Table 15. — Equipment Combination and Annual Cash Costs for Equipment Services 

 When Part of the Cropping Equipment Is Owned and Part Is Hired 

 Assuming Farm Labor Has a Value of $1.00 an Hour, Farm A 



as to the time when they must be done. Total costs for operating and owning 

 other cropping machinery and for the custom work hired for the six field 

 operations when the hired labor freed through custom hiring is not released 

 would be $1,296 yer year compared with Sl,476 if all of the machines were 

 owned (Table 17). This reduction of $180 in total farm costs would result 

 in a decrease of $0.14 per 100 pounds of milk produced and net farm income 

 would be increased by $180 (Table 17).^ The investment in cropping equip- 

 ment would be reduced by $2,615, or roughly 36 percent. 



Alternative 5 — Partly Owned, Partly Hired, and Custom Work Off the Farm 



The limiting factor in the adjustment of doing custom work off the farm 

 (assuming a demand for services), would be the conflict for equipment and 

 labor between the home-farm and custom operations. The proposed crop and 



7 If hired labor freed by the hiring of custom services could be released, it would 

 reduce total farm costs by $208 below that incurred with owned machinery. The cost 

 of producing 100 pounds of milk would be reduced |0.17 and net farm income would 

 be increased $180. 



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