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



Table I. — Sionniarn of costs after crediting orchard with hay and culls. 





Clean cultural (30 

 records). 



Mulch crop or shade 

 crop (24 records). 



All records (54). 



Item. 



Cost 

 per 

 acre. 



Cost 

 per 

 box. 



Per 

 cent of 

 total. 



Cost 

 per 

 acre. 



Cost 

 per 

 box. 



Per 

 cent of 

 total. 



Cost 

 per 

 acre. 



Cost 

 per 

 tree. 



Cost 

 per 

 box. 



Per 

 cent of 

 total. 



Maintenance 



Handling 



S43. 63 

 44.15 

 41.12 

 93.93 



$0. 2001 

 .2025 

 .1886 

 . 4309 



19.58 

 19.81 

 18.46 

 42. 15 



$35.41 

 46.27 

 45.06 



105. 58 



$0. 1554 

 .2029 

 .1976 

 .4632 



15.25 

 19.91 

 19.40 

 45.44 



$39. 97 

 45.08 

 42.80 

 99.11 



$0,555 



.626 



.594 



1.376 



$0. 1801 

 .2031 

 .1927 



.4458 



17.63 

 19.88 



Material 



18.86 



Fixed 



43.63 







Total 



222. 83 



1. 0221 



100. 00 



232.32 



1.0191 



100. 00 226. 96 



3.151 



1. 0217 



100.00 











CONCLUSIONS. 



In general it may be said that the results of this study bear out 

 the reputation of the Hood River Valley as a very progressive fruit 

 district, the success and fame of which are due to the ejfforts of its 

 settlers and organizations, together with the realization that a good 

 trade name could be obtained and held only by putting on the market 

 a first-class and reliable product. The conclusion is inevitable, how- 

 ever, that the popularity of the valley is also due to its almost un- 

 paralleled scenic beauty, and that the price of land has been de- 

 termined, not only by considerations of agricultural value, but also 

 by the fact that the valley is a highly desirable place of residence. 



The following specific conclusions apply directly to the business of 

 apple production on the 54 farms studied: 



(1) The average grower must get over $1 per box for apples, 

 f . o. b., to realize any profit above interest on his investment, and must 

 get $0.67 per box before he begins to realize any interest. 



(2) Even though in some cases fruit does not pay full interest on 

 investment in high-priced land, it does not necessarily follow that 

 fruit should not be grown, since it probably pays a higher interest 

 than any other crop would. 



(3) Though the cost per acre increases as the yield increases, the 

 cost per box decreases. Hence, efforts to cut the cost of production 

 should be devoted primarily to increasing the acrcL-yield of market- 

 able fruit. 



(4) Investment and fixed costs are as high per acre where the 

 yield is small as where it is large. Thus, a yield of 200 boxes per 

 acre costs 100 per cent more per box for fixed costs than a yield of 

 400 boxes. 



(5) Farms in the valley are, in general, over-specialized. In many 

 cases it is now almost impossible to diversify enough to insure the 

 production of a fair proportion of the farm products consumed on 

 the farm. 



