98 ELEMENTS OF FARM PRACTICE. 



to its feeding value as hay. Some farmers hesitate to devote 

 much of their land to growing hay, because it seems to bring 

 in less money per acre than other crops appear to produce. 

 The fact that it costs much less per acre to raise hay than 

 to raise corn or any of the grain crops, is often overlooked. 

 The following table shows the comparative cost of growing 

 an oat crop and a hay crop. The figures are averages of 

 accurate records on eight farms covering a period of five 

 years. 



Cost per Acre, Exclusive of Rent, of Producing Hay and Oats on 

 Eight Farms. Average for Five Years.* 



Hay— Timothy and Clover. 

 First Crop. 



Seed $ .410 



Mowing 432 



Raking 165 



Tedding 142 



Cocking and Spreading 177 



Hauling in 1.097 



Machinery Cost 1.171 



General Expense .623 



Second Crop. 4.217 



Mowing 405 



Raking 156 



Cocking and Spreading 218 



Hauling in 738 



General Expense 2.004 



Total Cost 7,738 



Oats 



Seed 1.319 



Cleaning Seed * 037 



Plowing 1.618 



Disking 397 



Dragging 340 



Seeding 313 



Cutting 473 



Twine 189 



Shocking 193 



Stacking 772 



Threshing (labor) 389 



Threshing (cash) 720 



Machinery cost 1.006 



General Expense .804 



Total Cost $8,570 



*Minne80ta Experiment Station Bulletin No. 145. 



