A FARM MANAGEMENT SURVEY IN BROOKS CO., GA. 



17 



Table V. — Comparative yields and unit cost of crops by toage and cropper sys- 

 tems (Brooks County, Ga.). 





Cotton. 



Corn (solid). 



Corn (with 

 peanuts). 



Peanuts 

 (solid). 



Peanuts (with 

 corn) . 



Item. 



Wage 

 sys- 

 tem. 



Crop- 

 per 



sys- 

 tem. 



Wage 

 sys- 

 tem. 



Crop- 

 per 

 sys- 

 tem. 



Wage 

 sys- 

 tem. 



Crop- 

 per 



sys- 

 tem. 



Wage 

 sys- 

 tem. 



Crop- 

 per 



sys- 

 tem. 



Wage 

 sys- 

 tem. 



Crop- 

 per 



sys- 

 tem. 





93 



53 



47 



14 



77 



43 



49 



4 



76 



42 







Average yield of principal 



a 316 



a 272 



6 15 



6 13 



6 13 



6 12 



Pastured. Past 









Cost per unit of principal 

 products: 

 To cropper 





SO. 050 

 .007 



"so.'si" 



SO. 48 

 1.20 



SO. 67 



SO. 38 

 .93 





$2.56 

 7.53 





SI. 74 

 .366 









Average or total for sys- 



.093' 



.089 



.83 .84 



.67 



.66 



11.09 



10.09 



5.70 



5.40 



a Pounds of lint. 



6 Bushels. 



Under the wage system the average cost per pound of lint cotton 

 is 9.3 cents, while under the cropper system the average cost to all 

 parties concerned is 8.9 cents. But the share of the crop that goes 

 to the operator costs the latter 9.7 cents a pound. From the stand- 

 point of the laborer, the cropper system gives better financial re- 

 sults. This is as it should be, for the cropper assumes a part of 

 the risk incident to production, which the wage hand does not. In 

 case of partial or total crop failure the cropper loses the use of all 

 or part of his time, while the wage hand receives the same, or nearly 

 the same, income as in normal years. 



In the case of corn, the total average cost is approximately the 

 same by both systems, being 83 to 84 cents a bushel. But under the 

 cropper system there is a wide divergence between the cost to cropper 

 and operator of the share of the crop each receives. The cropper's 

 share of the corn costs him only 48 cents a bushel (38 cents when 

 interplanted with peanuts), while the operator's share of cropper 

 corn costs the operator $1.20 (93 cents with peanuts in the corn). 

 This divergence is so great that it is not surprising that many oper- 

 ators who willingly accept share rent from croppers for cotton insist 

 on cash rent for land devoted to corn, with the result that on cotton 

 plantations generally a much larger proportion of corn than of 

 cotton is grown under the wage sj^stem. 



The major part of the operator's share of the cost of the cropper's 

 crops consists of work stock, labor, and the use of the land. The 

 details of these oats are shown in Table XX (see p. 52). It should 

 be borne in mind throughout this publication that the term " costs " 

 covers every charge, including cost of supervision and wages for the 

 farmer, the cropper, and their families. 



