70 BULLETIN 614, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
The made-up box cost is 31.92 per cent of the material and fixed 
costs. 
The total of all material and fixed costs is $82.94 per acre, or $0.1920 
per box. For the 75 clean-cultural records it is $86.50 per acre, or 
$0.1914 per box, while for the mulch-crop it is $76.94 per acre, or 
$0.1933 per box. It is thus seen that the material cost per box 
varies but $0.0019 between the clean-cultural and mulch-crop systems 
of management. 
FIXED COSTS. 
The largest single item of fixed costs is the interest on apple-orchard 
investment. This charge is often a determining factor in the apple 
business. In the case of Zillah this cost amounts to $45.09 per acre, 
or $0.1133 per box, for the ranches studied, while in the case of North 
Yakima it amounts to $122.50 per acre, or $0.2652 per box. This 
difference is due to the difference in the bearing apple land valuation, 
which in Zillah is $563.57 per acre, while in North Yakima it is 
$1,513.25. For Zillah this interest charge makes 15.26 per cent of the 
total annual net cost of production, while in North Yakima it makes 
31.44 per cent. Tables XLVI and XLVII show the difference in this 
cost between the mulch-crop and clean-cultural orchards. In Table 
XLVIII, where North Yakima and Zillah records are shown combined, 
there is found to be an acre cost of $86.37 or practically $0.20 per box 
for this interest charge, thus making up 24.98 per cent of the total 
annual net cost of production. Interest in this region is figured at 
the rate of 8 per cent. 
Several growers have buildings devoted especially to apples, the 
charge for which appears in the ‘‘apple-building charge.” Usually 
these are inexpensive packing houses or sheds. The investment varies 
ereatly, and in many cases where expensive packing houses or barns are 
on the place they are used for other purposes when not needed in 
handling the apple crop. It is therefore difficult to arrive at a proper 
investment charge for the apple orchard for such buildings. Such 
data and annual costs for this item as were secured were found to 
amount to practically $0.01 per box per year. In order that this 
figure might be comparable, the arbitrary figure of $0.01 per box for 
apple-building charge is used for records for the entire valley. This 
charge amounts to $4.32 per acre. 
In arriving at the equipment charge, the average investment in 
equipment is determined and the amount chargeable to the apple 
orchard is arrived at by finding the percentage value that the apple 
orchard represents of the total land and improvement investment. 
This percentage value is figured on the equipment. That is, if the 
apple orchard represents 50 per cent of the land and improvement 
investment, 50 per cent of the equipment is charged to the apple 
orchard. 
