Measuring Total Crop Production 



75 



of prices as will make it to the advantage of the farmer to keep 

 his land in good heart, because that will make for larger production 

 and more economical production. 



MEASURING TOTAL CROP PRODUCTION 



THIS chajiter does not follow the same line of thought as the 

 other chapters. It has an indirect bearing, however, and 

 we believe the suggested method of measuring total crop production 

 to be of some value. 



Small crops ordinarily bring the farming class more money 

 than large crops. Nevertheless, in the long run big crops mean 

 prosperity to the country as a whole. To judge just when crops 

 as a whole are large and when they are small, a method has been 

 devised, which may be illustrated as follows : 



In 1918, the United States produced 2,582,814,000 bushels of 

 corn, 917,100,000 bushels of wheat, 89,833,000 tons of hay, 11,- 

 700,000 bales of cotton, etc. Now, to ascertain total crop produc- 

 tion, it is obviously impossible to add together bushels, tons, bales, 

 etc. Wc can add together the value of the crops, but the price 

 level shifts from year to year, and this method is not satisfactory. 



Now, the 1907-l9l6 ten-^^ear average price of corn was 61 

 cents, of wheat 96.2 cents, of hay $11.49 a ton, of cotton $59 a 

 bale, etc. A ten-year average illustrates the relative economic 

 emphasis. These prices are therefore used as constant factors, 

 applicable to any crop year. 



The 1918 corn crop of 2,582,814,000 bushels, converted into 

 economic crop units by multiplying by 61, equals 157,500,000,000. 

 The 1918 wheat crop of 917,100,000 bushels, multiplied by 96.2, 

 <;quals 63,600,000,000. The same thing done with the thirteen 

 leading crops gives 559,900,000,000 crop units produced by the 

 United States in 1918, or 5,270 crop units per capita. 



The per capita production of crop units since 1880 has been 

 AS follows : 



1880 5,360 



1881 4,280 



1882 5,330 



1883 5,120 



1884 5,560 



1885 5,250 



1886 4,970 



1887 4,690 



1888 5.240 



1889 5,910 



Decade 

 Averages, "5,171 



1890 4,720 



1891 5,820 



1892 4,840 



1893 4.710 



1894 4,030 



1895 4,980 



1896 5.170 



1897 5.070 



1898 5,360 



1899 5,760 



5.046 



1900 5,820 



1901 4,470 



1902 5,480 



1903 ,.4.930 



1904 5.220 



1905 5,200 



1906 5,560 



1907 4,940 



1908 5,220 



1909 5,100 



5.194 



1910 5,320 



1911 4,850 



1912 5,690 



1913 4,950 



1914 5,410 



1915 5,770 



1916 4,940 



1917 5,530 



1918 5,270 



1919 5,400 



5.313 



