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.
