6 BULLETIN 665, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



farms, owing to poor utilization. On the average truck farm the 

 cost of horse labor per day is $1.18: on stock farms. $1; and on staple- 

 crop farms. $0.96. 



COST OF WORK STOCK. 



The average annual cost of maintaining work stock is $106 per 

 head, which includes value of feed consumed, depreciation, interest, 

 etc. The value of feed consumed per animal is approximately $00 per 

 head. 



There are nearly three times as many mules as horses utilized on 

 the farms of the region. The average value of 75 horses encountered 

 is >102 per head: of 196 mules, the average value is $143 per head. 

 On farms averaging 31 acres of crop land the average value of horses 

 is $96. and of mules $123. On large farms of 82 acres of crop land 

 horses average in value $110 per head and mules $155. The value of 

 feed consumed per head on the same farms increases from $72 to $90 

 as the size of farm increases. 



DOUBLE CROPPING. 



One of the most important factors affecting profits is the ability 

 of farm operators to produce more than one crop on the same land 

 during the same year. All farmers produce corn or other staple 

 crops, but many do not produce second crops on this land during the 

 same year. On 12 of the 59 farms studied no second crops were pro- 

 duced, and returns of but 2.4 per cent on the investment were made. 

 while on 24 farms an average of more than one-half of the land pro- 

 duced a second crop during the same year. These 24 farms made 

 average net incomes more than four times as great as those doing no 

 double cropping. 



The staple crops are essential to the stability of the farm business, 

 but the truck crops when successful are much more profitable. The 

 second or truck crops should be diversified in character, as am r one 

 crop of this class may be a failure, owing to market conditions or 

 other causes, while others are entirely successful. 



Double cropping is of prime importance to profitable farming in 

 the lower Rio Grande irrigated district. 



INCOMES ON IRRIGATED FARMS. 



The average farm income (difference between expenses and re- 

 ceipts) of the 59 farms studied is $1,471. To find the net profit there 

 must be deducted from this the value of supervision bj 7 the operator. 

 The farms average in net returns 6.3 per cent on the investment. 



The percentage return on investment is approximately the same for 

 groups of farms of different sizes; however, the farm income increases 

 when the size increases. 



