More Efficient Production 



More efficient production is a vital element in 

 solving this problem. When the yield per acre is in- 

 creased above our present yields, the cost of produc- 

 tion per unit of output, that is per bushel, bale or 

 ton, tends to decrease. It costs about the same to 

 plow, plant, cultivate and harvest an acre of corn 

 whether the yield is 30 or 60 bushels per acre. Chart 

 10 illustrates a study of a number of farms in Ohio 

 made by the Ohio State Agricultural College. On 

 those farms where the yield of corn was 36 bushels per 

 acre, the labor cost of producing it was 34 cents a 

 bushel. But where the yield was 59 bushels, the labor 

 cost of production was but 21 cents a bushel. In the 

 latter instance the price of corn or pork might mate- 

 rially drop and still leave a net profit to the farmer. 

 But with a 36-bushel yield a slight drop in price would 

 mean a net loss to the farmer. 



The same typical situation is true of all other 

 crops. The average yield of wheat in the United States 

 is approximately 15 bushels per acre. But the efficient 

 farmer easily raises twenty -five and materially reduces 

 his cost of production. The same is true in the pro- 

 duction of dairy products. Large numbers of milch 

 cows on the farms of the United States are "board- 

 ers." Gradually these are being displaced with cows 

 which give a far larger yield at a lower cost of pro- 

 duction per pound of butter fat. The same principle 

 applies in the production of meat and poultry prod- 

 ucts. All that is included under the general term 

 "good farming," such as rotation of crops, better seed, 

 growing more legumes, raising crops on land best 

 suited to the crop, keeping more and better stock, the 

 judicious use of commercial fertilizer all tend to in- 

 crease yields and lower costs of production. 



[31] 



