24 



BULLETIN 648, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



even." But if he increases this yield to half a carload he can sell for 

 $50 without loss, and if he further increases the production to two- 

 thirds of a car per acre, $40 per load will cover all costs. 



All the yields of sweet potatoes found show a wide margin of 

 profit. Average yields of 70 bushels per acre cost 36 cents per 

 bushel; increasing the yield to 100 bushels reduced the cost to 28 

 cents, while a further increase to 162 bushels further reduced the cost 

 to 22 cents. The records for this crop are few in number and repre- 

 sent small scale production. But the costs and margins shown would 

 indicate that the crop offers commercial possibilities for the grower. 



The manner in which the costs per crop unit decrease with increas- 

 ing yields is shown for the six important crops by the curves in 

 figure 11. 



There is, of course, for each crop under any set of conditions a 

 point beyond which any further increase in yield can be secured only 

 at a cost per unit higher than the returns. On some individual farms 

 in Brooks County this point of " diminishing returns " has no doubt 

 been reached or exceeded ; but these tabulations show that in no case 

 have any of the groups of farms studied brought the crop yields to 

 that point. Evidently one of the surest means of increasing the 

 profitableness of these farms is the increasing of the crop yields. 



UTILIZATION OF WORK-STOCK LABOR. 



The largest item of cost, next to that of man labor, is the cost of 

 work stock. In this study it was found to amount to $509 per farm, 

 which is approximately equal to half of the cost of all man labor, 

 or 19.2 per cent of the cost of producing all farm crops. Figured 

 on the basis of the cost per day of productive labor, the work stock 

 cost $1.07, as compared with $1.20 for man labor. Manifestly, the 

 utilization of work stock so as to keep down this large element of cost 

 is one of the chief factors in determining profits on these farms. 



Table IX. — Relation of number of productive days mule labor per mule to 

 farm returns, acres per nmle, and cost of mule labor per day (Brooks 

 County, Ga.). 



Productive days mule labor per mule. 



Number 

 of farms. 



Average 

 number 

 of mule 



days 

 per mule. 



Cost of 



mule 



labor 



per day. 





12 



02 

 88 

 112 

 137 

 172 



$1.70 



76 to 100 



26 

 33 

 21 



14 



1.23 



101 to 125 



1.00 



126 to 150 



.84 





.72 









106 113 



1.07 











