I 



The Cost of Grooving Grapes 



J. F. Carpenter, Pruitland, Ontario 



* 



LAST fall at the convention of the On- 

 tario Fruit Growers' Association at 

 Toronto figures were brought for- 

 ward to show that grapes were being pro- 



portioned to it its share of the loss en- 

 tailed from the time the vineyard is plant- 

 ed until it bears enough to meet the ex- 

 penses. 



One of^the Many ProdnctiTC Viaejardi in tht Famous Niagara District of Ontario 



llduced at a loss when sold at twelve cents 

 a basket. A few of the growers present 

 the figures were high, and no 



I 



thought 



definite conclusion was arrived at. If the 

 grower would estimate his cost in the 

 same way as a manufacturer would make 

 an estimate, he would be in a position to 

 see where he could change his methods 

 so as to increase his profits. 



Why should the fruit grower not make 

 use of the same business methods as the 

 manufacturer? The latter in estimating 

 the cost of production, figures in the cost 

 of the raw material, labor, interest on 

 capitalization and depreciation in value of 

 plant and any other expenses which di- 

 rectly or indirectly influence the cost. He 

 then sells his article at a price above that 

 cost to insure himself a fair profit. What 

 does the average fruit grower do? He 

 sells his fruit for what he can get for it, 

 seldom knowing what it has cost him to 

 produce it. As for a fixation of the sell- 

 ing price, it is to be hoped that as co-op- 

 eration becomes more widely spread, or- 

 ganization becomes more perfect and 

 fruit growing is looked upon more as a 

 business, that this question will be ad- 

 Justed. 



The table on this page is an estimate 

 of the cost of growing grapes. This rep- 

 resents the cost of growing with the best 

 of care in a full bcnring vineyard. The 

 cost would be increased slightly if we ap- 



•The substance of an acidrpss delivered at the 

 short course in fruit growing held at the Ontario 

 Agricultural College last February. 



The expense figured here is above the 

 average and as a result we would expect 

 a yield about the average. How much 

 difference is there between the cost as 

 figured here and the cost under average 



conditions? The only difference that can 

 be made is in labor, fertilizing and spray- 

 ing bills, and in no cases can it amount 

 to more than one-third of the cost as fig- 

 ured in this table. By giving the vine- 

 yard this extra care, the average yield 

 would be nearly doubled. When a grow- 

 er has gone to the expense of starting a 

 vineyard, orchard or small plantation 

 and cared for it up to the time it should 

 return him a profit, he should so handle 

 it as to obtain the largest possible profit. 



The manufacturer after establishing a 

 plant finds he obtains much longer profits 

 by running it at full capacity than half 

 capacity. In both cases the interest on 

 capitalization and depreciation in value 

 of his. plant will be the same. The grape 

 grower's plant is represented in the cost 

 of the land, planting, etc., and money ex- 

 pended in caring for the vineyard up to 

 the time the returns meet the expenses. 

 The cost of his plant will vary little 

 whether he feeds and cares for it so as 

 to bring full or average crops. This be- 

 ing the case, it will pay the fruit grower 

 to run his vineyard, so to speak, at full 

 capacity. 



Great advancement has been made dur- 

 ing the past few years in the organization 

 and management of farmers' clubs, co- 

 operative associations, and so forth. 

 From these organizations we have exam- 

 ples of the results which business princi- 

 ples will bring when made use of by or- 



COST OF GROWING GRAPES-ONE ACRE 



530 vines at V-/.fi $13 25 



Coat of planting 5 00 



posts, (170 at 12c; 22 at 16c) 23 92 



500 lbs. wire at 3c 15 00 



Digging tor and setting posts 13 32 



Stretching wire 1 00 



Wire tighteners 50 



$71 99 



Cost without labor $52 67 



Spraying for one acre: 



36 lbs. copper sulphate at 6c $2 16 



36 lbs. lime at %c 18 



Poison for 9 bbls 25 



$2 59 

 Fertilizer : 



12 lbs. nitrogen, at 17c $2 04 



48 lbs. phosphoric acid at 6o 2 88 



66 lbs. potash, at 5o 3 30 



$8 22 



Implements for 20 acres : 



1 Furrow plow $10 00 



2 Furrow plow 15 00 



Disc harrow 25 00 



Grape hoe 10 00 



Hoes, forks, etc 5 00 



Harrow 10 00 



Sprayer 125 00 



Dray 125 00 



Wagon 50 00 



Odds and ends 10 00 



$385 00 



For one acre $ 19 25 



3 Horses at $150 $450 00 



1 Set flinge harness 25 00 



1 Set double harness ,.. 40 00 



Barn 600 00 



, $1,115 00 



For one acre $ 55 75 



Interest on cost of land, 6 per cent, of $125.. $7 50 



Labor 20 00 



iSnray materials 2 59 



Fertilizers 8 22 



Keep of horses 15 60 



Interest on capital invested in vines, posts, 

 and Implements, 6 per cent, of ($19.25 + 



$71.99) 5 47 



Interest on capital invested in horsea, har- 

 ness, barn, 6 per cent 3 34 



Depreciation in value, harness, horses, barn 



and implements, 10 per cent 7 50 



Depreciation in value, vines, trellis, etc., at 



4 per cent 2 10 



Taxes and insurance 1 00 



$73 32 



Suppose sale price of grapes is 12o : 



Picking 1 c 



Baskets 3.6c 



Net price per basket = 12— 4.6 = 7.4c. 



To give $73,32 would require 73.32 



7.4 



4.6c 



= 990 baskets. 



113 



