180 



liYAI. < -MM MISSION ON AGRICULTURE. 



SO 



, 1919.] 



MR. L. N. 



[Continued. 



The omt of any other cultivation cn be calculated 

 iu the same way. 



D. Cott of Ploughing tcith Trartort. 



r.Vumifn/ fost of Coughing 1 atrr of light land with 

 an Of iti'im " -I I'. i'. Tmrt-tr Jrntriny a 3- 

 /urroic Jfoiinr self-lift plough. 



s. d. 

 Kui-l. 2 galls, at Is. lOd 3 8 



1'etrol, 1 qt 



Lubricating oil, 4 gN 2 



Labour ... 1 6 



Henairs and depreciation plough 



shares, Ac 7 



Carting oil, and supervision 



3 



15 1 



The above tractor cost 380, and has been working 

 3 years, and the figures are based on the actual costs 

 of working the tractor. 



Most of the repairs have been carried out by the 

 owner, or would have cost considerably more. 



The present charges for ploughing done by Govern- 

 ment tractors in the district at the present time are 



On light land 

 medium land 

 heavy land 



20s. per acre. 

 22s. 6d. 

 32s. 6d. 



It will thus be seen that the difference in cost 

 between horse and Government tractor ploughing is 

 as under: 



Light Medium Heavy 



land. land. land. 



Horse 14s. 7d. 10s. 6<1. 29s. .'VI. 



Government tractor 20s. 22s. 6d. 32s. 6d. 



N.B. It should be borne in mind that with tractor 

 ploughing the field must be first set out with horses, 

 and that corners and head lands have to be afterwards 

 ploughed by horse labour. 



From the above it does not appear that the tractor 

 can be worked more 'economically than horses upon 

 the farm, though the value of getting the work done 

 quickly and at the proper time may often outweigh 

 the extra cost of the tractor. 



E. The Cost of 1'rodvring Corn. 



In working out the costs of production, it is well 

 to take as a basis the light land holding, of which 

 there is a very large average in Norfolk, as it is on 

 these farms that the heavy increase in the cost of 

 labour and working expenses .s IIIOM! frit, the extra 

 price received for the corn being insufficient to repay 

 the extra cost. 



There :ire several thousand nrres of vrry light land, 

 more especially in the Thetford and Swaffham Unions 

 of the county, which only yield from 12 to 17 bushels 

 per acre of corn, but I have not included land of this 

 nature in working out the following tables of costs. 



A report on these lands was issued by a Special 

 Committee on March 29th, 1919. 



itifieisil manures were applied the cost would 

 !> increased accordingly and a profit might or might 

 nut !> shown on the use of the manure; it depends 

 largely upon the season. 



The value of any residue from the farmyard manure 

 left in the land after taking off the crop may be put 

 against the cost of cleaning the land for tin- ni-.\t crop. 



In working out the above estimate nothing has been 

 charge! for interest on capital, and no value allowed 

 for the farmer's own time and skill. 



F. The .{rim,/, )',,/,/ ,,/ t'urti / 



Returns have been collected of the actual acreage 

 shown and tin- number of bushels of corn threshed O n 

 holdings of good light land in Norfolk representing 

 about 13, 500 acres of corn grown ilnring the last six 

 years and it is found that the averages for light land 

 are: 



Bushels per Acre. 



Wheat 21-42 



Gate 26-14 



Barley 18-29 



Ely* ' ... M".'< 



Working on the rc'turn.s the cash result of growing 

 one acre of wheat at the present time is found to be 

 aa follows: 



ing din Acrr <if \\'hmt n 

 v>ett- farmed Light Land. 



For detU, ttt Table A (2) in Appendix VII. 



The price necessary to repay the cost of cultivation 

 as shown above, without giving the farmer any 

 interest on his capital or profit for himself, is 10s. 6|d. 

 per bushel, or 4!s. lid. per coomb of 1 ^ M. i:c. the 

 Government guaranteed minimum price for this year's 

 crop being 37s. 9d. 



s. d. 



21i bushels at 10s. 5Jd 11 5 3 



Deduct for dross corn ... ... 010 



11 4 3 



H. Cash result of growing one acre of oats on trill- 

 farmed light land. 



t For detail*, Table B (2) in Appendix VII. 



Showing the cost of production to be 24s. 5d. per 

 coomb of 12 stone, the Government guarantee mini- 

 mum price for this year's crop being 23s. 9d. per 12 

 stone. 



J. Cath result af ill-Hiring <>n< urn nf barley on well 

 farmed light luiul. 



For deUil., i Table B (8) in Appendix VII. 



