AN ECONOMIC STUDY OF THE PRODUCTION OF CANNING CROPS 29 



returned to the acre, a difference of $2 in the price at which ensilage is 

 charged to the farmer would be equal to a change of about $4 per ton in 

 the price of the shelled peas. (4) The requirements regarding the quality 

 of peas when harvested. (5) The proportion of the different varieties in 

 the total acreage. The acreages and yields of the varieties grown in each 

 area are shown in table 20. The lower average yield in the Orleans area 

 was due partly to the large proportion of the acreage which was given to 

 the Alaska variety. The higher yield for all varieties in the Steuben area 

 was due in part to the practice of allowing the peas to become more 

 mature before harvesting. The peas in this area were also weighed before 

 being cleaned. The prices paid in 1920 did not take sufficient account of 

 these factors. 



Return per hour of labor 



The good yield per acre and the prices received for peas made them a 

 profitable crop in 1920 (table 21). The estimated cost per ton of shelled 

 peas in 1920 with a yield of 1800 pounds per acre, was $73.66 (table 7, 

 page 1 8). With this yield there would have been a profit of about 19 

 cents per hour of labor, or a return of about 62 cents. 



TABLE 21. RETURN PER HOUR OF LABOR ON PEAS, ON 262 FARMS IN 1920 



* The return per hour is calculated by adding to the profit the cost of labor, and dividing by the total 

 hours worked. 



The return per hour of labor is one measure by which comparisons 

 may be made between crops. Other factors also must be considered. 

 The more important of these are: competition with other crops for 

 labor or for land; and effect on the yields of other crops in the rotation. 



Competition with other crops for labor. Crops should be grown that 

 will most profitably utilize the available men, horses, and equipment. 

 A crop that yields a low return on the labor may be grown if it keeps men 

 and teams busy at a time when they would otherwise be idle. Similarly, 

 a crop on which work must be done at a time when men and teams can 

 profitably be employed on other crops, must yield a return comparable 

 with the returns from the competing crops. The important competition 

 in the case of peas comes at harvest time. The date of harvesting varies 

 with the season, the variety, and the location. In 1920 it commenced 

 in the latter part of June for the Alaska and other early varieties, and 

 finished about the first of August for the later varieties. This is one of 

 the busiest seasons of the year on most farms in the pea-producing sections. 

 The farmers were asked the question, " With what other farm operations 

 did work on peas conflict?" The most frequent answers to this question 

 were: none, 117; haying, 75; haying and cultivating, 23; haying and 

 wheat harvest, 13; cultivating, 6; wheat harvest and cultivating, 4. The 



