COST ACCOUNTING 247 



The charges for labor, horse labor and other items men- 

 tioned above should include all costs up to the time the 

 crop is ready to be removed from the field. In the case of 

 small grain and hay or forage crops, it includes the cost 

 of cutting, shocking or cocking. In the case of corn, it 

 includes all costs up to the time the crop is ready to cut 

 for fodder or silage ; or to husk. 



This distinction is made between production costs and 

 harvesting costs, so that production costs will afford a more 

 uniform basis for comparison of one year with another, 

 thus enabling crops used for several different purposes to 

 be charged properly. For example, at the time of harvest- 

 ing oats in one year, all oats may be stored on the premises. 

 In another year a large part of them may be hauled from 

 the threshing machine to market. If the field account is 

 charged with the cost of harvesting, it would be charged 

 with more the second year than the first, unless the difficult 

 task were undertaken of separating the charge for hauling 

 to market from the other threshing costs. 



In the case of oats and similar grains, the Oats account 

 is charged with the total cost transferred from the field. 

 This cost includes something for straw. The straw should 

 then be separated from the oats by debiting Straw and 

 crediting Oats account with a fair market value for straw. 

 Straw account is then considered as more of an inventory 

 account from which no profit is ordinarily expected. 



Operation of Field Accounts. Under the principles gov- 

 erning the contents of field accounts as presented above, 

 the question sometimes arises as to just when and how the 

 entries should be made. This is especially true in the case 

 of a field from which the crop is harvested about the middle 

 of the fiscal year, and it is desired to transfer the balance 

 of the field account to a crop account, in order to show the 

 cost of the crop before it is fed or sold. 

 i It might be said here, that the crop is fed or sold at 



