The daily wage rates for farm labor vary as much as S4.60 among the 

 areas competing on the Boston market. The southern states, including Mis- 

 souri, have a definite advantage over the rest of the country, but the pro- 

 duction returns per man unit are probably much lower in the cheap labor 

 area than in the rest of the country where labor rates are higher. 



The Midwest has the highest farm labor rates of any section of the 

 country due to a scarcity of farm labor and competition for the existing 

 supply. With small farm flocks and the small amount of labor required to 

 maintain these flocks, other enterprises, such as grain or livestock, can 

 absorb the small labor costs necessary for the farm flock. Commercial 

 poultry enterprises, as distinct from farm flocks, would be at a disadvantage 

 because poultry would have to compete with other types of agriculture for 

 labor. 



3. HOUSING 



Housing facilities for poultry vary widely within New Hampshire. 

 Old barns, factories, or sheds are readily convertible into poultry houses, 

 usually with little added expense as long as the buildings can be made 

 weatherproof. The construction of a new building again has a wide latitude 

 in costs, depending on whether the producer builds his own or hires it 

 built, whether he uses old or new lumber, and how the building is finished. 

 The prices for typical new buildings may vary between 50 cents to over 

 $1.50 per square foot. 



Old factories have some advantages. Usually they are weatherproof and 

 have some sort of heating arrangement which is useful, especially after the 

 need for brooder heat passes. 



The heating equipment also depends upon the individual producer. 

 Large buildings may use a central heating unit with oil or automatic stoker 

 to cut down labor requirements. Small buildings require individual brooder 

 stoves in each pen which may be automatic if bottled gas, electricity, or oil 



is used. The greater the labor costs 



Table 6. Comparative Costs of Building 



A Three-Story 36' x 36' Poultry House 



In Different Sections of the United States* 



Wholesale Prices December 1948 



City 



Aprox. 

 Total 



Atlanta 



Baltimore 



Boston 



Chicago 



Cleveland 



Dallas 



Denver 



Detroit 



Kansas City 



Los Angeles 



Minneapolis 



New York 



Philadelphia 



St. Louis 



San Francisco 



Seattle 



$1189. 

 1566. 

 1430. 

 1466. 

 1290. 

 1207. 

 1763. 

 1397. 

 1822. 

 1571. 

 1879. 

 1544. 

 1688. 

 1585. 

 1263. 

 1268. 



*Source 

 ber, 1948 



Engineering News Record, Decem- 



the more advantageous it is for an 

 autoinatic heating system. 



All buildings used for poultry pro- 

 duction incur some costs, even if 

 only labor is involved in weather- 

 proofing or making more efficient 

 arrangement of pens and equipment. 

 Many farms have buildings that can 

 be converted into poultry houses or 

 at least there are buildings in the 

 neighborhood. New buildings are 

 bound to be expensive with the high 

 costs of building materials. The in- 

 itial construction costs of new poul- 

 try buildings, while varying a good 

 deal in different sections of the coun- 

 try, show small difference in cost 

 over the length of the life of the 

 building. 



In the construction of a three- 

 story 36' x 36' poultry house*, the 



*Poultry Housing Series No. 2, University of New Hampshire Agricultural Extension Service. 



8 



