OATS IN THE GREAT PLAINS AREA. 



9 



allowance is made for the deterioration of other farm equipment, 

 as it is believed that the wages allowed for men and teams are suffi- 

 cient to cover this item for the remainder of the equipment. The 

 above-mentioned items are fixed charges per acre ; that is, they do not 

 vary greatly with the yield per acre except for the item of twine, 

 but this variation is not sufficient to affect materially the relative 

 total cost of production under the several methods. 



Table II shows the cost per acre, based upon what is considered an 

 average day's work for each of the farm operations involved, at the 

 above-mentioned wage. As before stated, the type of soil and 

 seasonal conditions will determine to a certain extent the labor 

 required and the consequent cost per acre. 



Table II. — Average cost per acre 1 of the farm operations involved in growing oats in 



the Great Plains area. 



[The wage scale assumed is S2 per day for each man and SI per day for each horse.] 



Operation. 



Force em- 

 ployed. 



Men. Horses. 



Day's 

 work. 



Item 

 cost. 



Cost 

 per 

 acre. 



Plowing 



Disking 



Harrowing 



Subsoiling 



Drilling 



Cultivating 



Listing 



Harvesting: 



Cutting and binding 



Shocking 



Twine 



Binder wear and repair. 



Acres. 

 3£ 

 8 

 35 

 M 

 15 

 16 

 10 



15 



SI. 71 

 .75 

 .17 

 1.43 

 .40 

 .38 

 .68 



SO. 40 

 .13 

 .25 

 .15 



i The cost of thrashing is not included in the cost per acre, but it is estimated at 5 cents per bushel and 

 deducted from the price of 35 cents in the granary, thus giving a value of 30 cents per bushel in the shock. 



The average farm price of oats used in these computations is based 

 on the data given in Table III, furnished by the Bureau of Crop 

 Estimates. The four States of Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, 

 and South Dakota were selected because their extensive oat produc- 

 tion has given them established market prices which are not greatly 

 influenced by local conditions. As given in Table III, the average 

 farm price of oats on December 1 for the past 10 years has been nearly 

 35 cents per bushel. It costs about 5 cents per bushel to take the 

 grain from the shock, thrash it, and put it in the granary on the farm. 

 This cost per bushel does not vary greatly with the yield and is 

 therefore a fixed price per bushel instead of a fixed price per acre, 

 as is the case with the other costs of production. The relative 

 profits of producing oats under the different methods can therefore 

 best be determined by finding the difference between the fixed cost 

 per acre and the value per acre of the grain at the point where the 



