10 
BULLETIN 222, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
The factors included in the cost of production are calculated on an 
acre basis for each of the separate operations performed, beginning 
with the preparation of the land and ending with the harvesting and 
shocking of the grain. To these items are added the cost of seed at 
75 cents per acre, interest and taxes on the land investment calculated 
at 8 per cent on a valuation of $20 per acre, and the deterioration and 
repair of the binder at 15 cents per acre. No allowance is made for 
the deterioration of other farm equipment, as it is believed that the 
wages allowed for men and teams are sufficient to cover this item 
for the remainder of the equipment. The above-mentioned items are 
fixed charges per acre; that is, they do not vary greatly with the 
yield per acre except for the item of twine, but this variation is not 
sufficient to materially affect the relative total cost of production 
under the several methods. 
Table II shows the cost per acre based upon what is considered an 
average day's work for each of the farm operations involved at the 
above-mentioned wage. As before stated, the type of soil and 
seasonal conditions will determine to a certain extent the labor re- 
quired and the consequent cost per acre. The cost of production as 
computed in Tables II and IV is not offered as being absolute for any 
locality, either in the amount of labor required or its cost, but is given 
as a working basis for the comparison of the results by different 
methods of preparation. 
Table II. — Average cost per acre ! of the farm operations involved in growing barley 
in the Great Plains area. 
[The wage scale assumed is $2 per day for each man and SI per day for each horse.] 
Operation. 
Force employed. 
Men. 
Horses. 
Day's 
work. 
Item 
cost. 
Cost per 
acre. 
Plowing 
Disking 
Harrowing 
Subsoiling 
Drilling 
Cultivating 
Listing 
Harvesting: 
Cutting and binding 
Shocking 
Twine 
Binder wear and repair. 
Acres. 
3* 
8 
35 
3i 
15 
16 
10 
81.71 
.75 
.17 
1.43 
.40 
.38 
i The cost of thrashing is not included in the cost per acre, but it is estimated at 6 cents per bushel and 
deducted from the price of 47 cents in the granary, thus giving a value of 41 cents per bushel in the shock. 
The average farm price of barley used in these computations is 
based on the data given in Table III, furnished by the Bureau of 
Crop Estimates. The four States of North Dakota, South Dakota, 
Nebraska, and Kansas were selected because their extensive grain 
production has given them established market prices which are not 
greatly influenced by local conditions. 
