COST OF PRODUCING WHEAT. 15 



Again, in Keith Comity, Nebr., less than 1 per cent of the wheat acre- 

 age was manured at a prorated cost of 2 cents per acre. Such 

 averages, of course, have no direct significance to the grower, though 

 they may have weight in determining a regional cost. 



An analysis of the total cost for spring and winter wheat under the 

 five headings, "labor," "materials," "thrashing," "use cost of land," 

 and "other costs," shows that labor constitutes about 32 to 35 per 

 cent of the total cost of production; thrashing about 8 per cent; 

 materials from 10 to 17 per cent; land rent from 24 to 30 per cent; 

 and "other costs" from 17 to 19 per cent. 



The two largest items of cost, "labor" and "land rent," constitute 

 about 56 and 64 per cent, respectively, of the total costs in the spring 

 and winter wheat areas. The variations in labor practices and costs 

 are shown in detail elsewhere in this bulletin. 



The average use cost of land in each district represents a combi- 

 nation of tenures and is not indicative of the rent charge for any par- 

 ticular renting practice. The land rent charge, therefore, is a com- 

 posite figure, made up of the interest on land values on owned farms 

 and the cash or share rent paid on rented farms. These variations 

 in land values and variations in yields and in the acreage of wheat 

 produced on owned and rented land are reflected in the differences 

 in the average land rent charges for the various districts. Because 

 of the lower land values and the lower yield of wheat in the Spring- 

 Wheat Belt the charge for the use of land is considerably lower here 

 than in the Winter- Wheat Belt. 



Nearly 40 per cent of the spring wheat and 60 per cent of the winter 

 wheat acreage in question was grown by renters. To these men the 

 charge for the use of land is an important item of cost. To the 

 operator who owns his land a charge for the use of land is less vital 

 from the standpoint of actual cash outlay. The owner, however, 

 has an investment in wheat land, which, if rented out, would return 

 to him an income in cash or equivalent thereto in the form of a share 

 of the wheat crop. Therefore, in determining the cost of producing 

 wheat on owned land, interest on investment in land has been con- 

 sidered an item of cost in order that cost of production on owned and 

 rented land may be comparable. The importance of the charge for use 

 of land may be seen by referring to the last two items in Tables VI and 

 VII, where the cost per acre and per bushel without land rent has been 

 shown. In the case of spring wheat the charge for use of land 

 amounted to 64 cents a bushel and in the case of winter wheat 58 

 cents a bushel. 



In the winter wheat districts the three counties in Missouri had 

 the most uniform cost per acre. With the exception of Saline 

 County, Nebr., the average cost for the Missouri areas was consider- 

 ably higher than the cost for the other winter-wheat areas. The 



