field-renting being common. Soybeans had been an important crop only in recent years and on many farms had not yet been worked into definite rotations. Each of these factors adds to the difficulty of establishing systematic cropping plans. A more or less regular shifting of upland fields from row crops and small grains to hay and pasture was reported on most farms as a means of maintaining fertility. Cropping plans that approach definite rotations were most frequently reported on headquarters tracts and on farms where all the land was owned by one person, either the operator or the landlord. Extremes in land use were frequent, par- ticularly on part-owner farms. On many of these farms all or a high proportion of the owned land was in hay and pasture. Livestock were kept on this land and fed grains produced on rented land. Corn yields of 70 to 90 bushels an acre were reported on some fields of owned land that had been operated in this manner for a number of years. At the other extreme were some rented fields that had been in continuous row crops until yields had dropped to a very low level. 1954} FARMS IN THE CLAYPAN AREA OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 25 Table 12. Treatment of Land in Intertilled and Small-Grain Crops and in Grasses and Legumes on Six Groups of Sample Farms 1 Treatment Inter- tille , d Grasses All small- 1 and tf*} 6 grain Ie 8 umes land crops Inter- i[ ^ Grasses All m Q Y, and tillable gn le * umes land crops Bottomland farms Timber soil farms Limestone only b perct. perct. perct. 8.7 42.6 16.8 perct. perct. perct. 14.8 26.2 20.6 Fertilizer only" 16.4 .9 12.7 25.8 12.6 Limestone and fertilizer d . . . No treatment. . 19.4 8.9 16.9 55.5 47.6 53.6 35.2 13.6 24.3 24.2 60.2 42.5 Total . . .... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100 Flat upland farms Prairie soil farms Limestone only b 21.1 36.9 27.7 25.4 34.8 29.7 Fertilizer only 8 18.1 .3 10.6 13.9 7.5 Limestone and fertilizer 11 . . . No treatment. 29.9 3.8 19.0 30.9 59.0 42.7 28.2 3.2 16.6 32 5 62 46 2 Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Bottomland-upland farms Mixed upland farms Limestone only b 17.7 36.4 23.6 21.6 28.8 24.4 Fertilizer only". . ... 21.0 1.3 14.8 16 3 6 10 1 Limestone and fertilized . . . No treatment 29.5 16.1 25.2 31 8 46 2 36 4 34.1 5.7 23.0 28 64 9 42 5 Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 All farms Limestone only b . . . 17.5 34 4 23 8 Fertilizer only*. . 18 1 5 11 6 Limestone and fertilized . . . 28.1 8.1 20.6 No treatment 36.3 57.0 44.0 Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 " Farm survey, Wayne county, 1948. All farms include 30 or more acres. b Had received applications of limestone within the last ten years. c Complete fertilizer in row in 1948; or phosphate, potash, or complete fertilizer broadcast in 1948 or within the last five years; or combinations of all or part of these materials. d Had received applications of limestone within the last ten years and fertilizer in the row in 1948 or complete fertilizer, phosphate, or potash broadcast in 1948 or within the last five years; or an application of limestone within the last ten years and a combination of part or all of the materials mentioned. 26 BULLETIN No. 579 [August, Drainage and erosion control. Most of the farms surveyed had both drainage and erosion problems. Soil permeability is very slow; water stands on level areas, and runoff is rapid on sloping areas. With only small differences in slope, the problem may change from one of drainage to one of erosion control. The conventional and evidently most satisfactory method of getting standing water off claypan farmland is by bedding and open drainage ditches. Tiling and subsoiling are practically nonexistent in Wayne county. Much of the land cannot be well drained because there is no outlet for the water or the cost of making an outlet is prohibitive. Where better drainage had been accomplished on the survey farms, crop yields were much higher than on similar land not so well drained. Leaving steep slopes in grass and doing a small amount of contour farming were the only erosion-control practices on the farms surveyed. At the time of the survey Wayne was one of the few Illinois counties in which soil-conservation districts had not been organized. Soil treatment. Very few of the farms surveyed had complete or adequate soil-treatment programs. On all farms 44.4 percent of all tillable land had been limed within the last ten years, and about half this limed land had received applications of commercial fertilizer (mainly mixed fertilizer) within the last five years. Forty-four per- cent of all tillable land had received no limestone or commercial fertilizer within these periods. On bottomland farms over 50 percent of the tillable land was untreated (Table 12) . As a general average, grain yields on land that had been limed and treated with commercial fertilizer were about 50 percent higher than on untreated land (Table 13). Since rates of limestone and fertilizer treatments and previous land use were not recorded in the survey, the data summarized in Tables 12 and 13 are only a very general indication of soil-treatment programs in 1948 and of the effects of treatments on yields. Table 13. Yields of Major Grain Crops Under Different Fertilizer Treatments on all 198 Sample Farms" Crop No treatment Fertilizer" Limestone b Limestone and fertilizer" 1 Corn . .... bu. 32.7 bu. 34.7 bu. 42.8 bu. 50.7 Soybeans . . ... 14.1 18.7 17.3 20.0 Oats 12.9 15.0 16.4 18.6 Wheat 9.8 12.0 12.4 17.1 a Farm survey, Wayne county, 1948. All farms include 30 or more acres. b . c - d See footnotes b, c, d, in Table 12. 1954] FARMS IN THE CLAYPAN AREA OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 27 GRAIN RAISED, SOLD, AND FEED BOUGHT 1 Grain production. Differences between the groups of farms in the production of corn and soybeans are attributable mainly to differences in acreages. Average yields per acre were nearly the same for all groups (Table 7). Corn produced per farm varied from an average Table 14. Grain Produced on and Sold from Six Groups of Sample Farms" Bot- Tim- Prairie tom _ Mixed Soil farms (30) (30) (33) (27) (35) (39) (198 b ) Production per farm (bushels) Corn ... 2 ,387 1,052 2,257 1,517 2,675 1,939 1,976 Soybeans 1 .m 168 395 296 517 343 465 Wheat 385 150 107 36 301 161 185 Oats 10 77 109 39 68 95 67 Sold or given as share rent (bushels per farm) Corn . 1,253 381 1,405 869 1,380 1,031 1 052 Soybeans 1,015 151 346 265 483 291 416 Wheat 285 111 89 26 241 127 147 Oats 15 50 9 43 36 27 Number of farms producing crops indicated Corn 28 25 32 25 34 38 185 Soybeans' 1 . 23 10 18 13 24 22 113 Wheat 6 . . 15 15 13 5 24 17 90 Oats f 1 9 11 3 10 9 43 a Farm survey, Wayne county, 1948. All farms include 30 or more acres. b Four farms are included here that are not included in any of the six groups, as explained in footnote b, Table 6. c Does not include corn for silage. d Includes only soybeans combined and threshed. e Includes only wheat combined and threshed. f Includes only oats combined and threshed. of 2,675 bushels on bottomland-upland farms to 1,052 bushels per farm on timber soil farms (Table 14). Soybeans produced per farm varied from 1,132 bushels on bottomland farms to 168 bushels on timber soil 1 When the Wayne county survey was taken, farmers were not asked to esti- mate hay production or pasture yields. According to the Illinois Crop-Reporting Service, the average yield of tame hay in Wayne county in 1948 was about a ton an acre. 28 BULLETIN No. 579 [August, farms. Wheat was produced on less than half of all farms, but on some of these farms it was an important crop. Grain sold. Slightly more than half of all corn produced was sold or given as share rent (Table 14). The proportion of the corn crop sold or given as share rent was about two-thirds on flat upland farm? and about one-third on timber soil farms. Wheat and soybeans are primarily cash crops, as indicated by the high proportion of these crops that was sold or given as rent. Corn yields were relatively high in 1948 throughout the claypan area. The average yield was 41 bushels per acre on survey farms, compared with a five-year average (1945-49) of 36 bushels for Wayne county, as reported by the Crop-Reporting Service. Even in this rela- tively favorable year, however, the quantities of corn available for feed on most survey farms were not great enough for large-scale live- stock feeding operations. Feeds purchased. Seventy-seven farmers bought hay, 54 corn, 30 oats, and 6 wheat. Twenty-four bought cottonseed meal and soybean meal, and 47 tankage. Forty-nine bought dairy feed, 112 hog feed. 135 laying mash, and 108 growing mash (Table 15). Amounts of feed purchased per farm were relatively small. The average farmer questioned bought a little more than 3 tons of hay, approximately 56 bushels of corn, and about 12 bushels of oats. Processed feeds purchased included approximately 324 pounds of cottonseed meal and soybean meal, 387 pounds of tankage, 684 pounds of dairy feed, 1,871 pounds of hog feed, and 3,566 pounds of poultry feed. LIVESTOCK PROGRAMS As previously indicated, livestock programs on typical claypan farms are relatively small. Data in Table 7 indicate that on the farms surveyed the numbers of livestock were related to the size of the farm since there were not as many livestock on timber soil and prairie soil farms as on the other four groups. The small livestock programs per farm are in part attributable to the relatively low pro- ductivity of the hay and pasture land. Acres of hay and pasture per animal unit for all the farms sur- veyed are shown in Table 16. The average was 4.2 acres. Although all groups of farms required considerable acreage per animal unit, bottomland-upland and bottomland farms required less than the other four. As bottomland and bottomland-upland farms produced more grain than the others, the production of less hay and pasture per animal unit might be due to the fact that more grain was fed in relation to roughage. Some groups had a higher proportion of legumes in their hay and pasture mixtures than others. Small grain aftermath and stalk fields were not included in hay or pasture. V 1954] FARMS IN THE CLAYPAN AREA OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 29 Table 15. Commercial Feeds Purchased by Operators of Six Groups of Sample Farrns a torn" T bn~ Flat Prairie tom ~ Mixed All farms (30) (30) (33) (27) (35) (39) (198 b ) Feed purchased per farm (pounds) Cottonseed and soybean meal ................... 250 200 215 44 760 403 324 Tankage ................. 1 , 150 337 76 85 251 469 387 Dairy feed ............... 198 497 349 196 1,517 1,146 684 Hogfeed ................. 2,047 2,847 1,373 1,093 1,820 2,000 1,871 Poultry feed .............. 3,670 3,327 3,512 3,015 3,426 4,351 3,566 Number of farms purchasing different feeds Cottonseed and soybean meal 3 2 7 2 5 5 24 Tankage .... 12 7 5 4 8 10 47 Dairy feed 5 12 6 5 8 13 49 Hog feed 17 17 16 15 20 24 112 Poultry feed 21 19 24 21 24 30 139 a Farm survey, Wayne county, 1948. All farms include 30 or more acres. b Four farms are included here that are not included in any of the six groups, as explained in footnote b, Table 6. Note. The average farmer purchased 3.2 tons of hay. Bottomland farmers purchased 3.1 tons per farm, timber-soil farmers 2.3 tons, flat-upland farmers 2.1 tons, prairie-soil farmers 3.7 tons, bottomland-upland farmers 2.7 tons, and mixed- upland farmers 5.2 tons. Table 16. Acres of Hay and Pasture per Animal Unit on Six Groups of Sample Farms* v - , , , Number of Acres per Kind of farms farmg animal unit" Bottomland farms 30 3.6 Timber soil farms 30 4.8 Flat upland farms 33 4.7 Prairie soil farms 27 5.7 Bottomland-upland farms 35 3.0 Mixed upland farms 39 4.3 All farms 198 4.2 a Farm survey, Wayne county, 1948. All farms include 30 or more acres. b Acres refer to tillable land or tillable equivalent. Three acres of nontillable pasture were counted as one acre of tillable pasture. Four farms are included here that are not included in any of the six groups, as explained in footnote b, Table 6. 30 BULLETIN No. 579 [August, All Cattle There is a fairly close relationship between cattle numbers and size of farms, as shown in Table 7, page 17. Prairie soil, timber soil, and mixed upland farms, which average fewer acres than those in the other three groups, had 10.0, 11.0, and 13.3 head of cattle, respectively, per farm. The bottomland group had approximately 13 head per farm, the flat upland group 15 head, and the bottomland-upland group 20 head. Cattle sold per farm (Table 17) ranged from about 3 head on timber soil farms to about 11 head on the bottomland-upland group. Despite there being herds with dual-purpose aspects and many animals of mixed beef-dairy breeding, all cattle were classified as either beef or dairy in order to obtain a more detailed analysis of the cattle enterprises. Disregarding breeding, cattle that were apparently used primarily for dairy purposes were classed as dairy cattle and those that were apparently used primarily for beef production were classed as beef cattle (Tables 18 and 20, pages 31 and 34). According to this classification, 107 farms had only dairy cattle, 45 had only beef cattle, and 38 had both beef and dairy cattle, leaving 8 with no cattle. However on 24 of the 38 farms with both beef and Table 17. Livestock and Livestock Products Sold per Farm From Six Groups of Sample Farms" Item piot Tim Bot - COI- urn- Flat Prairie tom . Mixed , f "S- <. g tz d ^ All Number of farms 30 30 33 27 35 39 198 b All cattle, number 4. 1 2.8 6 ,2 5.5 11 1 6 5 6.2 Hogs, number 15 4 8 8 C 10 8 7 4 25 5 M 1 13 9 Chickens, number 6 . . . 54 S 88. 9 d 62 ,4 69.1 80 2 89 ,8 100.0 Eggs, dozen M46 5 989.2 SMI 1,009.4 1,237. a M74 8 1,142.8 All sheep, number 1 1 3.1 5 .1 1.6 3. 5 2. 2.7 Wool fleeces, number . 7 5 .1 1 .3 .3 Horses, number 7 5 1 1 ;-; .3 a Farm survey, Wayne county, 1948. All farms include 30 or more acres. b Four farms are included here that are not included in any of the six groups, as explained in footnote b, Table 6. c One farm that sold 77 hogs and another that sold 103 hogs were excluded from the group because they are not representative. If they were included, the average would be 14.8. d One farm, on which 5,000 broilers were produced, was excluded from the average because it is not representative. If it were included, the average would be 254.5. e One farmer in the gently-sloping-soil group had a turkey enterprise and sold 110 turkeys that weighed 15 pounds each. 19541 FARMS IN THE CLAYPAX AREA OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 31 dairy cattle just one or two cows were kept to produce milk for home use. The remaining 14 farms had several head of both beef and dairy cattle. Dairy Cattle Size of herds. There were about four milk cows in the average herd. Bottomland, timber soil, and prairie soil farms had fewer cows per herd than average while the other three groups had more (Table 18). Dairy cattle other than milk cows ranged from 1.5 per herd on the prairie soil farms to 3.9 per herd on the timber soil farms. Farms with one to three cows. Most farmers milking one, two, or three cows paid little attention to breeding, and the average cow probably had a higher proportion of beef breeding than dairy breeding. On farms with three cows or less, a large proportion of the milk pro- duced was used in the household. Any milk not used for this purpose was separated and the cream was sold at a local cream station. The skimmilk was used to feed calves, hogs, or chickens. Farms with four or more milk cows. Although several farmers with four or more cows reported that they paid little attention to breeding, or that they milked cows of beef breeding and produced milk primarily for home use, a number of others reported that they had or were .working toward a herd made up of good grade dairy cows and were Table 18. Average Number of Dairy Cattle per Herd on 145 Sample Farms Having Dairy Cattle" Item Bot- tom- land farms Tim- ber soil farms Flat upland farms Prairie soil farms Bot- tom- land- upland farms Mixed upland farms All farms with dairy herds Number of farms with dairy cattle 21 20 3 2 1 7, 1 3 5 4 2 9 25 4 2 1 8. 4 .6 1 ,7 4 .8 20 3.5 1.0 .5 5.0 2.7 27 4 2 1 8. 3 .6 .2 ,4 2 ,7 30 4.5 1.5 2.1 8.1 4.4 145 b 4.1 1.8 1.5 7.4 3.5 Cattle per herd Cows 3 ,7 3 5 5 6 Calves 1 Other cattle 1 Total 6 Cattle sold 2 a Farm survey, Wayne county, 1948. All farms include 30 or more acres. Both beef and dairy cattle were found on 38 farms. On 24 of these there were only one or two dairy cows that were milked for home use; these are included in the table above. On the remaining 14 farms there were both a beef and a dairy herd. b Two farms are included here that are not included in any of the six groups. Steep and eroded soils comprise 55 percent or more of the area of these two farms. 32 BULLETIN No. 579 [August, producing butterfat for the market. Although artificial insemination is an excellent way to improve the milk-producing capacity of dairy herds, only one of the 145 farmers interviewed was using it. Several farmers who milked beef-type cows produced butterfat for market. A record of the butterfat sold was obtained from 45 farms that averaged slightly more than 5 cows per herd. About 122 pounds of butterfat was sold annually per cow and about 664 pounds per farm. To ascertain production per cow or per farm, the milk used on the farm would have to be taken into account. This information was not obtained from the survey. Farms selling whole milk. Whole milk was sold from 15 farms. Two were bottomland farms, 3 flat upland soil farms, 4 bottomland- upland farms, 5 mixed upland farms, and one was a prairie soil farm. Milk was sold in Fan-field, Flora, Mt. Vernon, and Olney. The number of cows milked ranged from three to twenty. The average was nine. An average of 3,454 pounds of milk was sold per cow and an average of 32,467 pounds per farm. Milk sold per cow ranged from 968 to 5,232 pounds and that sold per farm ranged from 5,805 to 73,460 pounds (Table 19) . Herds used to produce whole milk for sale were, for the most part, made up of grade dairy cows or cows with a high proportion of dairy breeding. Most of the cows were bred to a purebred or good grade dairy bull. Facilities for milk production were better on these 15 farms than on most of the farms in the survey. These fanners had sanitary milk sheds with concrete floors and facilities for cooling their milk. In con- trast, most farmers who produced cream or milk for home use did not have milk sheds with concrete floors and cooled their milk or cream in cellars or cisterns. Table 19. Data on Dairy Enterprise on 15 Sample Farms Selling Whole Milk" Range Item Average Low High Cows per farm 9.4 3 20 Heifers or calves per farm 5.8 3 18 Whole-milk sales Per farm, pounds . 32,467 5,805 73,460 Per cow, pounds 3,454 968 5,232 Cattle sales Veal calves, number 3.7 1 14 Average weight, pounds 178 150 225 Other cattle, number 2.1 1 7 "Farm survey, Wayne county, 1948. All farms include 30 or more acres. 1954^ FARMS IN THE CLAYPAN AREA OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 33 Breeding practices. Only a few of the farmers who milked cows indicated that they planned to have cows freshen in the fall in order to obtain a winter milk flow when prices are higher. Most cows freshened in the spring and were milked throughout the grazing season. Feeding practices. Practically none of the farmers fed balanced rations, but some used better feeding practices than others. As most farmers fed the hay produced on their farms, the majority fed redtop or a redtop-and-lespedeza mixture. Some fed soybean and cowpea hay. A few others fed mixed alfalfa or clover hay. Quite a few farmers feed only hay during the winter. Evidently on many farms during years of unfavorable hay production and on some farms during other years, operators feed the minimum amount of hay required to maintain their cows during the winter and, except for a small amount of milk ob- tained for home use, milk only during the grazing season. Other farmers supplement hay with home-grown grain when it is available and when it is not available buy grain for this purpose. Three or 4 operators fed silage during the winter, 12 fed cottonseed meal, 17 soybean meal, and 49 commercial dairy feeds. Because many farmers feed a limited amount of hay, hay with only a small percentage of legumes, hay without supplements, or hay and grain rations that are low in protein, the average milk cow falls considerably below her productive capacity during the winter months. Most cows graze on redtop, lespedeza, or a mixture of the two, and on most farms no other grasses and legumes are available during periods when lespedeza and redtop furnish little roughage. This, coupled with the fact that a large number of farmers do not supple- ment pasture with grain or other feeds, results in a summer milk flow considerably below the capacity of most cows. Dairy cattle sold. About one cull cow, two veal calves and one head of other cattle were sold per farm (Table 18) . Cull cows sold averaged about 800 pounds, veal calves about 190 pounds, and other cattle about 565 pounds. Most of those classed as "other cattle" were year- lings or long yearling heifers. A few were offspring of dairy cows that were bred to beef bulls. Beef Cattle Typical beef-cattle enterprises were small. Practically all beef- cattle farmers had their own breeding herds and raised the cattle they sold from the farm. Only four operators purchased feeder cattle. Size of herds. The average herd had about 20 cattle (Table 20). About 9 were breeding cows, 5 were calves, and 6 were heifers, steers, or bulls. Herds on prairie soil and timber soil farms had fewer cattle 34 BULLETIN No. 579 [August, than average. Those on mixed upland farms had about the same num- ber of cows as the average herd, while the other three groups had con- siderably more than the average. Table 20. Average Number of Beef Cattle per Farm on 83 Sample Farms Having Beef Cattle 8 All Item Flat Prairie tom - Mixed farms Rnt Tim torn- her . land so'l upland soil land- upland with fa-, <,-, farms farms upland farms beef farms iarms farmg Number of farms witl cattle . i beef 11 14 11 14 18 14 83 b Cattle per farm Cows 9 8 5.6 12.0 5 8 10 6 q 8 8 7 Calves 6 5 3 9 5 6 3 8 6 7 5 <) 5 5 Other cattle". . . . 7 q 3 8 7 1 q 7 4 fi 6 1 Total 24 9 24 6 19 ft 27 iq 8 20 3 Cattle sold 6. 1 3.4 7 7 fi 8 8 ft 8 6 a Farm survey, Wayne county, 1948. All farms include 30 or more acres. Both beef and dairy cattle were found on 38 farms. On 24 of these there were only one or two dairy cows that were milked for home use. On the remaining 14 there were both a beef and a dairy herd. b One farm is included here that is not included in any of the six groups. Steep and eroded soils comprise 55 percent or more of the areas of this farm. c Bulls, steers, and heifers. Breeding. A much larger percentage of the cattle used for beef pro- duction were beef type than the cattle used for milk production were dairy type. Most cattle were grade Hereford or had a high proportion of Hereford breeding, and most cows were bred to good grade or pure- bred Hereford bulls. Two farmers interviewed specialized in production of Hereford and one in production of Aberdeen Angus breeding stock. Feeding practices. For feed most farmers depended primarily on hay and pasture and used only a limited amount of grain. A number of farmers said that they feed a small amount of grain to herd cows and other cattle in order to carry them through the winter in better con- dition and occasionally feed some grain during dry summers when pastures do not provide sufficient nourishment. Most of the hay fed was redtop or a mixture of redtop and les- pedeza. A few farmers had cowpea, soybean, mixed alfalfa, or clover hay to feed. For the most part, cattle were pastured on redtop or a mixture of redtop and lespedeza. As most of the farmers interviewed fed only a limited amount of grain, most of the cattle offered for sale were grass-fed. 1954} FARMS IN THE CLAYPAN AREA OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 35 Sales. About two herd cows averaging approximately 1,000 pounds and about six other cattle averaging nearly 650 pounds were sold per farm. Fifty-six calves averaging 200 pounds were sold from the 83 farms with beef herds. A number of them undoubtedly went for veal. This indicates that some of the herds used primarily for beef produc- tion have some dual-purpose aspects. Milk from the mothers of some of these calves was probably used in the household. Fewer cattle were sold per herd from the timber soil, bottomland, and prairie soil groups than from the other four (Table 20). About 55 percent of the cattle sold, other than cows and calves, weighed from 400 to 700 pounds. Most of these cattle were probably born in the spring or early summer, carried over on hay and a small amount of grain the following winter, pastured the following summer and sold in the late summer or fall. Some of the cattle weighing be- tween 700 and 800 pounds may have been handled in this way. One hundred and twenty-four of the 156 cattle weighing over 800 pounds were sold from two farms; one farmer sold 92 and the other sold 32. Most of these cattle were probably two years old or older. Hogs Bottomland farms, bottomland-upland farms, and flat upland farms, with a larger average corn acreage than the other three groups of farms, had the larger hog enterprises (Table 7, page 17) . Farms with hogs. Of the farms surveyed, 178 had hogs and 129 had brood sows (Table 21). In most instances, operators of farms with hogs but without brood sows bought pigs for home use and fed them out. A few bought pigs, fed them out, and sold them. The average number of brood sows was about two on farms with hogs. Timber soil, prairie soil, and mixed upland farms had fewer sows than average, while the other three groups had more. Roughly half the timber and prairie soil farms had brood sows and roughly two-thirds of the bottomland and flat upland farms had them. Brood sows were found on 29 of the 35 bottomland-upland farms and 28 of the 39 mixed upland farms. Fifty-four farms had one sow, 35 farms two sows, 15 farms three, 8 farms four, 16 farms from five to nine, and one farm had 25 (Table 37, page 53) . Litters farrowed. On the average hog farm about 60 percent of the pigs were farrowed in the spring and about 40 percent in the summer or fall. Litters per farm ranged from 1.5 for the prairie soil group to 4.6 for the bottomland group. The mixed upland group had 2.0 litters per hog farm, the timber soil group 2.3, the bottomland-upland group 3.0, and the flat upland group 3.1. Because of better weather, approxi- mately one more pig was saved from the average summer and fall litters than from the average spring litter. 36 BULLETIN No. 579 [August, Table 21. Data on Hog Enterprise on 178 Sample Farms With Hogs* Item torn- "her" Flat Prai . rie tom - Mixed M Id '1 u pl an( i s il land- upland farms farms farms farms farms u f PJ^ d farms Number of farms with hogs. . Farms with brood sows .... Hogs per farm Brood sows 25 20 3 28 16 1 3 29 20 2 2 22 13 1 33 29 9 ? 38 28 1 5 178 b 129 1 9 Other hogs 20.1 Q 4 10.7 6 5 14 1 8. 10 9 Litters farrowed per farm . . Pigs saved per litter Spring litters 4.6 6 5 2 7 3 7 3.1 6 7 1 8 5 1 3 6 .0 q 2. 6 6 2.7 6 9 Summer and fall litters . . . All litters 7.3 6 9 8. 8 2 7.2 6.8 7, 7 1 6 7, 7 8 3 8. 7. 1 2 7.7 7.2 Hogs sold per farm Fat hogs, number 17 1? ? 6 3 6 6 ?4 o 7 8 12 5 Average weight, pounds Weaned pigs, number .... Total hogs sold. . . 226.1 1.5 18 5 249. 3. 15 8 7 g 231.2 6.0 12 3 204. 2, q 2 4 o 230. 3 27 8 1 1 216. 1. 9 8 6 4 228.7 3.0 15.5 Farm survey, Wayne county, 1948. All farms include 30 or more acres. b Three farms are included here that are not included in any of the six groups. Steep and eroded soils comprise 55 percent or more of the area of these farms. c This figure is not representative because one farmer sold 77 and another sold 103 hogs. When these two are excluded the average is 9.5. Sanitation. In general, farmers with the larger hog enterprises ap- peared to pay more attention to hog sanitation than those with smaller ones. This is probably because where there are large numbers of hogs they are more likely to become infected with worms or disease than where there is a small number. Also a large hog enterprise is likely to receive more attention than a small one because on many farms it would provide a larger share of the farm income. A number of operators reported that they cleaned out the farrow- ing pens at farrowing time and took other special measures to control worms in their hogs. A large number of farmers pastured their hogs on redtop and lespedeza and a smaller number used some plan of rotating hog pastures. Rather typical of this small group was an operator who moved his hogs to another pasture every two years and plowed up the pasture from which the hogs were moved. Quite a few farmers kept their hogs in a drylot. Feeding practices. Most farmers realized that it was desirable to supplement corn with protein feeds. Tankage or hog supplement was purchased on 134 of the 178 farms with hogs. A number of operators used the skimmilk that was available to feed to their hogs. Most farmers fed their fattening hogs two or three times a day instead of using self-feeders or keeping feed before them at all times. 1954} FARMS IN THE CLAYPAN AREA OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 37 Sales. About 12 fat hogs and three weaned pigs were sold from the average farm that kept hogs. Sales per farm ranged from 9.0 hogs on the prairie soil farms to approximately 27 hogs on the bottomland- upland fanns. Most of the fat hogs sold were six to eight months old and weighed from 200 to 250 pounds. Most farmers did not time farrowing so as to have their pigs ready to sell when prices were highest in the fall or spring. Weaned pigs were sold primarily to farmers who did not have brood sows and who bought a few pigs each year to fatten for home use. This provides additional income to oper- ators who have one or two brood sows but who do not produce enough grain to feed out all the pigs that are farrowed. They usually keep enough pigs to consume the available grain and sell the rest when the pigs are weaned. Poultry Size of flocks. The average farmer with poultry had a laying flock of about 147 hens (Table 22). The bottomland and the bottomland- upland farms had more laying hens per flock than the other four (Table 38, page 53). Only 16 farmers had flocks with 300 hens or more. Fifty-five farmers had less than 100, and 43 farmers had from 200 to 300 laying hens. Table 22. Data on Poultry Production on 189 Sample Farms With Chickens" Hens per flock 147 Baby chicks purchased per farm Straight-run 105 Pullets 71 Cockerels 40 Total 216 Eggs sold per farm, dozens 1,187 Chickens sold per farm Hens, number 54 Average weight, pounds 4.6 Young chickens, number 51 Average weight, pounds 2.7 a Farm survey, Wayne county, 1948. All farms include 30 or more acres. Production practices. The predominant breed of chickens in the county was white leghorns. A few farmers had heavy breeds. Prac- tically all farmers had poultry houses that kept the flock reasonably warm in winter. A number of farmers seemed to be conscious of the profits connected with good feeding and kept feed and water before their chickens at all times. One hundred and thirty-five of the 189 farmers with chickens bought egg mash to feed with corn or other grain. Several others fed skimmilk. A few mixed their own mash. The majority of farmers culled their flocks several times a year. Flock replacement. Practically all farmers provided for flock re- placement by buying baby chicks from hatcheries and raising them in a brooder house. The average poultry raiser bought about 216 baby 38 BULLETIN No. 579 chicks, of which approximately 105 were straight run, 71 w r ere pullets, and 40 were cockerels (Table 22). Egg sales. The average poultryman sold about 1,187 dozen eggs per year (Table 22). Most farmers who sold eggs sold less than 1,500 dozen (Table 40, page 54). Fifteen farmers sold from 1,500 to 1,800 dozen, 4 farmers from 1,800 to 2,100 dozen, 13 farmers from 2,100 to 3,000 dozen, and 12 farmers from 3,000 to 6,340 dozen. Twenty-one farmers sold some of their eggs to hatcheries, one mailed them to special customers in St. Louis, and the remainder sold them to local egg dealers. Farmers who sold eggs to hatcheries received a price considerably above the market and most of them bought poultry feed from the hatchery at a below-market price. Representa- tives from the hatchery culled their flocks at regular intervals and tested their birds for diseases that are normally transmitted through the egg. The farmer who sold eggs in St. Louis also received a premium price. Live poultry sales. The average poultry producer sold about 54 cull hens that averaged 4.6 pounds and 51 young chickens that aver- aged 2.7 pounds (Table 22) . Young chickens sold were primarily cock- erels or cull pullets from baby chicks that farmers bought for flock replacement or eating. Other poultry enterprises. On all farms except one, chickens were the only important poultry enterprise. One farmer had about 60 turkeys on hand and sold about 110 turkeys that weighed about 15 pounds each. Sheep Farms with sheep. Because sheep are not very well adapted to poorly drained land and perhaps for other reasons, they are a rela- tively minor livestock enterprise in Wayne county. Of the 198 farms studied, only 29 had flocks of sheep (Table 23). Size of flocks. The average flock consisted of about 17 ewes and a ram. Ewes per flock ranged from 5 to 50. Fourteen flocks had fewer than 25 ewes and nine flocks had 25 or more. Except for one flock of purebred Hampshires, all ewes were grade. Most farmers bred their ewes to good grade or purebred rams. Production practices. Most farmers fed their sheep legume or mixed hay. A number of those not having alfalfa or clover other than lespedeza saved out some of their best lespedeza to feed before and during lambing season. Most farmers fed some grain before and during this period, and a number fed minerals. One operator reported severe losses from pregnancy disease. Several operators reported that they used phenothiazine to prevent losses from stomach worm during the summer months. 1954] FARMS IN THE CLAYPAN AREA OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 39 Table 23. Production Data for 29 Flocks of Sheep on Sample Farms' Number of Tf farms reporting item indicated Number and weight of animals and fleeces Average Range Low High Sheep Ewes . 23 (Sheep 16.7 3.3 .8 (Sales 18.1 6.4 14.2 73.6 4.1 130.2 .2 203.0 18.5 per flock b ] 5 1 1 per flock c ) 5 1 3 1 i 50 30 2 55 55 30 1 Lambs . 12 Rams . 20 Sales Wool . . . 24 Number fleeces Average weight, pounds Lambs 23 Number Average weight, pounds . Ewes .... 8 Number Average weight, pounds Rams 5 Number. . . . Average weight, pounds Total sheep sold per farm . . a Farm survey, Wayne county, 1948. All farms include 30 or more actes. Two flocks of sheep were on bottomland-soil farms, 6 on gently sloping timber-soil farms, 7 on poorly drained flat upland-soil farms, 2 on gently sloping prairie-soil farms, 7 on bottomland-soil combination farms, and 5 on gently sloping timber-soil com- bination farms. b Ending inventory. c Five farmers sold all the sheep they owned. Sales. About 14 lambs, 18 fleeces, and 4 cull ewes were sold per flock in 1948 (Table 23). Lambs sold averaged about 74 pounds, cull ewes about 130 pounds, and fleeces about 6.5 pounds. POWER, EQUIPMENT, AND LABOR The following discussion concerning tractors and horses on these farms is based largely on the data in Tables 7, 24, and 41 on pages 17, 40, and 55. That concerning custom work is based largely on Table 25, page 41. Farms with tractors. Tractors and tractor equipment are now in common use in Wayne county. One hundred forty-two of the 198 farmers contacted owned one or more tractors, and 25 of the 56 farmers not having tractors hired some tractor work in 1948. As would be expected, groups having the largest farms and the more active operators had more farms with tractors and more tractor equipment 40 BULLETIN No. 579 [August, than the others, and farms with tractors were larger than those with- out. Twenty-six of the 30 bottomland farms, 30 of the 35 bottomland- upland farms, and 25 of the 33 flat upland farms had tractors and tractor equipment. In contrast, only 24 of the 39 mixed upland farms. 19 of the 30 timber-soil farms, and 16 of the 27 prairie-soil farms had this equipment. The average tractor farm comprised about 239 acres, while the average farms without tractors comprised about 117. Most of the farms with tractors had tractor plows, disks, and culti- vators, but there were only about one combine and one corn picker for every five tractors. There was only one tractor mower for every 2 l /2 tractors. Most of the farmers without corn pickers and combines husked corn by hand and hired their small grain combined or threshed. Horses on farms. Even though tractors were found on nearly 72 percent of the farms, most operators had two or three head of horses and some horse equipment. On farms with tractors a large part of the horse equipment was no longer in use, a small part of it was used with horses, and a small part of it had been adjusted so it could be used with a tractor. It is doubtful whether an average farmer with tractors used horses more than 15 to 30 days a year. On farms with tractors horses are used chiefly to do small chores, such as plowing and cultivating gardens, mowing hay, and gathering corn in the fall of the year when the land is so wet it is difficult to use a tractor. Table 24. Number of Selected Machines and Other Data Regarding Tractors and Horses on Sample Farms" Item Bot- tom- land farms (30) Tim- ber soil farms (30) Flat upland farms (33) Prairie soil farms (27) Bot- tom- land- upland farms (35) Mixed upland farms (39) All farms (198) b Selected machines, number 6 Tractors 38 24 31 17 39 27 178 Combines 15 1 5 1 4 10 36 Corn pickers. ... 10 1 3 3 9 7 33 Hay balers 7 2 5 4 5 23 Average size of farm, acres With tractors 309.8 154.9 244.3 185.0 266.2 234.6 239.2 Without tractors 95.0 78.0 124 .4 116.8 144.0 138.8 117.4 Farms without tractors hiring tractor work, number 3 5 6 2 2 7 25 Farms with horses, number. . Horses per farm reporting, number 28 3 5 22 2 27 3.4 23 2.4 34 3.1 37 3.2 174 3.0 a Farm survey, Wayne county, 1948. All farms include 30 or more acres. b Four farms are included here that are not included in any of the six groups, as explained in footnote b, Table 6. c For other machines on farms see Table 41 in Appendix. FARMS IN THE CLAYPAN ARKA OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 41 GO CO O C OS O O !C rH Ii7 IO (^ rH -* CO CO O CO 03 CO 1C <* CO CO * rH rH ^ CO O rH S-2^ m co" iC~ CO ol 00 iu| i rH 03 c i- <3 Q O r; rH rH Tf CO O 1C GO rH CO * OOO 1C CO CO O ^t 1 1C 00 C rH * 00 1C OC GO- 1^ CO -H rH CO co X S. =3 M C3 M o rH co 5C c T5 -3 OSCOt^^t^ 00 CO CO CO "* CO X 50 83 ^ ^ S rH CO 00 t^ CO CO rH CO OS rH rH CO rH CO CO ,2 oT "HE S rH CO ^.s -d P 0) 03 ^ . 33 8 fl ^H 03 CO * >CO O iC CO O 1C ^ S .2 = O ,O _G CO "^f CO rH . rH - CC wi S" Q o 1C CO rH ^j bC 2.S -a "3 ^1 jju K t^ OS CO COCO o ic co co r 00 OS Cs ->*i * rH ICIC rH OS CO rH CO CO ^ ^1 H __, ~2 03 -U o^S If 03 fl - <5 ICOOO CO rH GO COCO rH rH C GO OOCO CO CO CO t^ rH 1C TjH CO CO II | CO CO-* COCO O O 'C CO <* OS _ t^ *x f^* . ~ CO CO CO rH -t r> ^ 03 CO, a co co 5* u ^^r ! 1 03 E S' 2 - S M C 11 C g 03 ** COCO CO rH rH GO >C rH O O 1C CO -00 ^ co -CO co >c rH c3 '03 c iSl O "3 -73 flco S CO rH rH COCO CO 1C t^ * CO CO CO : :2 :o l o rH X 1C CO CO CO t* J2 o >-. c. gS- Q." 03 Si Q ^ -a-- 1 o il o cocoes rH rH SCO 1C -* x co co rH t^ III II o rH .S,3rC 03 O l -s OS rH GO >C O O-* CO t^ b- 1C CO rH CO CO CO CO |5| 'S "^5 CO rH rH rH rH rH ** *~ 03 co B > co H rH 43 03 < gl S C ^ 03 1C rH O OSO iC O co co ^--=.2 K2 C ,^ ^1 ICCO CO rH T*l rH CO 05 5 -" t* Q o co 1C rH 7-s" -_ i 00 CO 00 CO OS OS CO rH 1C O *C 'OX CO -***- co os IU 4S 3 co 1C OS 03 "1 ^ 11 |.rS 03 n O r< iCOCO -CO rH CO rH CO -(N " x CO CO OS o3_C O . . .J . . . CO : i o S s JM - A . . . & -03 a M -8 i & s 1 U-l O -o 2 % ' ' bi 1 Illlll !^t? : !-! 03 fl^ ti-Q -* lll-lliil iNifijs uSrt S 1 : .S S ^6*0^ 1-s IE^J- g 'QS'.B o 03 & g a3J3 |S S 55 S3 O c 42 BULLETIN No. 579 [August, Custom work. Most of the custom work in Wayne county is done by a small part of the farmers, but many farmers hire some custom work done. On the sample farms in 1948 only 32 farmers did custom work for others, while 124 hired some custom work done. The 198 operators interviewed hired about 5,200 machine hours during the year, but did only about 3,700 hours of work for others. The fact that some nonfarmers and some farmers with less than 30 acres supplied some of the custom work explains most of this difference of 1,500 hours between machine hours hired and that done for others. Combining and baling accounted for more than half the total hours of custom work hired and done for others. For hours of custom work hired for various operations and done for others on all six groups of farms see Table 25. Exchange work. A large number of Wayne county operators ex- change machine work with their neighbors in lieu of custom work. For example, an operator with a corn picker who does not have a combine may pick his neighbor's corn, and in return the neighbor will combine his small grain. Several farmers surveyed did machine work for their neighbors in return for labor. Labor. For data on the amount and kind of labor used on the sur- veyed farms, it is necessary to turn back to Table 7, page 17. The total amount of labor varied from 11.5 months per farm on the timber soil farms and 12.5 months on the prairie soil farms to 17.9 months on the bottomland farms. Table 26. Number of Major Buildings and All Buildings on Sample Farms, and Their Condition as Rated by Farmers' 1 Bot- Kind of building j[ farms Tim- ber soil farms Bot- Flat Prairie torn- Mixed AII upland soil land- upland b farms farms upland farms farms Buildings per farm Barn 1. 4 1 1 2 7 1.3 .9 .8 .8 .9 5.9 1. 1 1. e' 5 2 2 5 7 2 1 1 4' 9 3 6 8 1 1 1 e' 4 3 9 ,7 4 1.2 1.2 1.1 .7 .8 6.1 1.3 1.1 1.0 .7 .7 6.1 Henhouse 1 Corncrib 1. Hog house 1. Brooder house . . All buildings .... 7, Percent of buildings in condition indicated Good . . 46, 9 1 53.1 35.6 11.3 100.0 46, 41, 11 100, ,8 9 3 69 19. 11 100. 2 2 6 66 27, 5. 100. 8 4 8 53.6 31.2 15.2 100.0 55.3 33.9 10.8 100.0 Fair 42. Poor ... 11 Total 100 a Farm survey, Wayne county, 1948. All farms include 30 or more acres. b Four farms are included here that are not included in any of the six groups, as explained in footnote b, Table 6. 1954\ FARMS IN THE CLAYPAN AREA OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 43 On the average farm the operator worked about 10 months a year, used 3.5 months of family labor, and hired 1.9 months of labor. Timber soil farmers and prairie soil farmers hired about 15 days of work a year, whereas the other groups used from 1.9 to 3.5 months of this labor. BUILDINGS Most farmers had enough buildings to provide shelter for their livestock but not enough to house all their machinery and store all their hay. On a large number of farms in Wayne county part of the hay crop is stacked. The numbers of various kinds of buildings on the six groups of farms, and their condition as rated by the farmers surveyed are shown in Table 26. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS The primary purpose of this study was to obtain a precise de- scription of farming in the claypan region of southern Illinois. Data were obtained through a survey of 198 Wayne county farms, 30 acres and larger, selected by a random-sampling method. The sample is considered fully representative of farm operating units in Wayne county and of farms on claypan soils in surrounding counties. Analysis of the survey data has been related mainly to the tenure patterns found on these farms and to their soil resources. Results of the analysis should serve as useful background for those interested in and respon- sible for agricultural programs in the claypan area of the state. The survey was made in 1948 at a time when rather rapid changes were occurring in farming in the area. Changes were stimulated by high incomes in previous years and by technological developments, particularly mechanization and use of fertilizers. "Effects of increased mechanization were indicated most sharply in a greatly increased soybean acreage, a decrease in the acres of idle land, and an increase in size of farms. Although use of fertilizer was increasing at the time of the survey, the typical farm had by no means attained a complete and balanced fertility program. Tenure. Land tenure is a factor of particular significance in the claypan area. General characteristics of the tenure situation are: 1. The relatively young age at which farmers acquire ownership of their land, frequently a small acreage. Eighty-three percent of all operators on the sample farms owned all or part of the land they farmed. 2. The tendency of farmers to expand their operations by renting, and occasionally by buying, additional land. Fifty-four percent of all operators were part-owners, and the average age of all part-owners was only four years more than that of operators who rented all the land they farmed. 44 BULLETIN No. 579 [August, 3. The general practice of these farmers to retire on the land. There is frequently a period of 10 to 20 years when a farmer progressively reduces the scale of his operations. In some respects this kind of tenure system is highly flexible. It makes possible a good deal of adjustment in the size of a farm to fit the age of the operator, the family labor supply, and available capital. It also provides for a large proportion of farmers the security of both land and home ownership. Field-renting was stimulated by the war and postwar conditions. Farmers with relatively good machinery were in a position to expand their businesses to take advantage of high prices. General shortage of labor and lack of machinery on many farms made more land available to rent. Predominance of the part-owner farm is, to some extent, a phase of the general trend toward larger farms to fit modern production methods. Nevertheless part-owning and field-renting were well estab- lished in the area many years before the war, and they can be expected to continue as important tenure patterns. The chief difficulty with the multiple-tract field-renting system is that it complicates the planning and carrying out of sound land-use and soil-treatment programs. Rental arrangements established in the past were developed in an era of low capital inputs and low returns. The most common rental agreement is one in which the landlord receives one-third of the grain crops, half the hay and "grass" seed, and no cash rent for pastureland. Such an agreement, particularly when it is on a year-to-year basis, does not encourage either the owner or the tenant to carry on a land-use and soil-improvement program that is most profitable. During the survey a number of instances were reported in which the landlord and tenant had worked out mutually satisfactory agreements in which both were sharing in the costs and benefits of a good land-improvement program. Such agreements should be given definite consideration on all rented farms in the area. Soil resources. In classifying farms according to their soil resources, the soil types in Wayne county were combined into five groups: bottomland soils, flat upland soils, gently sloping timber soils, gently sloping prairie soils, and steep and eroded soils. Although most farms include land in more than one of these five groups, the survey farms were classified into six groups according to the predominating soils or combination of soils on the individual farms. The six groups of farms differed significantly in size and organization and in volume of pro- duction per farm. These differences, and the particular problems of each group of farms, as well as the problems of the farms as a whole, are outlined here. Improving incomes on individual farms. Results of the survey show that certain improvements are generally needed on all six groups of farms. A basic need is for higher production per acre and per farm. 1954} FARMS IN THE CLAYPAN AREA OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 45 A balanced fertility program is needed to correct mineral deficiencies in the soil and to maintain fertility at a profitable level. At the time of the survey a good deal of the land had not been fertilized, and very little of it had received treatment adequate to maintain high-profit cropping systems and high-profit yields. Much land was in low-pro- ducing hay and pasture crops contributing little to the farms' income, either in livestock production or in higher grain production. In general, improvements in soil fertility and land use would result in greatly increased grain production with fewer acres in hay and pasture, in greatly increased livestock production, or in greater production of both grain and livestock. With relatively few exceptions, livestock enterprises on survey farms were small, often too small for efficient production methods. Small livestock numbers reflect low feed supplies and a general lack of capital to invest in breeding herds. Desirable improvements would involve using more capital in the farming business. In the past capital inputs per farm have been low in this area. Building up the soil, increasing livestock numbers, and providing necessary equipment and buildings do require considerable capital. Results being obtained on experiment fields and demonstrated on some farms in the area indicate, however, that such capital invest- ments are sound for the farmer who has average or above-average managerial ability. Bottomland farms. Bottomland farms in the survey averaged 281 acres and were largest of the six groups. One-third of the farms included only rented land a higher proportion than in any other group. Seventy percent of their total area was bottomland. Grain production was emphasized on bottomland farms. They are the principal soybean producers in the area and the only group of survey farms with more acres of soybeans than corn. Acreages of wheat, hay, and rotation pasture are limited by risk of flooding. Cattle numbers were relatively small on bottomland farms in the survey, but the number of pigs farrowed per farm was relatively high. Opportunities for success with different systems of farming are rather limited on bottomland farms but vary with flood hazards. A large part of the land should be in soybeans and corn. Yields can be increased considerably through balanced fertilizer treatments, catch crops, and better weed control. Bottomland farms, in general, do not have large enough acreages of hay and pasture for large herds of dairy or beef cows. Hogs and feeder cattle are better adapted, and it would be profitable to increase these enterprises on many farms. Corn is available for feed. Most of the farms have upland areas suitable for livestock centers and adapted to forage production on a limited scale. In this study the risks of flood damage were not specifically determined. On bottomland farms, however, the risk is relatively high, 46 BULLETIN No. 579 [August, and crop yields can be expected to vary considerably from year to year. Another problem is that with large acreages of soybeans and corn, peak labor requirements are high, and there is only a limited amount of time in which field work can be done on the bottomland. Large machinery investments are necessary. Maintenance of fertility at a high level would also require relatively large annual purchases of fertilizers. On bottomland farms in the survey, however, a larger proportion of the tillable land was untreated than in any other group of farms. Flat upland farms. Survey farms in this group averaged 215 acres: 122 acres were poorly drained flat upland soils and 73 acres gently sloping prairie or timber soils. It is on these farms that management problems associated with claypan soils are most serious. Thirty-one percent of the tillable land was in corn, 16 percent in soybeans, and 8.5 percent in small grains. Average yields of all grain crops were below the averages for all farms in the survey. Forty-two percent of the tillable land was in hay and pasture, but much of this acreage was relatively unproductive. Although there were more cattle than on bottomland farms, livestock numbers were generally low relative to acreages of feed and forage crops. After their fertility has been built up, flat upland farms offer rather wide opportunities in the choice of profitable systems of farming. On most of these farms erosion is not a serious problem, and with adequate soil treatment they can be successfully farmed in intensive rotations. They can be operated as grain farms with only enough livestock to utilize legumes and grasses needed in a grain system, or as livestock farms of various types, with grain as a secondary source of income. Bottomland-upland farms. Bottomland-upland farms in the survey averaged 249 acres. About 10 percent of this area was steep and eroded; the remainder was half bottomland soils and half upland soils of various types. On 66 percent of the farms part of the land was owned and part rented. This is the typical situation where the farmer owns an upland tract and rents bottomland mainly for grain pro- duction. The combination of bottomland and upland soils is well adapted to general systems of farming in which both grains and livestock are important sources of income. Upland areas are large enough to provide forage for good-sized livestock enterprises, and bottomlands are used to produce most of the grain for feed and for market. This arrange- ment was clearly shown in the survey. Bottomland-upland farmers had, in general, larger livestock businesses than any other group. They produced more corn per farm than any other group and had the highest percent of their tillable land in corn. On the other hand, they had less than the average percent of tillable land in soybeans. With larger livestock enterprises, corn was evidently considered a more 1954] FARMS IN THE CLAYPAN AREA OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 47 valuable crop than soybeans on these farms. A larger proportion of bottomland on the bottomland-upland farms was less subject to serious flood damage than the bottomland on the bottomland farms, and could be worked earlier in the spring. This accounts for some of the wide differences in the proportion of land in soybeans on these two groups of farms. In a number of respects bottomland-upland farms had more pro- ductive farming programs than any of the other groups. Less of the land was untreated, the cropping systems made relatively good use of land resources, and larger and better balanced livestock programs were being followed. Mixed upland farms. These farms averaged 198 acres and had the most varied soil resources of all groups. Each farm had a variety of soils, mostly upland types, with no one type dominant. The general quality of the soil resources was lower than on the flat upland, bot- tomland, and bottomland-upland farms. Mixed upland farms varied in their organization and in other matters, as well as in their soil resources, showing no definite pattern. Apparently, however, they were operated by a relatively large number of young farmers. They included a slightly lower proportion of owned land than any other group. Their cropping systems were rather inten- sive, considering the quality of their land: 56 percent of their tillable land was in grain crops and 39 percent in hay and pasture. Livestock numbers per farm were average or below average, but five of the 15 survey farms selling whole milk were in this group. Some of the farms were well equipped with machinery and some very poorly equipped. Timber and prairie soil farms. These two groups of farms, both on gently sloping soils, were similar in many respects, their problems differing mainly in degree. Their soil resources were more limited than in any other group. The timber soil farms averaged 127 acres, and the prairie soil farms 157 acres. These were the only groups with more owned land than rented land. Only three of the 57 farmers in both groups rented all the land they farmed. Because of their advanced age, or for other reasons, the operators of many of these farms gave less than full time to their farms. Total annual labor per farm averaged 11.5 and 12.5 months respectively. Some of these farmers were partially retired and had rented out a part of their land best suited to grain production. A high proportion of the tillable land they operated was in hay and pasture; but since no analysis was made of land rented out or of crops received as rent from such land, it was not possible to determine the importance of such land in the operation of the two groups of farms. If typical farms in these two groups were to be successfully oper- ated as full-time businesses, they would offer a rather limited choice 48 BULLETIN No. 579 [August, of farming systems. Acreages are small, and a high proportion of the sloping land must be kept in hay and pasture. Livestock systems are needed to fully utilize both the crops grown and the labor of the farmer and his family. With a few notable exceptions, however, live- stock numbers were quite small on survey farms in these groups. Among the exceptions were a timber soil farmer who produced 5,000 broilers, and two other farmers in the same group who sold 77 hogs and 103 hogs respectively. These are not large-scale livestock enter- prises, but they do represent desirable adjustments to meet the situa- tions these farms present. The choice between using dairy cattle or beef cattle to utilize forage on these small farms should depend largely on the labor avail- able or on the amount of labor a farmer chooses to put into the business. An efficient dairy herd would provide profitable employment for much more labor than a beef-cow herd that could be carried on the same amount of hay and pasture. Feeder-cattle programs would be profitable, but it is apparent that most operators of these farms can- not assume, or do not choose to assume, the risk of annual purchases of feeders. Outlook for future. Because of the nature of claypan soils, agricul- ture in this area has been characterized by low capital inputs, low land values, small farms, low volume of production, low income per farm, and a good deal of part-time farming. To a large extent this background explains the tenure pattern, the differences in the ages of farmers and in the acres and quality of land resources on different farms. It also explains the cause of the inadequate soil-fertility pro- grams and small livestock numbers on most farms at the time of the survey. Rapid changes in technology were, however, taking place on many farms in the area in 1948, resulting in greater production per farm and per acre. This trend has continued. That these changes have been stimulated by favorable economic conditions emphasizes the impor- tance of capital inputs in improving farm incomes. Production and income possibilities in the claypan area far exceed what was thought possible only a few years ago. To develop these possibilities requires much greater input of capital per farm than has been typical in the past. In fact, for the individual farmer, the problem of increasing income is three-sided. The farmer has to know how to acquire the needed income; in what part of the business to invest it for quick and safe returns ; and how to manage the business in order to be sure of getting the potential returns. 1954] FARMS IN THE CLAYPAN AREA OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 49 APPENDIX TABLES Table 27. Number and Percentage of Farm Operators in Various Age Groups, by Tenure* Age group (years) Owned farms Rented farms Part-owned farms All farms Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent 20-29 2 3.5 4 11.8 13 12.3 20 58.8 35 33.0 3 8.8 28 26.5 5 14.7 17 16.0 2 5.9 12 11.3 1 .9 34 100.0 106 100.0 19 9.6 63 31.8 40 20.2 43 21.7 28 14.2 5 2.5 198 100.0 30-39 8 13.8 40-49 9 15 5 50-59 21 36.2 60-69 . . . 14 24.1 70-89 4 67 All ages ... 58 100.0 Farm survey, Wayne county, 1948. All farms include 30 or more acres. Table 28. Distribution of Sample Farms by Number of Tracts and Tenure of Operators* Number of tracts Owned farms Rented farms Part-owned farms All farms Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent 1 . 33 56 . 9 9 26.5 8 23.6 17 16.0 3 8.8 24 22.7 9 26.5 28 26.4 3 8.8 19 17.9 2 5.8 18 17.0 34 100.0 106 100.0 42 21.2 41 20.7 34 17.2 39 19.7 22 11.1 20 10.1 198 100.0 2 16 27.6 3 7 12.1 4 2 3.4 5 6-11 58 100.0 Farm survej Table 29. - , Wayne county, 1948. - Distribution of by Size and All farms include 30 or more acres. Headquarters Tracts and Other Tracts by Tenure of Operators* Size of tracts (acres) Owned farms Rented farms Part-owned farms All farms Number Percent Number Percent Number" 3 Percent Number Percent 1-19 (H 1 17 leadquarters tracts) 2 5.9 7 6.6 3 8.8 36 34.0 6 17.7 33 31.1 8 23.5 19 17.9 1 2.9 6 5.7 14 41.2 5 4.7 34 100.0 106 100.0 (Other tracts) 21 30.4 89 27.2 30 43.5 152 46.5 13 18.8 49 15.0 4 5.8 19 5.8 13 4.0 1 1.5 5 1.5 69 100.0 327 100.0 10 5.0 57 28.8 51 25.8 37 18.7 16 8.1 27 13.6 198 100.0 116 26.8 200 46.3 69 16.0 25 5.8 15 3.5 7 1.6 432 100.0 20-59 . 18 31.0 60-99 ... 12 20.7 100-139 10 17.3 140-179 9 15.5 180-537 8 13 8 Total . . 58 100.0 1-19. . . 6 16.6 20-59 18 50.0 60-99 7 19.4 100-139 2 56 140-179 2 5.6 180-537 1 2.8 Total 36 100.0 Total tracts ... 94 .... 103 433 630 Farm survey, Wayne county, 1948. All farms include 30 or more acres. Fifty-eight farms were owned, 34 were rented and 106 were part-owned. b Four of the headquarters tracts were rented. The remaining 102 were owned. Fifty-eight of the tracts other than headquarters were owned. The remaining 269 were rented. 50 BULLETIN No. 579 [August, i ..CO, CC i oooooi^. cc p cocopoousto p 1 PH OOCO COCOh- P cod- 00 "w I 5, PH itJOOiOOOOOCO P COtOtOUJcO p CM c^ ^H I-H p ? i -r ^ p eg S *J 3 =5 $ CM a) ... 1 ** 1 ec CO CO CC CM C 00 CO CC t CM O: (H H " 9 'COCO CM O> PCOCN CO p CO co u -e B O CS U2 CM ^f CO ' O o "5 S tO (N to CO t~ CO O tt-tOtCO P J h S POOOOU5CNO P COCM P 00 _5 B CMCN- 1 Tj< 10 CC CM OS co a> 2 12 H S X | 1-1 CO CM^ OS OS (N _ IH t H , CC a 8 t-O C CCrfCO P I |2 , B fl D t- OS TJI 00 CD CO p ^ S N (B g PH 1-H 'C ^ . US **" ^\ 'C ^ . CJ Q Q CM cs oo u: t t- PH 1 O (N tO O CO h- UJOStO 'CN CN S 3 a. -Q s ^ ^S "^ 2; to K PC s h ** x C ^ i^ _ V C rH V 1' 8 [ t '.'.'.'.'.'. *** CS CO ^ 00 "^ 33 I Z 3 .O fcfe r5 ' 1, [ t -cor^co -coh-co OS OS ' 'US "^ OS OS -H * t US *^j f a 9) -. M ,66666 -i PPOOCO-tfCN ,P 1 1 -* CM CC ^^ ^- * ' fH _i CS CO < i EH 'o H FARMS IN THE CLAYPAN AREA OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 51 c !N t- O t- >O O i a tOOOC^t^MO'O O ld All farms'- 1 1 Jo K a ^ i o t cs i -f co N -,-;___ ~* * OS CO O CO 00 * ri 00 tO-*-*O.-C O -< CO N IN i-i C *-Ht,os-"J< "5 -H CO -H * 00 C^ -H ^ O xT o o B 1 c i c '3 I Prairie soi farms C 1 1 | ?, c i "3 - CO < Tf -4< IN t^- . . (N (N N CS l r-> r-l .1-1 >ups of farms, as exp ps of Sample 1 I Prairie soi farms ^ X X c .0 s 3 !z; c I-H CO T)< IN 1-1 1-. O I-HCO-H^Jl-l O coos'ftocoM r~ (N i-lCOCO(N^-i O o. M V % i ^ "o a i Flat uplanc farms I 1 r y. 'S c. 4> "H TC CO CJ OS 'O >* Bottomlanc farms dumber Perc OOOOSOCO Q riCOCN!N^-i C CO OS O tO IO rt O CO lyne county, icluded here t *A x V K If urvey, W rms are i I 5 1 :::::::: E ; : : '. ' '. '. '. :::::: :^ 3 2 - Si Edl* ^ e of operate i S > ;:;;:;; '.'.'.'.'.'.'. O5 O5 Ol d Oi OS O *M Farm b Four fa H '.'.'.'.'.' 'f o (Number of machines) Wagon . 48 33 39 37 50 33 245 Tractor . 38 24 31 17 39 27 178 Tractor plow . 32 22 32 15 36 26 165 Tractor disk . 33 17 30 15 34 27 158 Spike- or spring-tooth harrow. . . 28 17 31 18 25 36 157 Walking plow . 23 16 24 18 27 30 143 Tractor cultivator . 27 17 26 14 28 24 139 One-row cultivator . 13 17 14 15 21 37 120 Corn planter . 18 14 16 14 24 29 119 Dump rake 6 14 21 16 14 32 116 Mowing machine . 15 17 15 14 18 28 109 Cream separator . 11 16 13 7 21 14 84 Disk harrow . 11 7 11 10 15 19 76 Tractor mower . 16 8 12 5 17 11 69 Sulky plow 6 6 7 6 9 16 52 Grain drill . 15 6 3 3 9 9 46 Combine . 15 1 5 1 4 10 36 Sweep rake 4 7 7 3 5 9 35 Corn picker . 10 1 3 3 9 7 33 Grain binder 2 6 2 5 9 9 33 Roller 6 2 8 4 4 7 32 Seeder 5 2 7 1 8 7 30 Hay baler 7 2 5 4 5 23 Two-row cultivator 4 4 3 7 2 2 22 Corn sheller 6 1 2 4 7 20 Side-delivery rake 6 4 2 3 4 19 Rotary hoe . 3 2 3 1 5 3 17 Fan mill 5 1 4 1 3 15 a Farm survey, Wayne county, 1948. All farms include 30 or more acres. In addition to the ma- chines listed above, the 198 farmers reported 10 gang plows, 10 threshing machines, 9 corn binders, 6 silage cutters, 6 corn elevators, 5 stacking outfits, 5 manure spreaders, 4 milking machines, 4 hammer mills, 3 hay loaders, 3 trailers, 3 gas engines, 1 electric motor, 1 corn crusher, 1 orchard sprayer, 1 milk cooler, 1 pea and bean huller, and 1 phosphate spreader. b Four farms are included here that are not included in any of the six groups of farms, as ex- plained in footnote b, Table 6. 6M 8-54 55434 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA