8 BULLETIN 595, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
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 varia- 
tion is not sufficient to affect materially 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 
requirement and the consequent cost per acre. ; 
TABLE I].—Average cost per acre! of the farm operations involved in growing winter 
wheat in the Great Plains area. 
[The wage scale assumed is $2 per day for each man and $1 per day for each horse.] 
Force employed. 
: Day’s Ttem | Cost per 
Operation. work. cost. acre. 
Men. Horses. 
Acres. 
BIOENG ek es as OR SSIS Be Oe ee i 4 5S a (eee cae $1.71 
Wyisbeann ge 55 ees Ses eae Sees Nae Ee ae oe eee ee 1 4 Soy Pere Rashes 245 
ER SErO WEN? = ee th ee Se pgs oe ts iJ 4 oa, Pee geen - 7 
SUNSORRN E2223 25 Re ey ee ES ea ey eee 1 3 eee Seas 1.43 
BADD sea tag ee ge a ag oe 1 4 15° [poe ee .40 
Gublnvaiine ts 2b 5 1h Pred" ss Pts eae eset ies 1 = 1G <52 5.22 = -38 
BIS GEN gan s ee Se eee Mes 1 + d 1] Si Rete ae = - 60 
Harvesting: 
Cutting and pinding- 275 ee ee ee 1 = 15 $0. 40 
SHockmip jan Fes PELE eMeE RE. SEAS ee eee bie Bea eee 13 93 
ARVN = ope To sas se Sent Pe NU at A 2 SE bs Uae ao eye eae ge Bee eer =25 
iBindar wear an@ repairs 32-2242) isis 20 Pe Se ee el ee oe [seeec eens 15 | 
1 The cost of thrashing is not included in the cost per acre, but it is estimated at 10 cents per bushel and 
deducted from the price of 80 cents in the granary, thus giving a value of 70 cents per bushel in the shock. 
The average farm price of wheat used in these computations is 
based on the data given in Table III, furnished by the Bureau of 
Crop Estimates of the United States Department of Agriculture. 
The four States of Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South 
Dakota were selected, because their extensive wheat production has 
given them established market prices which are not greatly influenced 
by local conditions. 
TasBLe III.—Average price! of wheat at the farm granary for ten years in four States of the 
Great Plains area. 
(The quotations are given in cents per bushel. Those for the year 1914 are for the date of Nov. 1; in other 
years Dec. 1 is taken as the date.] 
| 
North | South | Ne- |, Aver- | North | South | Ne- Aver- 
Yeat- | Dakota.|Dakota.| braska.|S97S° “age. || ¥ear- Dakota. Dakota, braska. RAnSOS ape 
1905... -... e9| 67} 66| 71{| 68% |/ 1911... 9 | ~ OC) — ane Set eee 
1906... es| 61} 57| 58| —59§ |] 1912.22 a; 69| | “| 7 
rT pees 7 aie Vicia Pea f || 1913. - 2-2 7 7 | ie 73h | 
1908. oz) oz]. ge) <8] 1 sgt|bapte Fe 97; 90| 92) 94 i 
1909. 92; 90| 89| 96/ 913 : 
1910... 90; s9| s0| 8} &858|| Average| 82/ 81] 77] 82| © 80 
1 The figures in this table are the same as those used in Bulletin No. 214, “Spring Wheat in the Great 
Plains Area,’”’ published by the Office of Dry-Land Agriculture in 1915. The table has not been revised 
to include 1915 and 1916 because the prices during these two years have been largely determined by the > 
abnormal conditions occasioned by the European war. 
