The efficiency of the farm diary in accounting investigations

Abstract

As stated in the subject, the purpose of this paper is to set forth the efficiency in accounting investigations of the Diary system of keeping Farm records. This system of keeping farm records is known as the farm diary. It has been used to a certain extent and in a modified form by farmers over the country, but it has been used very little, if any, as a means of securing data for investigational purposes, except in a small way by the U.S. Department of Agriculture at Washington. The diary has been used in Missouri by the farmers in co-operation with the Farm Management Department of the University for the past two years with increasing popularity among both the farmers and the Department. Six farmers co-operated in this work in 1912, twenty in 1913, and more than forty have begun the work for 1914. All tables, tabulations and results shown herein are given for the purpose of showing the possibilities of this system of keeping farm records, rather than the intention of presenting data from which any definite conclusions can be drawn, because of the small number of records from which this data has been collected. All data shown here is gathered from six diaries kept in 1912, and five which were kept in 1913; the year having been completed February 28th, 1914. In some cases it was possible to use the eleven farms in the tabulations, while in others the data was not complete enough in all farms, but with each table is given the number of farms and animals included.