UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

 BULLETIN No. 997 



Joint contribution from the Office of Farm Management and Farm Economics, 



H. C. TAYLOR, Chief; Bureau of Public Roads, THOS. H. MacDONALD, Chief; 



and Bureau of Animal Industry, JOHN R. MOHLER, Chief 



Washington, D. C. 



December 21, 1921 



THE COST AND UTILIZATION OF POWER ON 

 FARMS WHERE TRACTORS ARE OWNED 



286 FARMS— OHIO, INDIANA, ILLINOIS— 1920 

 « By 



H. R. TOLLEY, Agricultural Engineer, and 

 L. A. REYNOLDSON, Junior Farm Economist 



CONTENTS 



Page 



Introduction • 1 



Summary 2 



Areas in Which Investigation Was Made . 5 



Size and Age of Tractors 9 



Workstock ..»...' 10 



Size of Farm 11 



Work Done by Tractors 13 



Work Done by Horses . . .... . . • 26 



Horse Labor Equivalent of Tractor Work . 34 

 Proportion of Work Done by Horses and 



by Tractors 35 



Number of Workstock Used on Different 



Operations 37 



Cost of Keeping Workstock 39 



Cost of Using Tractors 45 



Reliability of Tractors 53 



Cost of Power as Furnished by Horses and 



by Tractors 54 



Annual Cost of Drawbar Work .... 54 

 Changes in Size of Farm and Number of 



Workstock 56 



Increase in Investment Due to Purchase 



of Tractors 59 



Saving of Man Labor Due to Use of 



Tractors 60 



WASHINGTON 



GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 



1921 



