FIFTEENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART X 705 



profitable one more profitable. In studying the results of a year's busi- 

 ness, one must keep constantly in mind that these are the results of a 

 single year. Weather conditions, crop conditions, market conditions for 

 the year as compared with an average year, must be considered. For 

 instance, potatoes in 1912 showed large losses on many farms because of 

 the low prices and the quantities lost by rot. However, by studying the 

 potato account to find the cost of producing an acre, then, by considering 

 both an average yield and price for the locality, one could draw the con- 

 clusion that ordinarily it would or would not be a profitable business to 

 raise potatoes on most of the farms where potatoes are raised. 



The potato account in Table II was studied when it was closed, and 

 the following facts were obtained: Total acreage, 14; total yield, 1,128 

 bushels; yield per acre, 80.6 bushels; total cost of crop, $469.20; cost 

 per acre, $33.51; total value of crop, $857.82; vatlue per acre, $61.27; 

 total profit, $388.62; profit per acre, $27.76; man hours per acre, 57; horse 

 hours per acre, 60; labor cost per acre, $10.81; horse labor cost per acre, 

 $6.27; cost per bushel, 41.6 cents; profit per bushel, 34.4 cents. The 

 average value per bushel was higher than is ordinarily received for 

 market potatoes. 



Besides the satisfaction of actually knowing what crops or enterprises 

 paid and how much, there are many other ways in which the accounts 

 may be useful. They may be used to study the seasonal distribution of 

 labor on the farm as a whole and on separate enterprises, and also to 

 determine what crops and what animals are the most profitable. By 

 comparing one's results with the facts detailed in bulletins on the same 

 subject, one can find how his efforts compare with those of other farmers 

 as to economy of labor, the working efficiency of horses, and many other 

 points. 



By keeping farm cost accounts one cannot help but gain an idea of 

 the value of labor. He soon finds that time represents money and that 

 it is equally as Important to save one as the other. He sees that it is 

 just as important to save an hour's work by man and team on an acre of 

 oats as it is to get a yield of an extra bushel per acre and that it is 

 more wasteful to have a team idle than to have one man idle for the 

 same length of time. 



Farm cost accounts will help to teach one that very often the largest 

 yields may not pay. After closing the accounts the farmer usually gets 

 many surprises. Often he finds that the enterprises which he thinks are 

 the best and to which he devotes most of his time are being conducted 

 at a loss, while the steadier, more common enterprises or crops may be 

 the only ones that show profits. 



The system of farm cost accounting outlined in the foregoing pages 

 is not a theoretical system, but one which for several years, with many 

 types of farming and under widely differing conditions, has given satis- 

 faction. It is hoped that what has been written will furnish helpful 

 suggestions to farmers who are keeping accounts and are not satisfied 

 with the results obtained from their present system, and that it will be 

 a guide to be followed by many others who wish to keep accounts but 

 have not known how to make a beginning. 

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