12 BULLETIN 659, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTURE. 
ket value. Similar conditions prevail in other good agricultural 
areas, especially in the Middle and Western States. 
That farm lands in this county will continue to increase in price 
at these high rates for an indefinite period is hardly to be expected. 
However, they may continue to do so for some time. During the 
last census period the area of crops in the United States for which 
acreage is reported increased only 9.9 per cent, while population in- 
creased 21 per cent. During this same period the prices of farm 
products increased on the average 67 per cent. Further increase in 
the market price of farm products will have a tendency further to 
increase the price of farm land. 
Another reason why the price of farm land is usually such that the 
operating income from it is only 3^ or 4 per cent, lies in the fact that 
the ownership of land is distinctly advantageous for many reasons. 
Because of the fact that investment in land represents an almost ab- 
solute security from loss of capital, owners are willing to accept a 
low rate of interest on their investments. The independence of the 
landowner is worth much to the average man. The land furnishes 
a permanent abiding place — a home — with all that this means to the 
average citizen. Men will therefore pay a relatively higher price 
for farm land than they will for most other investment properties 
bringing the same income. 
In Table II are shown the average prices of land operated under 
three types of tenure. It will be noted that the income per acre to 
owners where land is rented for cash represents but 2.1 per cent on 
the investment of the owners, but as only a very small portion of the 
crop area of any farm in this group is rented for cash, these returns 
do not represent actual incomes from farms. The average percent- 
age return on the investment for the 115 farms included in these 
studies, 1 when converted to a uniform basis of operation for com- 
parison, is 6.3 per cent. 
While the working owners make a very satisfactory income on the 
investment, the landlords whose farms are operated by tenants are 
satisfied with a very much smaller return. They do not expect so 
large returns because of the security of investment and expected 
profits from advances in land prices in the future. The satisfactory 
incomes of owners cover all the risks of farm operation, while the 
returns to landlords from their land covers only a very small por- 
tion of the risk, the greater part being borne by the tenants. 
1 Five of the 120 records taken wore discarded. Only 114 records furnished complete 
records on cost of production. In some of the tabulations only 109 records were used. 
