18 BULLETIX 943, U. S. DEPAETMEXT OF AGRICVLXrEE. 
labor, rent, equipment, and OTerhead costs were comparatively bigh., 
with a resultant cost of 847.84 per acre. 
In the winter-wheat areas the variation in cost per acre on farms 
in the same county was due primarily to the same causes that affected 
costs on the spring-wheat farms. Thus in Ford County three of the 
four farms having a cost of S30 to S40 per acre were share-rented 
farms on which good yields were obtained, making a high-rent charge 
to the operator. The one farm with a cost of S30 to S35 per acre 
in Pawnee County was a share-rented farm also with a high yield^ 
Of McPherson County's five farms appearing in the two highest cost 
groups three had abandoned acreage and the other two were share- 
rented farms with good yields. The two farms with lowest acre 
costs in Saline County, Mo., had comparatively low-labor costs and 
exceptionally high credits for straw and pasture. The farms having 
a cost of S40 and over per acre in the three Missouri counties had no 
item of expense for abandoned acreage, but were universally high in 
labor costs, and in some instances had high thrashing and rent costs; 
the latter owing to high land values or very good yields of wheat. 
In the Nebraska areas the variation in cost per acre was attributable 
to the reasons mentioned above, the principal causes of variation 
closely following those mentioned for the Missouri areas. 
In the three Missouri areas the prominence of the farms with 
comparatively high acre costs is due to thorough land preparation, 
good yields, and high land valuations. Likewise on the farms in 
Saline County, Nebr., which are relatively smaU, much labor is 
devoted to land preparation, good yields were obtained, causing a 
fairly high thrashiag charge per acre, and land valuations were 
higher than in any other area visited except one. 
Thus it is evident that the acre cost of grooving wheat is in no 
way constant, but may vaiy as the quantities and values of the 
various items of cost vary. The amoimt and the cost of labor devoted 
to raising an acre of wheat may be influenced by many things, some 
of which the farmer can not control, and in consequence the acre 
cost may change from year to year. This is borne out by a study of 
individual farm costs in each area. The amount of labor devoted 
to seed-bed preparation was not imiform in any given locality. 
This lack of uniformity was due to different practices followed on 
individual farms and even on different fields on the same farm. 
Soil conditions, weather conditions, available labor, distance from 
market, etc., all have much to do with the hours devoted to raising 
an acre of wheat. 
As an example of variation in practice it was not unco mm on to 
find farmers in certain winter-wheat areas who plowed a part of the 
land, listed a part, and disk-drilled a part in cornstalk or grain stubble 
land without further preparation. In some instances a part of the 
