FARMING NOTES.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 4, Issue 15, 23 February 1915, Page 1

FARMING NOTES.

Bookkeeping For Farmers.

With the high price of lanJ row ruling in New Zealand, it 13 impor-ta-.t that the man oa the land should devote mire attention to the lubject cf b:okkeeping. Rough and ready methods of calculation weie probably satisfactory in a degree some years back when a loss on one branch of farming was compensated for by an accretion in another direction. The value cf the land was in most cases low, and the return was almost as much as it is to-day. Utd p r such circumstances, a discrepancy was not ot such vital importance. But the .time has now arrived when those who Bre working the land shculd know to a greater degree and be able to show to what extent each branch of the farmirg operations is paying, if such information were availa&le, many farmers would, there is little doubt, make some radical alterations in the<r present ways. This question of better methods of accounting for the "tillers of the soil" is a subject of greater consequence to the general community than appears at first sight. In an agricultural country like New Zealand, where the chief exports come from the land, it is very important that the utmost value should be obtained Anyone with knowledge of farming that is usually carried on, knows well enough that the average resident in the country is very uncertain as to which department of his woik really. nets him the best return on his outlay. A haphazard opinion will be volunteered that the pigs paid well last year just because he disposed of large number at the one time flnd received a good cheque. Probably the yield from the paddock of oats was in reality better, but because a certain quantity was used by the stock and some was given to a neighbour in exchange for a few cows, and the balance taken by the storekeeper as contra, the proper appreciation of [the true value is lost. Cases like these are repeated constantly. Definite information and a proper analysis would surprise most of our country friends. They admit readily enough that it would be folly for a city merchant to run a number of departments or branches without ascertaining the precise profit earned by each. But when it comes to applying the same principle to his own domain, farmer raises all kinds of objections. A few pounds spent on the installation of a really good system of bookkeeping would save probably hundreds of pounds in the course of a season or two. We are quite sure that the trifling outlay in time required to inaugurate and maintain a satisfactory record would be repaid over and over again. This step would prove a boon not only to the great farming community which comprises the backbone of this country, but it would benefit the Dominion as a whole for it is obvious that the greater the yield from our natural resources the better it will be for all of us.

Perhaps one of the reasons why farmers have, not gose in for more businesslike methods b respect to keeping a record, so to speak, of their operations, is the difficulty of obtaining the necessary information how to start. Some simple way of bookkeeping is necessary and we throw out the suggestion that there is a very good field for a woik on this subject. The topic needs fa be treated from a farmer's point of view; he cannot employ half-a-dczen assistants to do the clerical work, eo that any system that is going to be used must be easily mastered, clear of intricate instructions, and practical enough to appeal.—"Mercantile Gazette."