WHEAT 89 



North Dakota, 50 to 54 cents. The acre cost, 

 including interest on land and equipment, has 

 been computed since 1900 in several states as 

 follows: 



North Dakota, $8.28; Minnesota, $6.40; Kan- 

 sas, $7.80; Nebraska, $8.26; Washington, $7.20; 

 and Wyoming, $10.38. This is an average cost 

 of $8.05 per acre or fifty-seven and one-half cents 

 per bushel. To raise a bushel of wheat in Russia 

 costs 34 to 48 cents; in Italy, sixty-nine cents; 

 in Hungary, 52 to^63 cents; in Germany, ninety- 

 five cents; and in India, sixty-five cents. The 

 acre cost is given as $8.00 for Russia; $8.29 for 

 Argentina; and $11.69 for Hungary. 



The cost of raising wheat and all kinds of small 

 grains has been greatly reduced by the introduc- 

 tion of improved implements of tillage and modern 

 harvesting machinery. To produce a bushel of 

 wheat in the United States in 1830 required 183 

 minutes of human labor. In 1896 only ten 

 minutes were required. The labor cost per bushel 

 including both animal and human labor is stated 

 as twenty cents in 1830, and only ten cents in 

 1896. The greatest saving has been in the har- 

 vesting. The human labor which is still required 

 is quite light compared with that of 1830. 



PROFIT IN WHEAT RAISING 



The actual profit in raising wheat, however, is 

 not large. In a favorable season, bonanza farmers 

 of the Red River valley made a profit of $3.32 

 per acre, or 8% on the capital invested. This 

 takes no account of the exhaustion of soil fertility. 



