COST AND UTILIZATION OF POWER ON FARMS. 
45 
cost per acre of power as furnished by horses for the different opera- 
tions. While the costs vary widely from farm to farm, the average 
gives a basis of comparing the cost of power as furnished by horses 
with that furnished by tractors for the different operations. 
The average cost of power per acre furnished by horses for the 
principal operations on which tractors were also used was as follows : 
Spring plowing $2. 89 
Fall plowing 3. 04 
Disking 64 
Harrowing, rolling, etc 34 
Drawing hayloader 98 
Drawing grain binder 59 
These figures represent the cost of power only and not the total 
cost of performing the different operations. The cost of man labor 
and the cost of the implements must be added to the cost of power, 
to obtain the total cost. 
Cost per Day 
i 
Number of Farms 
3 20 30 40 50 60 70 
Less than $1.00 
$1.00 ~ 1.49... 
1 50 - 1 99 
200- 2 49 
2 50- 300 
I 
3.00 - 3.49 
3 50 - 4 00 
4.00 - 4.49... 
4.50 and over 
Fig. 13.— Variation in cost per day of horse labor (1920). 
If the 1921 prices of feeds (as given on page 42) were used in com- 
puting the cost of horse labor, the cost per day would be $1.29 and 
the cost of power as furnished by horses for the different kinds of 
work would be 53 per cent of the figures given above. 
The cost per unit of horse labor on these farms where tractors are 
owned can not be considered as exactly representative of the costs 
on the farms where tractors are not owned, as on many of the farms 
the cost per head of keeping the workstock was lower than it would 
have been if tractors had not been owned, and the number of days' 
work per head also would have been considerably different on many 
of the farms. 
COST OF USING TRACTORS. 
The first cost of each tractor and the owner's estimate of its life 
were given. The cost of any equipment not included in the price of 
the tractor was added to the reported first cost. This equipment 
consisted of belt pulleys, fenders, and in a few cases governors. The 
annual depreciation of each tractor was determined by dividing its 
first cost by the owner's estimate of its life. 
The cash outlay for repairs during the year and the amount of 
time spent by the owner in repairing or overhauling the tractor 
