440 



IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



PllESENT CONDITION OF FARM LANDS. 



STATEMENT OF PROFIT AND LOSS. 



Annual loss to the State . . . 

 Value of wheat in State 

 Valvie of oat crop in State . 



.$21,608,960 

 . 12,860,000 

 . 26,114,000 



"The facts brought out in the above table show most conclusively 

 that a large amount of draining and ditching can be carried on with 

 profit in our State. By converting these percentage figures into actual 

 acres the need for drainage becomes still more apparent. In regard to 

 the non-productive land, using round numbers. Humboldt county had 

 82,000 acres of such land; Boone county, 70,000; Jefferson county, 76,000. 

 and Monona county 140,000 acres; while in the entire State the amount 

 of non-productive land reaches a total of 4,322,000 acres. Figuring that 

 the non-productive land of the State would bring even as low an in- 

 c'ome as $5 per acre after it is properly drained, we w^ould have the 

 enormous sum of $21,610,000 per year as increased profits. This income 

 represents the interest at 5 per cent on a little over $432,000,000. 



The annual cost of draining the entire State, using the figures given 

 above and considering the average cost of the operation to be $25 per 

 acre, would only amount to about $108,000,000, or in other words, the 

 money expended for drainage would pay an annual interest of 20 per 

 cent on the investment. That a revision of our present drainage laws 

 is sadly needed is shown by the fact that 40 per cent of the farms needing 



