COST OF HARVESTING WHEAT. 



17 



It is obvious that the cost of harvesting an acre of wheat with 

 headers of the same size will vary with the number of men and 

 horses in the crew, whereas the cost per bushel will depend largely 

 upon the yield. The overhead charges per acre — that is, interest, 

 depreciation, and repairs — will depend, of course, upon the number 

 of acres harvested annually and the life of the machine. The first 

 cost of headers is considerably higher in the Pacific Coast States than 

 in the Middle West, owing to the difference in freight rates. The 

 cost for wagons depends upon the extent to which they are used for 

 other work. The header box itself generally is built especially for 

 use in heading wheat, and the interest, depreciation, and repairs on 

 these boxes should in such cases be charged against the wheat. They 

 are inexpensixe, however, since they usually are made on the farm 

 from cheap lumber ; $8 per box probably would be a fair average cost. 

 The repairs to the boxes are practically negligible, being made from 

 odds and ends of lumber which are available. Few header boxes are 

 painted, and yet fewer are sheltered; but since in the regions where 

 they are used there is comparatively little rain their life is longer 

 than might be expected, 10 years probably being a fair average 

 figure. The running gears generally are used for other purposes 

 during the remainder of the year. It is, therefore, impossible to 

 arrive at any reliable figures as to what percentage of the overhead 

 charges on a header wagon are properly chargeable against the 

 wheat. 



Based on the figures already mentioned for the crews and over- 

 head charges, Table VIII has been prepared to show the approximate 

 cost of harvesting an acre of wheat with twelve- and fourteen-foot 

 headers, with two common sizes of crews for each. 



Table VIII. — Cost of harvesting an acre of wheat with headers of various sizes 

 and different sizes of crews, with man-labor at $2 and horse-labor at $1.20 

 per day of 10 hours. 





Daily cost of operating the outfit. 



Cost 



per 

 acre. 



Cost per bushel. 



Size of header and crew. 



Total. 



Man- 

 labor. 



Horse- 

 labor. 



Interest, 

 deprecia- 

 tion, and 

 repairs on 

 headers. 



Based on 



16-bushel 



yield. 



Based on 



30-bushel 



yield. 





S25. 40 

 32.20 

 29.75 

 38.55 



SIO.OO j $12.00 

 12.00 16.80 



12.000 14.40 

 16.00 19-20 



2 S3. 40 

 2 3.40 

 5 3.35 

 5 3.35 



SI. 06 

 1.34 

 1.06 

 1.38 



SO. 07 







SO. 045 





.07 







.046 













1 Crew made up as follows: 1 driver and 6 horses with header; two header wagons with 2 drivers and 4 

 horses; 1 man loading wagon and 1 man on stack. 



2 Based on annual duty of 300 acres and 24 acres per day. 



3 Crew made up as follows: 1 driver and 8 horses with header; 3 wagons with 3 drivers and 6 horses; 1 

 loader and 1 man on stack. 



4 Crew made up as follows: 1 driver and 6 horses on header; 3 wagons with 3 drivers and 6 horses; 1 loader 

 and 1 man on stack. 



6 Based on annual duty of 450 acres and 28 acres per day. 



6 Crew made up as follows: 1 driver and 8 horses on header; 4 wagons with 4 drivers and 8 horses; 1 loader 

 and 2 men at stack. 



