COST OF PRODUCING WINTER WHEAT IN GREAT PLAINS. 29 
rust injury were the chief causes of low yields. The experience of 
wheat growers has been that if they can withstand the losses due to 
occasional crop failures they may hope to realize a compensating in- 
come during the good years. Were it not for a realization of these 
things an exceedingly bad year might induce many farmers to go out 
of the business. 
The influence of yield on the cost of producing a bushel of wheat is 
illustrated in Table 22 and in Figure 9. In general, as the yield per 
acre increased the cost per bushel decreased. A comparison of the 
cumulative percentage of harvested acreage and cumulative percent- 
age of production indicates that 49 per cent of the total harvested 
acreage and 35 per cent of the total production was on farms having 
yields of less than the average yield per acre. 
TABLE 21.—Annual wheat yields. 
Percentage of total number of farms with 
1920 yields per acre of— 
State | County | average 
Regions. aver- aver- yields 
age. | age.? jon farms) tyyger 7| 7 t013 | 13 to 19 | 19 to 25 | 22 bush- 
visited. | ushels. bushels. | bushels. | bushels. | ©8224 
over 
Bushels. | Bushels.| Bushels. 
MISSOURI Bertie oes cate testes sie MAS We yavercaeayate ears wen era rees iow Gia ee cw tel niaictate iol Sebel ncevee ate: sere reese ee meee Meena 
Bik er@ oumtiyarcre oars | Reon cee 1592 12.1 11.8 42.4 37.3 Sel 3.4 
Carroll Coumtiyesecs soo len eee. 16.5 18.1 3.4 15.3 33. 9 30.5 16.9 
Nebraska - 5. 5-2--- Su SG SAG Ba cereal sh eevece raters | ere eoal areal eae maya ceaillSiepevees cyevallfgcyctar sie rahe cence ane 
Gage County....... Se ollape oeeaie 18. 4 TSRO ee ae 6.5 37. 0 43. 5 13.0 
Clay County........ A [Eee ie 11.3 14.9 OIL 2 21.3 7 Un Pete 
Cheyenne County........|......... 19.9 16.7 6.5 15, 2 41.3 23.9 13.1 
IKXGHOGHS Sceckansseadoeauc oer TAS ee ta ey reves secrete ee ora | eaestcrele, vic) evevarerenaye eves] apeye ie eravci ane | atebonctennia Stlieeeteie aoc rore 
ANnoINE\S Combat coossosoulbececooss 12.5 TC 1.6 36. 5 55. 6 (58) |b cddooace 
Merhersoni@ounitys.. sera. osen eee 14.8 1D Sulsaeceeee 58. 5 31.7 7.3 2.5 
leB hanes) CONAN Se5dueosoalscaocouse 12.6 12.5 4.3 55. 3 14.9 PADS Stich say ea 
Oldahomaeraseceees eect ee 
Garfield County : : ; 6.6 2 
Woodwarda@ ounitiy see tees eee alee ae 10.7 13.0 66.7 16.6 a fl [Miser stoe te 
AILEY HOON S SAN ais ape eaERe |e ty Maer eimreee on eh 14.3 5.6 35. 5 34.8 19.1 5.0 
1 Ten-year average from records of the Bureau of Crop Estimates, U. S. Department of Agriculture. 
2 Seven to 10 year average from records of State boards of agriculture. No data were obtainable for average 
county yields in Oklahoma. 
TABLE 22.—Relation of yield to cost per bushel, winter wheat, 1920. 
(216 owned farms.) 
Cumu- 
Cumu-| lative Cumu- areas 
Nutm- | Average | Acres | lative |percent-| Produc- | lative CaTite Average 
Variation in yield. ber of | yield har- | acres | age of tion produc- Le e of |COSt per 
farms. |(bushels).| vested.| har- har- |(bushels).| tio ae aie bushel 
vested. | vested. (bushels)./" tion 
acreage. ; 
Under 7 bushels. ...... 11 5.4 | 1,214] 1,214 6 6, 608 6, 608 2 $3. 95 
7 to 12.9 bushels....... 66 10.7 | 6,163 | 7,377 39 65, 820 72, 428 26 201 
13 to 18.9 bushels...... 84 15.9 | 6,917 | 14, 294 76 | 109,870} 182, 298 65 1,72 
19 to 24.9 bushels...... 43 20.8 | 3,981 | 18,275 97 82,706 | 265, 004 95 1. 46 
25 bushels and over... - 12 27.1 549 | 18, 824 100 14,902 | 279, 906 100 1.37 
| USE OF QUANTITY REQUIREMENTS OF LABOR AND MATERIALS IN 
COMPUTING COSTS. 
A knowledge of the quantity requirements of labor and materials 
|makes it possible to compute approximate costs for a given year, 
providing prices and yields are known. ‘Table 23 is presented as an 
example to show how current rates have been applied to the quantity 
