COMPLETE SET OF COST ACCOUNTS 485 



290. Farm account. The farm account includes only 

 part of the real estate value. Fall plowing done for oats, 

 a growing winter wheat crop, or the cost of starting an 

 alfalfa crop are charged to the respective crops and are so 

 inventoried, yet these values are sold when the farm is 

 sold. The distinction as to just what is real estate has 

 no particular significance to the farmer, except when he 

 wishes to sell a farm. 



Costs of repairs, taxes, improvements, etc., are charged 

 to the farm account. If the repairs and improvements 

 have not more than maintained the value of the place, the 

 account should about balance. The use of buildings for 

 persons, stock, crops, and equipment, and the use of land 

 by crops, are credited to the farm and charged to the 

 various accounts. These charges should be just high 

 enough to cover repairs, depreciation, insurance, taxes, 

 interest on the money invested in the land, and other ex- 

 penses of maintenance. If the improvements have in- 

 creased the value of the place, the value of the farm is 

 given a higher figure in the inventory at the end of the 

 year. One should be careful about increasing the farm 

 value, as improvements in one way may only offset depre- 

 ciation in another. 



Usually the enterprises that use buildings should pay 

 interest on the money invested in buildings and 3 to 5 per 

 cent for repairs, insurance, and other costs. 



Crops should pay rent for land at a rate that will cover 

 interest, taxes, and other land costs. 



291. Manure and fertilizer. Manure may be 

 credited to the animals and charged to the crops that 

 receive it. The labor of hauling is best charged to the 

 crop. If the crop is an annual one, part of the value of 

 manure and the labor of hauling it should be carried to the 



