228 WHEAT PRODUCTION IN NEW ZEALAND 
wheat production. The average yield per acre for the 
whole of New Zealand for the last decade has been a 
little over 30 bushels per acre, and on these lands where 
cultivation is so intense, there is no doubt but that the 
yield is considerably higher than this average. 
By careful husbandry, the Canterbury Agricultural 
College farm has yielded an annual average of about 45 
bushels per acre over the past eleven years, taking into 
consideration the last two—1916 and 1917—exceptionally 
bad years. Dr. Hilgendorf’s estimate of 2s. 8d. per 
bushel is thus fairly reliable as far as the College farm 
is concerned, for farmers frequently stated, until quite 
recently, (and many affirm it now), that £6 per acre is 
sufficient to produce a crop of wheat. The position 
assumed in Estimate I. in regard to the average yield 
per acre does not appear to meet the facts of the case. 
It is very unlikely that a farmer will suffer a dead loss 
once in five years, and consequently the yield per acre 
is unduly lowered. If it is stated that the average yield 
per acre is 38 bushels, it means that this is the result 
over a number of years considering good and bad. The 
compilation of cost per acre itself is not unreasonable, 
though, as stated above, an estimate which is compiled 
by means of considering the absolute cost of each item 
does not appear to me to be reliable. If it be argued that 
the items mentioned are lower than contract rates, it must 
be remembered that the contractor expects to reap a profit 
from his operations, and that the farmer’s profit comes 
from the return obtained from the crop after expenses 
have been deducted. Allowing for the fact that 
additional costs arising from taxation be added to the 
total given in Estimate I., the cost per bushel given is 
probably too high when a higher yield per acre is 
considered. 
Statistics of cost of production in Australia are not 
irrelevant, and will perhaps throw some light on the 
