COST OF PRODUCING WHEAT 



Montana wheat growers are producing wheat at about the same cost per 

 bushel as are wheat growers in North Dakota and Kansas, the two largest 

 wheat producing states. Present indications point to some further lowering of 

 preparation and planting costs, and harvesting and threshing costs in Montana 

 by a more efficient use of labor and machinery. In these two items Montana has 

 probably been higher than North Dakota and Kansas in past years. Marketing 

 expense is another item in which Montana by reason of her geographical position 

 has exceeded the other two states. 



Comparative statistics as to relative average costs of producing crops are 

 still too limited to permit definite conclusions as to detailed production costs. 

 However, annual surveys on production costs made by the U. S. Division of Crop 

 Estimates have provided a basis from which comparisons may be made more 

 closely as the records increase. A summary of the results of the 1923 and 1924 

 surveys for Montana, North Dakota and Kansas is presented herewith as throw- 

 ing some light on respective costs. These data show that 283 farms in Montana 

 in 1923 averaged a lower production cost per bushel of wheat than did 411 farms 

 in North Dakota and 545 farms in Kansas. In 1924 the average of 147 Montana 

 farms was slightly higher than that of 350 Kansas farms and well above the 

 average of 269 North Dakota farms. 



It is probable that if a larger number of farms had been secured in Montana 

 in 1924 that a cost per acre more comparable with those of North Dakota and 

 Kansas would have been shown. In any case the sample is more representative 

 for the two latter states compared with Montana. One difficulty of all such 

 sample data is that of securing a large number of identical farms each year. 

 This difficulty will be largely overcome when farmers have a better understanding 

 of the purposes and benefits of this type of data. There has already been some 

 improvement along this line during the few years in which the surveys have 

 been made. 



Variations in yield per acre from year to year naturally greatly affect the 

 cost per bushel. The yield also influences to some extent the cost per acre as when 

 a heavy yield increases the e'xpense of harvesting the crop. 



AVERAGE COSTS OF PRODUCING WHEAT 





MONTANA SPRING WHEAT FIELD 

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