44 
BULLETIN 648, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
The operator's labor was the largest item in the total labor cost, 
equaling 38 per cent of the latter, followed in order by the cash- 
paid labor, the unpaid family labor, and the cropper labor. On the 
average, there were 926 days of productive labor expended per 
farm, of which 570 days were devoted to the wages crops and 356 
LABOR 
<r 
to •< 
o "- 
ENTIRE FARM 
0. Z 
i- <r 
01 < 
o "- 
WAGE SYSTEM 
1- c 
ID < 
o •■- 
CROPPER SYSTEM 
*IOO ZOO 300 -*400 
*IOO ZOO *300 
*IOO 200 *J00 
OPERATOR 
CASH-PAID 
FAMILY 
CROPPER 
U\2 
328 
111 
172 
*32 6 
312 
100 
^— 
*86 
16 
71 
I7Z 
1 
^^^" 
TOTAL. 
1083 
738 
3*5 
Fig. 15. — Cost of man labor per farm, for the farm as a whole, and for the wage and 
cropper systems separately. 
days to the cropper crops. The a Average cost per day of the pro- 
ductive labor was $1.20. 1 
The man-labor charge was by far the largest item in the cost of 
producing crops, amounting to 40.4 per cent of the latter. 
WORK-STOCK LABOR. 
The second largest item in the cost of crop production is work- 
stock labor, which accounted for 19.2 per cent of the total cost. In 
calculating the cost of work-stock labor the items considered were 
feed, depreciation, interest on present value, shoeing, veterinary 
charges, and losses from injuries. It was assumed that the value of 
the manure produced was offset by the cost of water, taxes on the 
work stock, and interest, taxes, and insurance upon the feed. The 
labor of caring for work stock was considered as nonproductive; 
hence, by this system of cost determination, the cost of such labor is 
automatically distributed among all the productive enterprises on the 
farm. The stable charge is assumed to be covered by the rent of the 
crop land. 
These farms maintained an average of 4.4 head of productive work 
stock, three-fourths of which consisted of mules. The average values 
at the beginning of the year were $152 per mule and $145 per horse, 
or an average of $150 per head of work stock. The average cost of 
keeping a horse or mule for the year amounted to $115.46, the items 
of which are shown in figure 16. Three- fourths of this cost consisted 
of feeds, and 59 per cent of the feed cost consisted "of corn. Hay 
made up about 20 per cent of the feed cost, corn fodder 8 per cent, 
oats nearly 12 per cent, and all other feed 1.5 per cent. The latter 
consisted of green feed, mostly sorghum and pasture. Most of the 
oats were fed in the sheaf. 
1 Unweighted average. 
