X 6 BULLETIN 412 



TABLE 5. AVERAGE COST OF PRODUCING AN ACRE OF PEAS ON 262 NEW YORK 

 FARMS GROWING 1468 ACRES IN 1920 

 (Average yield per acre, 2246 pounds) 



Estimating average costs 



The yield per acre in 1920 on these farms was somewhat higher than the 

 average yield would be over a period of years. The average yield of canning- 

 factory peas for the State during the past four years has been about 1800 

 pounds per acre. The yields in tons as reported by the United States 

 Bureau of Crop Estimates were: 1917, 0.7 ton; 1918, i.i tons; 1919, 

 0.8 ton; 1920, i.o ton. The gains on a crop in years when the yield per 

 acre is good must be sufficient to offset the losses in years when the yield 

 is poor. The average cost of growing a ton of peas, and the average 

 quantities of the materials necessary to produce a ton of peas if the yield 

 is 1800 pounds per acre, can be estimated. The costs per acre up to 

 harvest are independent of the fluctuation in yield. The most important 

 factors causing variation in yield are the weather and any change in the 



