UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



BULLETIN No. 338 



OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY 



Contribution from the Office of Farm Management 



W. J. Spillman, Chief 



Washington, D. C. 



January 18, 1916 



MACHINERY COST OF FARM OPERATIONS IN 

 WESTERN NEW YORK. 



By H. H. Mowry, Assistant Agriculturist, Office of Farm Management. 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 



Summary of results 2 



Scope of inquiry 3 



Sources of data 4 



Method of computing machinery replacement 



costs 5 



Method of computing the interest charge 5 



Method of determining the service of farm 



machinery 6 



Page. 



Explanation of the tables 



The cost of repairs 7 



Detailed study of implements 7 



Relation of annual repairs to first cost 21 



Shelter 22 



Relation of machinery cost to cost of farm 



operations 23 



Conclusion 24 



Farm machinery is utilized to the best advantage when it is used 

 in profitable work continuously until it is worn out. 1 If a mower 

 will give 50 days of actual service, it would be more economical to 

 wear it out in 50 days of continuous service than by working it 5 

 days a year for 10 years. If such a mower costs $45, and money is 

 worth 6 per cent, the total cost of using the mower 50 days, not count- 

 ing repairs, is $45 plus 37 § cents interest. But if the mower is used 

 for 50 days spread out over 10 years, the total cost rises to $45 plus 

 114.85 interest, 2 and the interest charge per acre or per ton of hay 

 becomes 40 times as great as in the first instance. There is also a 

 replacement cost; that is, the sum which must be charged against the 

 machine annually to provide for getting a new machine when it wears 

 out, which tends to make it more economical to make the most of a 

 machine while it is comparatively new. If machinery could be kept 

 from deteriorating from rust and decay, this replacement cost per 



1 In addition to cost of operation, the use of farm machinery entails three kinds of expense, as follows: 

 (1) To provide for the replacement of the implement when it is worn out; (2) to pay interest on the cost of 

 the machine; and (3) to keep it in repair. These are referred to in the following text and tables as replace- 

 ment cost, interest charge, and repairs, respectively. In most cases there is also more or less expense for 

 shelter for the machinery. 



2 If the mower" lasts 10 years, 10 per cent being charged off annually for replacement, the average amount 

 upon which 6 per cent interest is earned is $24.75, the interest on $24.75 for 10 years at 6 per cent being $14.85. 



13345°— Bull. 338—16 1 



