16 BULLETIN 943, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTURE. 



principal reasons for this are found in higher land values and a more 

 thorough preparation of the land for wheat in the three Missouri 

 districts and in the Saline County, Nebr., area. 



Since yield has a much less important influence on the cost per 

 acre than on the cost per bushel, the acre cost should be the unit 

 used in comparing the cost of wheat production in the districts vis- 

 ited. The cost of twine, shocking, thrashing, and marketing vary 

 somewhat with yield; but, unless the yields are abnormal, this varia- 

 tion is so slight that the costs per acre are comparable within a region. 

 The yield per acre, however, as already pointed out, has a decided 

 effect on cost per bushel, as will be seen from an examination of 

 Tables VI and VII. The average cost of producing winter wheat 

 was $27.80 per acre and $1.87 per bushel, as compared with an aver- 

 age cost for spring wheat of $22.40 per acre and $2.65 per bushel. 

 It will be seen that the average cost per acre for all spring wheat was 

 $5.40 less than for all winter wheat, though the average cost per bushel 

 was $0.78 greater. This difference in cost per bushel is due to a lack 

 of relation between the cost of producing an acre of wheat and yield 

 obtained; the cost per acre of winter wheat being 24 per cent greater 

 than for spring wheat, whereas the yield per acre was 77 per cent 

 greater. 



RANGE IN COST PER ACRE, BY COUNTIES. 



In Table ATII the farms have been grouped according to cost per 

 acre. In the five spring-wheat counties the acre cost per farm 

 ranged from $12.98 to $47.84. Only 7 per cent of these farms, how- 

 ever, had a cost in excess of $30 per acre, and the number with a cost 

 of less than $20 per acre was of small importance in all but the two 

 counties visited in North Dakota. In the two North Dakota areas 

 over 78 per cent of the farms had a cost of $25 or less per acre. In 

 Grand Forks County comparatively low labor and rent costs were 

 found on a goodly number of farms. In Morton County the labor 

 costs were fairly high, which was partially offset by a low thrashing 

 cost and exceptionally low rent costs. 



The wide range in acre costs within each area is explained in the 

 following manner: As a rule, those farms showing a cost of less than 

 $20 per acre had comparatively low labor costs, combined with a low 

 rent charge, the latter being due to a low valuation of land on owned 

 farms and low yields on rented farms; and since the value of the 

 share of wheat given to the landlord for the use of the land has been 

 charged as rent to the operator, the rent charge on rented farms 

 varied with the yield obtained. In this connection it should be noted 

 that a good many of the farms in each area having a cost of less than 

 $20 per acre were share-rented farms. Again, the farms in this cost 

 group did not have excessive costs from abandoned wheat acreage. 



