2 BULLETIN 518, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



the apple industry in the valle^y and the general farm-management 

 conditions prevailing in the region. 



The method of investigation was to question the grower on all 

 items of labor and materials used, system of management, yield, 

 and every other factor affecting the annual cost of operating 

 an orchard. Throughout this entire bulletin the acre is the unit used, 

 thus giving each record or orchard the same weight in the final 

 averages. 



Four kinds of costs are considered in arriving at the total annual 

 cost of production: (1) Maintenance, (2) handling, (3) material, 

 and (4) fixed charges. 



Labor costs. 



Costs other than labor. 



Maintenance. 



Handling. 



Material. 



Fixed. 



Manuring. 



Pruning. 



Disposal of brush. 



Plowing. 



Cultivating. 



Sowing mulch crop. 



Handling mulch crop. 



Propping. 



Thinning. 



Spraying. 



Miscellaneous. 



Picking. 

 Hauling shooks. 

 Hauling to packing 



house. 

 Packing. 

 Sorting.- 

 Waiting. 

 Foreman. 

 Nailing. 

 Haul to station. 



Manure. 



Lime-sulphur. 



Lead. 



Bordeaux, CuSOi. 



Box. 



Nails. 



Paper. 



Taxes. 

 Insurance. 

 Equipment charge. 

 Apple-house deprecia- 

 tion. 

 Interest. 

 Water rent. 



FACTS BROUGHT OUT. 



Total costs. — It is found that the total cost of apple production 

 for 54 bearing orchards, representing the commercial and well-cared- 

 for orchards of Hood River Valley, is $1.02 per box. Costs per acre 

 are $222.83 for orchards under clean cultivation and $232.32 under 

 mulch crops. (See Table I.) 



Analysis of costs. — The cost per box, exclusive of interest on 

 orchard-land investment, is $0.68 for clean-cultivated orchards and 

 $0,645 for orchards in mulch crops or irrigated, or $0,664 for all 

 orchards. 



Net labor costs for all records average $0,383 per box, or 37.5 per 

 cent of total cost (17.6 per cent is for maintenance and 19.9 per cent 

 for handling). 



Costs other than labor, including all material and fixed costs, con- 

 stitute 62.5 per cent of the total cost (18.9 per cent for material and 

 43.6 for fixed charges). The fixed cost is nearly 70 per cent of all 

 costs other than labor. Interest on orchard-land investment alone is 

 $79.26 per acre, or $0,357 per box — approximately 35 per cent of the 

 total cost of production. 



The cost per box (labor, material, and fixed charges) up to the 

 time when the apples are ready to harvest from the trees is $0,676, 

 while the cost of labor and material for harvesting is $0,345. The 



