GRAIN FARMING IN NORTH DAKOTA. i? 
market. A small amount of work in general farm upkeep is done by 
horse labor., 
USE OF IMPLEMENTS AND MACHINERY. 
The prewar value of machinery on the average North Dakota farm 
visited (averaging 480 acres in cultivation), was $1,757 (cost price). 
This figure does not include automobiles, tractor-plow rigs, or thrash- 
ing rigs. Each acre of crop land, therefore, must bear the mainte- 
nance charges for $28 worth of machinery. 
Table IV shows some of the facts relative to the utilization of the 
more important implements, as indicated by information secured on 
40 farms in North Dakota. These figures represent prewar condi- 
tions, a marked advance having been noted in 1917. The average 
life of implements varies somewhat, with consequent variation in the 
amount of depreciation. The average life of all farm implements is 
12 years, making the annua! depreciation 8.3 per cent. 
The annual repairs for the varicus implements depend upon the 
amount of use and care. The high repair cost of gang plows is due 
to the replacement and sharpening of shares. The big item of re- 
pairs of binders consists of new canvases, which are generally re- 
placed every two to four years. The average annual cash expense 
for repairs amounts to 6.7 per cent of the first cost of implements. 
TaBLe IV.—Average value, life, annual repair cost of various implements, and 
the area covered by each (prewar data). 
Acres 
Average Annyal 
Implement. value apes repair | Covered 
(new). ; oar, |) At week 
(each). 
: Years. 
CAMP RR LOW eae eee ans eee last soe elec see ecisk a keseeeee $75 13 $16 174 
PIS MMT EOWA es toes se cise nee ace oe wisinacsc tesecmeani- > Sacre 44 12 3 165 
TARTAR VOW eters, 2 as aaa ini ieee Aclee G oie ales 22 22 oe eye 23 9 1 670 
POOUB UE ANONDACK OU ss ele «2 se ate a iss ose sce eneetcs nes = veceisasa 53 19 1 240 
EET UT i te pie 2 Or a RES 5 5p RRO em 35 130 11 4 300 
Cait ONC ae ae ee Sea eee 2 a eee eS 144 19 13 168 
Lea Cid his. ea ee Sy en. ne rae 49 12 4 54 
LEP) I OO ele Ot pee eno! eam iss 3 3 1 67 
Manure spreader. .-2..-..-.-.-.-- SPY oss o's = PORE 2 ose ee 129 12 7 31 
Comipinider. =. 22.':.- Sa eae a= |e UPS 2 8 alls ever 132 10 7 49 
Woci a tiGyey oa hanced Peo sar OS bEe nen Gone C~ COCR eBEDEE Ee aoe 43 16 2 61 
ELUTE ARES fe ie ee ee 2 olseer eee 36 12 1 57 
DRIP AME PE ADS ae ere ares amare ar ae 2 eee eet: = = <n notes 59 18 pila See oz are 
RU RGRMAEREEL CR ty ss a ah ine eee aoe Aca oe Re wo we 28 ALN Se eye dene | Oras aparece 
WV BSERME LORS Se cee ass eis elem a erie... a since etemeyne, « « - =\aichptietetae 14 A ate enee aparece 
LG GOS aes Caaiee Sonrigs seg 0G- OP eR G BAe eS -i9:- Saab em: he 53 15 | Rises, eo | op 
Sp Gt 1h 2 ee SE Re eee: ene | 74 13 PAN eS RHBeS B Toade 
Risers (S06) 2 2i52:. 002 one ree ot Be obs scale Soe - -' sous 33 11 W lceee eae 
The last column of the table shows the average number of acres 
each implement covers each year, in the usual farm practice. Nearly 
all of the larger machines cover from 150 to 300 acres each per year. 
This is one of the factors which determine the comparatively large 
89815°—19—Bull. 757——3 
