834 AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS 



on the value of buildings, and of 15 per cent on the value of imple- 

 ments and machinery brings the total expenditures per farm to an 

 average of $592. Deducting this from total farm income leaves $724 

 available for family expenses, for payments on indebtedness, and for 

 savings. This amount includes the interest on investments, which 

 at 5 per cent is $322, leaving $402 as the earnings of the average 

 farm family. 



One way of analyzing the farmer's income is to distinguish between 

 the interest on his investment, the wages earned by his own labor 

 and superintendence, the value of the unpaid labor of his family, and 

 the profits of his enterprise. No information is available for appor- 

 tioning the income between these elements, except that about $322 

 represents interest, and $402 includes all the- other items. 



In addition to the direct earnings of farmers derived from the 

 value of farm products, the item of increase in the value of their 

 property must be considered. The only way of estimating this in- 

 crease is by subtracting from the total value of farm property in 1910 

 that for 1900 and dividing the difference by ten. This calculation 

 gives an average annual increase in the value of farm property of 

 $2,055,000,000, or $323 per farm, of which about $242 was the increase 

 in the value of land, $44 in the value of buildings, $8 in the value of 

 implements and machinery, and $29 in the value of live-stock. A 

 part of this increase in value is the direct result of the farmer's labor 

 in improving his farm, while another part is the farmer's share in 

 the increase of the nation's wealth. Owing to the fact that the census 

 of 1900 was taken in June and that of 1910 in April, the increase in 

 the value of live-stock is an understatement. The increase in the value 

 of farm property, in so far as it is real, represents a capitalization of 

 the increase in the value of farm products, and the farmer receives 

 interest on the increase in the shape of greater returns on his crops. 

 It is probably true, however, that a certain amount of the increase 

 in the value of the land represents an overvaluation by its owners, 

 which may never be realized by them. Even if it is a genuine value 

 for 1910, the farmer may not reap the benefit of that value unless 

 he sells his farm, for the price of land may decline. Thus the farmer's 

 prosperity, like that of any other independent business man, is 

 dependent on a large number of factors over many of which he has 

 no control. The amount of products for a given year depends in 

 part upon the farmer's industry and foresight and in part on weather 

 conditions; the price received for products sold is very largely deter- 



