248 FARM ACCOUNTING 



market price; hence the sale can be made and ent 

 without knowing what the cost of producing- the crop was 

 until the close of the year. The same is true of the feed 

 summary, although in this case the results would usually 

 not be credited to the crop account until the close of the 

 year anyway. 



As an example of the way a field account is operated in 

 connection with the crop account. Illustration 52 presents 

 a typical field account, figures having beon taken from an 

 Illinois farm on which corn is produced. It als< 

 the Corn account affected by the product of the field. 



From a careful analysis of Field No. 5 and Corn ac- 

 couiitN presented in Illustration 52 the use of the two ac- 

 counts may be compared. 



Field No. 5 account is chargfd with the value of seed at 

 the time of planting and with fertilizer at time of applica- 

 tion. All other charges are made at the close of the fiscal 

 year, Feb. 28, 1918. The labor and horse labor charges 

 come from the yearly labor summaries, while the int> 

 and equipment expense are calculated at the close of the 

 year and constitute part of the closing entry at that time. 

 At the time of harvest, or on the last day of the month in 

 which the harvest was completed, theoretically, an entry 

 should be made crediting the Field No. 5 account and 

 debiting Corn account with the cost of production. As a 

 matter of fact the complete entry is not made at that time 

 because the cost cannot be determined until the charges 

 referred to above are made at the close of the year. Ac- 

 cordingly, at the time of harvest, the Field account is cred- 

 ited and Corn account debited, in the explanation columns 

 only, with the number of bushels harvested. 



When the total costs and the labor and fertilizer inven- 

 tories are recorded, the cost of production is calculated as 

 being the amount required to balance the field account. 

 This amount, $285.56, in Illustration 52, is placed in the 



