MACHINERY COST OF FARM OPERATIONS. 7 



the work in days was found by dividing the service in acres by the 

 normal acreage or day's work done by the implements of the 

 respective average sizes. This normal day's work, or daily duty of 

 the respective machines, was also obtained from the same farmers 

 in western New York. 



Following each table, the replacement cost and interest charge 

 to correspond have been computed, using 6 per cent as the local 

 interest rate. The interest charge for any other rate may readily 

 be found by applying proportion to the averages here given. 



THE COST OF REPAIRS. 



Where ordinary care is used by the operator, the repair charges for 

 most kinds of farm machinery used in growing crops should make 

 up but a small proportion of the total cost of production. It is 

 often desirable, however, to know what the average repair charge 

 for the different machines may be in order to arrive at a fair allow- 

 ance for such repairs in planning future farm work or in determining 

 the cost of work already done. But little data have ever been made 

 available that could be used by the man on the farm, the county 

 agent, the agricultural instructor, or the investigator in farm organi- 

 zation and management, in determining the repair cost for the 

 machinery used on any given farm enterprise. 



In the same inquiry through which the data on the service of the 

 farm machinery was obtained for western New York, the repair 

 charges against these implements were also accumulated. In all of 

 the tables the total amount of repairs during life is given for each 

 implement, corresponding to the same annual service for which the 

 replacement and interest charges have been computed. The cost 

 of repairs per year, per day actually used, and per acre can be 

 readily computed. Tables II to XIX afford complete data, therefore, 

 for this area, on the machinery cost of farm operations. 



DETAILED STUDY OF IMPLEMENTS. 



WALKING PLOW. 



From Table II, for walking plows, it appears that the average 

 plow used in this section is about 12 inches wide; that it averages 

 32.9 acres of plowing annually, and lasts on the average 11.7 years. 

 During this time it covers an average of 384.9 acres and is used a 

 total of 224 days. Of all farm implements, the walking plow gives 

 by far the most days of service. The heavier plows do more work 

 annually. They also plow more acres and do more days of work 

 before they are worn out. Since the walking plow is an implement 

 of low cost, the interest charge is relatively low. Its long use reduces 

 the replacement charge per acre, but the heavy work required of it 

 makes the repair charge per acre equal that of a grain binder and 

 exceed that for most of the other implements. 



