UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
DEPARTMENT BULLETIN No. 1348 
Washington, D. C. 
February, 1926 
AN APPRAISAL OF POWER USED ON FARMS IN THE 
UNITED STATES 
By C. D. Kinsman, Agricultural Engineer, Bureau of Public Roads 
CONTENTS 
Page 
Introduction-- -.- 1 
Sources of information.. 5 
Sources of power used on farms 6 
Annual use and cost of power on farms in the 
United States 7 
Number of power units or installations on 
farms and number of workers engaged in 
agriculture 9 
Primary power available and horsepower- 
hours utilized annually on farms 10 
Effect of the use of power and machinery on 
production and income 14 
Power and labor requirements of farm opera- 
tions. 17 
Page 
Power and labor requirements of farm com- 
modities 19 
Distribution of farms and farm lands and 
types and sizes of farms _ 19 
Seasonal distribution of the use of labor and 
power on farms.- 20 
Factors affecting the efficient utilization of 
power and labor on farms 42 
Choice of power 45 
The future use of power on farms 50 
Appendix I. Tables 53 
Appendix II. Selected bibliography 73 
INTRODUCTION 
The adoption of labor-saving machinery made possible by the 
extensive use of power has been universally acknowledged as the 
outstanding feature of American agriculture during the past three- 
fourths of a century. Seventy-five years ago the average agricul- 
tural worker could care for but 12 acres of crops; now, considering 
the United States as a whole, he can attend to at least 34 acres and 
in some States where large power units are common the average is 
more than 100 acres (see Table XV), while on many individual 
farms it will run as high as 300 acres or more. ^ At the same time 
the workers' hours have been considerably shortened and much of 
the drudgery and monotony of farm work has been eliminated. 
The increased efficiency in accomplishing farm work has greatly 
enhanced returns from farming and has released large numbers of 
workers from agriculture to other industries. This has resulted in 
greater production and a lower cost of comforts and luxuries, the 
enjoyment of which determines to a large extent the standard of 
1 Tables I to XXIV may be found in Appendix I, 
