26 
BULLETIN 1421, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
TABLE 6.—Distribution of capital on general crop farms, 1919-1922 
eee ee ee ee 
Item 1919 1920 1921 1922 
arms studied, numlbers22=2222 sss 22 ee eee 190 178 169 67 
Size:of farms, acres/222235~ 822 ee Eee eee eee 74. 2 72. 2 72.0 74.7 
Dollars | Dollars | Dollars | Dollars 
Value of real estate \peracte* = __=- = ee 37 36 262 250 
Capital per farm. 1352-23022 Foe oe ee ee 30, 786 29, 543 21, 199 20, 880 
Real‘ estates <2 2522222 Ses ot ee Ee Ee ee 27, 657 26, 465 18, 828 18, 681 
Land... 22 =2=465 220) os Ss a eee ee 25, 002 23, 784 16, 022 15, 982 
Dwelling 222252... 2 Fess 5 eae ae ee a eee 1, 871 1, 875 1, 980 1, 967 
Other buildings== 2:22 2-543 ss ae ee ee oe 7 806 826 732 
Working capital = 2 See eee 3, 129 3, 078 2, 371 2, 199 
Livestock 25. 22202 S216 SAL Ds Se eis Sa eee ee 1, 243 1, 148 1, 025 910 
Machinery: 22 s2—0 3 ee ee ee es 761 875 779 699 
Heed-and:sup pliess-22 5 == Se eee 456 583 196 214 
Other working:capital\!== S22 esse 669 472 371 376 
1 Consists mostly of cash to run farm and borrowed capital on short loans. 
Of the total average capital about 90 per cent was in real estate 
and 10 per cent in working capital. The value of buildings changed 
but little during the four years. Land, on the other hand, declined 
in value about $9,000 per farm or 36 per cent. The average value 
of working capital per farm was about 30 per cent less in 1922 than 
in 1919. Although the average value of machinery remained about 
the same during the four years, that of livestock, feed, and supplies 
and other working capital declined materially. 
BUSINESS SUMMARY 
Tables 7 and 8 present summaries of the business of the general 
crop farms for each of the four years of the study. In Table 7 the 
business is summarized in terms of output per farm, input per farm, 
and return to capital. Input in this case does not include the use 
of capital, one of the chief objects being to arrive at the approximate 
net return to the farm capital. 
Output per farm.—Output per farm is subdivided into (1) cash out- 
put and (2) noncash output. Cash output consists of the amounts 
received from the sales of crops, livestock, and livestock products; 
also the cash received from other sources, such as labor performed 
away from the farm. The sales of crops during the four years of 
the study constituted an average of 83 per cent of the cash output, 
whereas the combined sales of livestock and livestock products con- 
stituted but 14 per cent. It will thus be seen that cash-crop farming 
strongly predominated in this group of farms. The total output 
per farm was greatest in 1919 and least in 1921. 
Wheat was by far the most important crop grown during each of 
the four years of the study, when measured i the acreage devoted 
to each crop. There was a steady decrease in the acreage of this 
crop each year, however. (Table 4.) When measured by cash out- 
put the decline of wheat in importance was even more striking, the 
average cash sales in 1919 being $1,823 per farm and but $651 in 
1922. That year (1922) wheat dropped to second place, while 
beans took first rank, 
PEEPS! oe es ee RT ey See 
