CHAPTER XVIII 

 COST OF PRODUCTION 



THOSE regions which are able to produce and market 

 apples at the lowest relative cost will survive the keenest 

 competition. Every grower instinctively endeavors to put 

 his fruit 'on the market as economically as possible, yet 

 only a very few keep accounts of sufficient accuracy to 

 arrive at even an approximation of their actual cost of 

 production. If the individual grower is unable to give 

 accurate cost production figures, it becomes apparent that 

 the relative cost of producing apples in different regions 

 can only be obtained by detailed and thorough study of 

 the items and operations. 



It was the privilege of the authors to study the cost of 

 producing apples in eight of the leading apple states of 

 this country. In the course of this study, extending 

 through several seasons, hundreds of detailed orchard sur- 

 vey records were taken, covering every item and operation 

 which would influence cost of production. It required 

 only a brief study to determine the lack of attention which 

 this important subject was receiving at the hands of the 

 average grower. Many growers would starve under their 

 present lax methods of management if they were wholly 

 dependent on apples, or were it a case of clean-cut com- 

 petition with the survival of the fittest. 



The manufacturer can not long survive if he does not 

 give close attention to production costs. He must not only 

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