IRRIGATED FARMING IN TWIN FALLS COUNTY, IDAHO 45 
Output and input per acre and return to real estate per acre—A 
comparison of the output and input per acre of the two size groups 
is presented in Table 24. The average output per acre for the four-year 
period, in round figures, was $64 for the 40-acre farms and $55 for 
the 80-acre farms, a difference of $9 per acre in favor of the 40-acre 
group. The average input per acre tthe than capital) was $53 for 
the 40-acre farms and $38 for the 80-acre farms, a difference of $14 
per acre in favor of the 80-acre group. The average net return per 
acre for the use of capital (output less input), therefore, was approxi- 
| ies $5 per acre greater for the 80-acre farms than for the 40-acre 
arms. 
TABLE 24.—Output per acre, input per acre, and net return to real estate per acre 
on 40-acre and S0-acre farms, 1919-1922 
Fy 
40-acre farms 80-acre farms 
Item l ] 
1919 | 1920 | 1921 | 1922 | 1919 | 1920 | 1921 | 19922 
Dolls. | Dolls. | Dolls. | Dolls. | Dolls. | Dolls. | Dolls. | Dolls. 
Output periacre*=s-22 es pee ses 82 68 ol 54 | 78 53 | 41 48 
Input per acre (other than capital) _-) 54 60 49 47 | 42 43 36 32 
: is | 
Net return to capital per acre_-__-_-- 28 8 2 A 36 | 10 | 5 16 
Use of working capital per acre at 8 | | 
DETIICEN Geen t 2 a aE Be at es 4 4 3 3 | 3 3 | Md | 2 
Net return to real estate per acre____- 24 4 —1 Vilas 7 | 3 14 
| es 
Table 24 further shows the average net return to real estate per 
acre after allowing 8 per cent for the use of working capital. For the 
four-year period this was approximately $8 per acre for the 40-acre 
farms and $14 per acre for the 80-acre farms, the difference being $6 
in favor of the 80-acre farms. 
Use of labor—Table 25 presents a comparison of the efficiency 
with which labor was used by the two groups of farms. The 40-acre 
farms kept an average of 3.5 work animals per farm, whereas the 
80-acre farms kept an average of 4.6. That is, with about one and 
one-third times as many work animals per farm, the 80-acre farms 
produced nearly twice as many acres of crops. In other words, the 
80-acre farms handled a little more than 15 acres of crops per work 
horse and the 40-acre farms, 10 acres. The larger farms also used 
man labor more efficiently than the smaller ones. For each month 
of man labor used there were averages of approximately 2.8 crop 
acres on the 40-acre farms and 4.2 acres on the 80-acre farms. In 
proportion to the crop area, the 40-acre farms produced more sugar 
beets and beans than did the 80-acre farms. This, however, is 
not sufficient to account for the difference in the crop acres handled 
per horse and per month of man labor by the two groups. 
TaBLe 25.—The use of man and horse labor on 40-acre and 80-acre farms, 1919-1922 
40-acre farms 80-acre farms 
Ttem ) | 
1919 | 1920 1921 1922 1919 1920 1921 | 1922 
a“ 
Work horses per farm__-_..---------- eso lelesorG Bede == 4-0 4.8 4.4 4.9 | 4,4 
Crop acres per work horse_______-_--- ei sltee | 110 10 ‘| 9 15 -}) 16— 14 16 E 
Crop acres per month of man labor-_-_-} 3.0 | 2.9 2.7 2.6 | 4.3 | 4.2 4,1 4.2 
| | | 
