v 



REQUIREMENTS OP FIELD CROPS. 5 



visualize the demand for labor in the production of the more impor- 

 tant staple crops. Records for typical regions have been selected in 

 each instance. The labor distribution is given by 10-day periods, 

 except in the graph for sugar beets, which was prepared from enter- 

 prise cost records. In the latter case the distribution is shown by 

 months. 



In order to permit direct comparisons the graphs have all been 

 drawn to the same scale, with the exception of those for tobacco, 

 sugar beets, and apples. In these three cases it was found desirable 

 to make the scales from two to two and one-half times the standard 

 employed for other crops. 



The length of the bars in each graph represents the total hours 

 spent per acre during 10-day periods, and since with the exceptions 

 noted the same scale is used throughout, the black bars not only 

 show the distribution of labor for the various crops, but in com- 

 parison show also variations in the amount of labor required by 

 different crops. 



By referring to figure 12, which gives the labor distribution for 

 hay, it will be observed that the major portion of the work on this 

 particular crop occurs during the first 20 days in July. Apart from 

 harvest labor, hay makes very little demand for labor. With spring 

 wheat, on the other hand, the demand for labor is concentrated at 

 two distinct points. One of these occurs during the seeding period 

 in April and May. The other comes at the harvest season in August 

 and September. The cotton graph shows that man labor on the 

 cotton crop is distributed throughout a period of 1 1 months. 



In using graphs of this type it is desirable to compare seasonable 

 labor demands on a percentage basis. To permit comparisons of 

 this character, monthly percentage figures are presented both for 

 man labor and for horse labor. 



CORN. 



The figures which are shown in Table 1 are based upon 253 enter- 

 prise records representing the requirements (exclusive of marketing) 

 of 14,510 acres of corn distributed as follows: "Kansas and Nebraska, 

 2,385; Iowa, 3,748; Illinois, 4,336; Indiana and Ohio, 1,489; Vir- 

 ginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, 2,552.* 



The hours of labor required to produce an acre of corn naturally 

 depend upon cultural practices and methods of harvesting. In the 

 central part of the Corn Belt the usual method of harvesting is to 

 husk the corn from the standing stalk and then pasture the fields. 

 The average requirements for these areas were found to be about 19 

 man hours and 46 horse hours per acre. In eastern districts, where 



1 These data were obtained from an unpublished report which was prepared by M. R. Cooper and 

 H. G. Strait, of the Office of Farm Management and Farm Economics. 



