May, 1929] Potato Production Costs in New Hampshire 33 



horse labor at times when the other enterprises require little 

 attention. 



Raised as a supplementary crop it may often be a wise pro- 

 cedure to include potatoes in the farm organization even under 

 conditions where the production costs, allowing for all labor, ma- 

 chinery and horse charges, would make the enterprise a doubtful 

 one. 



In many instances a considerable amount is added to the 

 general farm income without adding greatly to the cash outlay, 



A typical case of a farm in Grafton County may illustrate this 

 situation. The operator and his son in 1926 produced bVo acres of 

 potatoes with a cash outlay of $536.35 for material and $70 for 

 extra labor. A crop of 1,038 bushels was sold for $1,141.80 so that 

 the income was increased by about $500. (Potato tools were avail- 

 able and the land used was not needed for roughage production.) 



In 1927, the same operator increased the acreage to 9 acres at 

 a cash outlay of $790.25 for materials and $105 for extra labor. 

 The crop was sold for $1,900. This increased the net income by 

 about $1,000. The increase of Sy^ acres increased the income about 

 $500 above the preceding year. 



Since this acreage of potatoes just about makes use of the time 

 available, any further increase of acreage would probably be ac- 

 companied by high costs for extra labor and perhaps losses in the-- 

 dairy enterprise due to neglect at times when potatoes needed at- 

 tention. 



Often comparisons are made with competing regions as to cost 

 of production. These comparisons are valuable in studying our 

 own management problems, but it is to be remembered that as long 

 as we are expecting to make an income on a New Hampshire farm 

 we must work out the most profitable combination of enterprises 

 for that particular farm and farmer, no matter what the costs are 

 for any given enterprise in some other state. In New Hampshire 

 for the farms surveyed the labor requirements on the average were 

 about 15 per cent, higher than in Maine. Seed costs for similar 

 quantities are higher. Fertilizer costs are lower because much ma- 

 nure is used in rotation on our dairy farms. On the other hand 

 many New Hampshire growers have a transportation advantage 

 oyer Aroostook County, Maine, of 39 cents a hundred weight. Con- 

 sidering this advantage in marketing, the New Hampshire growers 

 have a more favorable position in a comparison of costs. And in 

 addition the crop may be grown here as a supplementary enter- 

 prise to the dairy business, while in Aroostook County the farmers 

 are not so favored. 



The data as presented in this bulletin indicate many of the 

 factors that must be considered by the individual grower. Some of 

 the more important are soil and topography, size and machinery, 

 type of market, probable yields with different rates of seeding and 

 fertilizing, amounts of seed, fertilizer and manure, methods of 

 control of diseases and insects, the amount of labor and its distri- 

 bution through the year. Some or all of these factors should be 

 considered on all farms. Their relative importance vdW vary with 



