THE COST OF FARMING OPERATIONS
Several millions of the inhabitants of the United States, not to mention those of other countries, are engaged each year in the preparation of the soil for the cereal and forage crops and on the work of seeding and harvesting them. The welfare of one-third the population is directly and that of the other two-thirds, although less directly, is quite as surely dependent upon the effectiveness of this effort. If, for example, as sometimes happens, one-third the population receives on account of untoward seasonal conditions but four-fifths of the usual product, everyone must suffer on account of this unrewarded labor. Many, perhaps most, financial panics have their origin in crop failures aided, doubtless, by an improper financial system.
Although widely and sometimes bitterly discussed, little is really known concerning the relation between the effort expended and the returns obtained in producing the great staple farm products; yet one of the most important and vital considerations in the organization of a farm enterprise is the income, both gross and net, which may be expected from the different crops contemplated. Obviously the yield and price of the several crops will vary with the locality and with the season. It is, therefore, impossible to predict for any year either what yield may be obtained or what price will be secured. If, however, a sufficient number of years are selected, an average may be found which will form a basis for calculating the probable result for another series of years. The following table gives the yield and the average farm values per acre for five staple crops for five years, 1905-1909 inclusive, for the United States and for four widely separated states, viz., Pennsylvania, Iowa, Texas and Oregon.
AVERAGE YIELD PER ACRE, 1905-1909.
| Pennsylvania | Iowa | Texas | Oregon | |
| Maize, bu. | 36.6 | 33.4 | 21.1 | 27.3 |
| Wheat, bu. | 17.8 | 15.5 | 9.6 | 20.6 |
| Oats, bu. | 28.9 | 28.9 | 26.6 | 32.8 |
| Potatoes, bu. | 84.4 | 85.8 | 67.0 | 119.0 |
| Hay, tons | 1.39 | 1.56 | 1.32 | 2.11 |
AVERAGE FARM VALUE PER ACRE, 1905-1909
| Pennsylvania | Iowa | Texas | Oregon | |
| Maize | $22.59 | $13.80 | $12.17 | $19.58 |
| Wheat | 16.61 | 12.42 | 9.11 | 16.10 |
| Oats | 13.33 | 9.28 | 12.97 | 15.20 |
| Potatoes | 55.87 | 44.75 | 65.15 | 71.18 |
| Hay | 18.74 | 10.13 | 13.92 | 19.60 |
Such figures as the above may be compiled by anyone at any time for any year or series of years from the yearbooks of the United States Department of Agriculture. They form a fairly sound basis for calculating the gross income which may be expected from the staple farm crops, particularly for the cereals, potatoes, hay, cotton and tobacco. Five questions, however, present themselves, which should, as far as possible, be settled before applying them to an individual problem.
(1) How nearly do the conditions, especially those of soil and climate, of the given location correspond to the averages of the state? The question can be settled only by a thorough study of soils and their crop adaptation. It is a matter requiring study, experience and judgment.
(2) How much larger yields may be expected on account of better methods employed? It is here that most mistakes are made in estimating possible farm profits. Necessarily, all statistical averages of production are much below those which an enterprising farmer considers an average crop and habitually produces. Not more than 50% increase upon these figures, however, should be anticipated by reason of the improved methods which one is going to employ.
While the average yield of maize, even in the so-called corn states, is not far from 30 bushels an acre, and while it is quite common for good farmers to produce 60 to 75 bushels of maize per acre, it would not be safe to assume a yield of more than 45 bushels unless the conditions are more than ordinarily favorable.
The application of the averages given on pages [149-150] to an individual farm enterprise may be illustrated by calculating the possible results which might be obtained on 80 acres of arable land in Iowa and Pennsylvania with the four great soil products of northern United States.
| Iowa | Pennsylvania | |||
| Acres | Income | Acres | Income | |
| Maize | 40 | $552.00 | 15 | $340.85 |
| Oats | 20 | 185.60 | 15 | 200.25 |
| Wheat | 5 | 62.10 | 15 | 249.25 |
| Hay | 15 | 151.95 | 35 | 655.90 |
| Total | 80 | $951.65 | 80 | $1,446.25 |
If 50% is added for the increased yields which may be expected on account of the employment of better methods, the total yield from 80 acres of arable land would become for Iowa $1,428 and for Pennsylvania $2,169. This does not mean that farming is necessarily more profitable in Pennsylvania than in Iowa. Not only may the cost of cultivating an acre of arable land be greater in Pennsylvania, but usually a larger territory must be owned in order to obtain 80 acres of arable land. Eighty acres of these four crops is probably as often grown on a farm of 100 acres in Iowa as on one of 160 acres in Pennsylvania. The total farm acreage in Iowa is, in round numbers, 35 millions; in Pennsylvania, 19 millions. In Iowa about one-half the farm area is in the farm crops under consideration, while in Pennsylvania these four crops occupy only one-third the farm area.
Mr. R. D. Maurice Wertz, after several years in railroad offices, took charge of his fathers farm at Quincy, Pa., in 1891, and converted it into a fruit farm. He now has about 220 acres in peaches and apples. It is understood that he has sent from the above shipping station and one other about $200,000 worth of fruit in the last six years.
Mr. T. E. Martin, Rush, N. Y., is one of the most successful potato growers in the United States. He has a farm of 57 acres of the Dunkirk series of soil. He has three 18-acre fields in rotation consisting of potatoes, wheat and clover and alfalfa. Mr. Martin has increased the yield of potatoes from 60 bushels per acre in 1892 to 417 bushels in 1906. In 1906 he produced 7,510 bushels on 18 acres. In 1907 he sold $2,807.89 worth of potatoes from 18 acres, or $160 per acre. He attributes his large yields mainly to drainage, thorough preparation of the soil, good tillage, spraying, clover and alfalfa, manure and commercial fertilizers.
(3) Will there be a general increase or decrease in the price of crops during the coming years?
The following table gives the average farm price for Missouri by five-year periods.
THE AVERAGE DECEMBER FARM PRICE BY
PREVIOUS DECADES COMPARED WITH
AVERAGE OF FIVE YEARS, 1906-10.
| 1866 | 1875 | 1886 | 1896 | 1906 | |
| to | to | to | to | to | |
| 1875 | 1885 | 1895 | 1905 | 1910 | |
| cts. | cts. | cts. | cts. | cts. | |
| Maize, bu. | 40 | 33 | 33 | 35 | 49 |
| Wheat, bu. | 103 | 87 | 64 | 71 | 87 |
| Oats, bu. | 30 | 27 | 26 | 27 | 39 |
| Potatoes, bu. | 57 | 48 | 49 | 53 | 68 |
| Hay, ton | 902 | 799 | 704 | 700 | 875 |
An examination of the last column shows that the average price of these staple farm products has been considerably greater during five recent years than during the previous thirty years. Will this increase in price continue, or will there be a series of years of unusually low prices which will bring the average price of the decade down to that of the previous three decades? Few persons will care to venture an answer to this question, which is of the utmost importance to all farmers and especially to the beginner.
(4) The figures employed are taken from the yearbook of the United States Department of Agriculture and are the estimated farm price on December 1 of each year. Can the commodities be sold for the December farm price? Will potatoes sold at the time of digging bring less than the December price? Will wheat or maize held until May bring a higher price? To what extent, by the judicious holding of products, can advance in price be obtained?
(5) Will the products be sold for cash, or may they be turned into animal products at an increased profit? In some sections of the United States animals are reared primarily because of the increased profit due to manufacturing soil products into animal products; in other regions, however, they are kept primarily for the purpose of maintaining the fertility of the soil and only incidentally on account of the increased profits.
COST OF PRODUCTION
For a number of reasons it is difficult to determine the cost of growing farm crops. One reason deserves to be especially emphasized. In any business enterprise it may be necessary to run at a loss, because to stop would entail a still greater loss. This is particularly true in farming, where men are employed by the month in order that they may be had when needed. Since they are receiving pay, it is better that such men should be employed some days at farm operations which return only a portion of their wages rather than not to have them employed at all. Under such circumstances, therefore, the cost of producing a given crop may be greater than is indicated by the time actually employed in its production.
Many other factors also enter, as the average number of hours per day which it is possible to work. This is greatly influenced by weather conditions. The Minnesota station determined that the working day on about thirty farms in that state varied from seven and one-half to eight and one-half hours, with two to three and one-half hours on Sunday. The average length of the working day for horses varied from 3.1 to 3.3 hours.
The cost for labor of cultivating a given area of land will depend not only on the crop or crops to be raised, the climate, the topography and character of the soil, the size and shape of the fields and the system of cropping, but also upon the mans ability for organization. It is said that the European farmers, and even the farmers from eastern Canada, are several years in adjusting themselves to farming in western Canada. When the farmers from Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska or surrounding states move into western Canada with their three-horse teams and other suitable equipment, applying their thorough knowledge of prairie farming, they are at once successful. The man is thus an important factor.
TIME REQUIRED FOR CULTURAL OPERATIONS
The following table will be helpful as showing time required to perform certain operations, since it is a record of labor actually employed on a field of 18 acres of easily tilled land in central Ohio. All labor was employed at prices named, board for man and food for horses being furnished in addition at the prices estimated. The owner of the land furnished the horse for the harvester.
| Plowing | 7.5 | days at | $2 | $15.00 |
| Harrowing | 3 | days at | 2 | 6.00 |
| Planting | 2 | days at | 2 | 4.00 |
| Cultivating (4 times) | 7 | days at | 2 | 14.00 |
| Cultivating with harvester | 6 | days at | 1 | 6.00 |
| Husking and cribbing by the job | 45.54 | |||
| Estimated cost of board | 25-1/2 | days | 7.95 | |
| Estimated team maintenance | 25-1/2 | days | 4.90 | |
| ------- | ||||
| $103.39 |
According to these figures the cost for labor of raising the crop and the cost of harvesting was almost exactly the same, each being a little less than $3 an acre.
THE COST OF PRODUCING FARM CROPS
The Minnesota station has determined the cost of growing the staple farm crops on 45 farms in different sections of the State. The total expense per acre for an average of six years is shown in the following table, not including land rental or cost of marketing.
COST OF PRODUCING FARM CROPS IN MINNESOTA.
| Spring wheat, land fall plowed | $5.54 |
| Oats, land fall plowed | 5.80 |
| Barley, land spring plowed | 6.89 |
| Maize, husked from standing stalks | 9.41 |
| Hay, timothy and clover | 3.68 |
| Potatoes, land not fertilized | 23.36 |
| Potatoes, land fertilized | 34.72 |
Some years ago the writer made an estimate of the cost of producing maize, oats, wheat and clover hay in a four-course rotation on a tenant farm in central Pennsylvania. The soil was a heavy clay and required plowing for each crop, except, of course, the hay crop, one acre a day being considered a good days work.
Counting the expense of man and team at $2 per day, the labor cost per acre was found to be $7 for maize, $5.10 for both wheat and oats, and $2.30 for hay, or an average of about $4.90 per acre for the four crops. The interest on the capital invested in operating this farm, exclusive of the land, was estimated at $1.45 per acre.
INFLUENCE OF YIELD UPON THE COST OF
PRODUCTION
The Illinois station has prepared a set of estimates upon the cost of producing an acre of maize, showing variations in cost due to differences in yield. In these estimates, instead of making a charge for the actual cost of manure or fertilizer applied, an estimate is made of the value of the plant food removed.
COST OF PRODUCING ONE ACRE OF MAIZE IN
ILLINOIS AS MODIFIED BY YIELD.
| Yield | Yield | Yield | Yield | |
| 50 bu. | 75 bu. | 100 bu. | 35 bu. | |
| Disking | $0.40 | $0.40 | $0.40 | $0.40 |
| Plowing | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| Preparation | .75 | .75 | .75 | .75 |
| Planting | .15 | .15 | .15 | .15 |
| Seed | .35 | .35 | .35 | .35 |
| Cultivation | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| Plant food | 1.02 | 1.53 | 2.04 | .71 |
| Husking | 1.25 | 1.87 | 2.50 | .88 |
| Marketing | 1.00 | 1.50 | 2.00 | .70 |
| ----- | ----- | ----- | ----- | |
| Cost per acre | $6.92 | $8.55 | $10.19 | $5.94 |
| Cost per bushel | .14 | .11 | .10 | .17 |
The average yield per acre in Illinois for 12 years preceding date of this estimate was 35 bushels per acre; the average price per bushel during the same period was 32 cents.
LABOR COST OF PRODUCING A BUSHEL OF
GRAIN
Not counting rent of land or interest on capital invested in equipment, nor depreciation of soil fertility, it has been shown that under favorable conditions, the labor cost of growing and harvesting an acre of wheat or oats may be as low as $4.50, and that of maize as low as $5 per acre. Assuming the average labor cost of producing an acre of wheat or oats at $5.50 and of maize at $6 per acre, and taking the average yields per acre for a series of years to be 13.8 for wheat, 30.9 bushels for oats and 24.9 bushels for maize, the average labor cost per bushel will be: Wheat, 40 cents; oats, 17-1/2 cents; and maize, 28 cents.
The data given in this chapter are to be accepted as suggestive rather than as determinative. The chief purpose in presenting them is to place before the young farmer an appreciation of some of the problems involved in the production of the chief and basic agricultural commodities. The young farmers success will be modified by the role which they occupy in his farming system and by his ability to adjust them to the economic conditions in which he may find himself placed. A thorough understanding of the principle underlying the data submitted will go far toward enabling him to make this adjustment, although none of the illustrations given may have been obtained under conditions identical to his own.