2 BULLETIN 338, U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 



acre or per bushel or ton would be constant, but in actual practice a 

 machine used but a few days per year lasts only a little longer than 

 a similar machine used twice as much. Thus the replacement cost 

 per acre depends largely on the number of days per year the machine 

 is used. 



From the standpoint of good management, therefore, the farmer 

 should try to organize his business so as to obtain the maximum of 

 profitable use annually from his machinery equipment, thereby 

 reducing the machinery cost per day of work to the minimum. 



The study upon which this bulletin is based was made with a view to 

 gathering facts and figures which might be of value to the farmer in 

 his efforts to cut machinery cost. To this end figures were obtained 

 to determine the average number of years of service given by each of 

 the various implements in use in the part of New York where the 

 investigation was made, and from the average life of each implement 

 and its cost when new the approximate cost of its operation has been 

 calculated. 



SUMMARY OF RESULTS. 



Briefly summarized, these are the more important facts brought 

 out or substantiated by this investigation: 



The more days' work done annually by an implement the greater 

 is its total of days and acres of work done before wearing out. 



The average farm machine used in this section is less than haif worn 

 out by use alone. 



The more days of actual use obtained annually from an implement 

 the less the interest charge per acre and per day actually used. 



The replacement cost per acre or per bushel or ton is from two to 

 seven or eight times as great for small acreages as for large acreages. 



The farmer with a small acreage can not compete in economy in 

 the use of machinery with the farmer having a larger business. With 

 the best of shelter and care, the small farm canonly hope to equal the 

 replacement cost per unit enjoyed by the large farm; it can not hope 

 to avoid higher interest charges. 



As a rule, it is not profitable to build for machinery any special 

 shelter which adds over 15 per cent to the total machinery invest- 

 ment on a farm. 



Repair charges per machine increase with increasing use, but not 

 in proportion to the amount of work done. In other words, repair 

 charges per acre and per day decrease as the acreage covered annually 

 increases. 



The larger and more substantial sizes of machinery give cheaper 

 service than the lighter sizes, since the cost for repairs is much lower 

 for the heavy machine than for the lighter machine, while the first 

 cost is but a fraction greater. 





