COST AND UTILIZATION OF POWER ON FARMS. 39 



On 38 of the farms the workstock were not all used for cultivation, 

 but were used for some other one operation. The particular opera- 

 tion for which all the horses were used depended on the amount and 

 kind of crops raised and the operations for which the tractor was 

 used. On some of the farms where only 3 or 4 head were owned 

 they were all used for cutting grain. On some few they were all 

 used for fitting ground, haying, or husking corn. 



In some seasons hay must be made and grain must be cut before 

 corn cultivating is finished. On this account it can not be said that 

 all of the men who did not use all of their horses for any one opera- 

 tion could have reduced the number kept with safety. Many 

 farmers, however, used their tractors for cutting grain and some for 

 drawing a wagon and hay loader. Even though an operator may not 

 consider it profitable to use his tractor for such work, it might 

 be more economical to perform these operations with the tractor than 

 to keep extra horses throughout the year. 



Every man who owned 2 or 3 head of workstock used them all for 

 some one operation, and every man who owned 4 or 5 head used all 

 but one. Sixty-six of the 155 men who owned 6 to 10 head and all 

 but one of the 21 who owned more than 10 head had at least 2 more 

 horses than were used for any one operation. On 26 of the 286 farms 

 there were at least 4 more horses than had been used for any one 

 operation during the year. 



The reliability of the tractor was such that on most of the farms 

 it was not necessary to keep extra horses for use in case the tractors 

 were out of commission when needed (see page 53). On many of 

 the farms the acreage had not been increased and the number of 

 workstock had not been reduced since the purchase of the tractor 

 (see page 56) . In view of these facts it is evident that either more 

 work could have been accomplished by more efficient use of the horses 

 on hand, or the number of horses kept could have been reduced and 

 the cost of the operation of the farm correspondingly decreased. 



COST OF KEEPING WORKSTOCK. 



A record of the amount and value of the feed consumed by the 

 workstock during the year ending October 31, 1920, and the value 

 of these feeds was obtained from each farmer. The amount of time 

 spent in taking care of the horses, the value and depreciation of work 

 harness, the change in value of the workstock, the value of colts 

 foaled during the year, and the cash outlay for shoeing and veterinary 

 services were also obtained. In computing the cost of keeping the 

 workstock these items, together with interest at 6 per cent on the 

 average value, were included. A manure credit of $15 per head was 

 deducted from this total cost to obtain the net cost per farm and per 

 head. Table 28 shows the cost per head in the different areas. 



