UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
BULLETIN No. 338 
\$/* OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY *>t 
Contribution from the Office of Farm Management 
W. J. Spillman, Chief 
Washington, D. C. 
January 18, 1916 
MACHINERY COST OF FARM OPERATIONS IN 
WESTERN NEW YORK. 
By H. H. Mowry, Assistant Agriculturist, Office of Farm Management. 
CONTENTS. 
Page. 
Summary of results 2 
Scope of inquiry 3 
Sources of data 4 
Method of computing machinery replacement 
costs 5 
Method of computing the interest charge 5 
Method of determining the service of farm 
machinery 6 
Page. 
Explanation of the tables 6 
The cost of repairs 7 
Detailed study of implements 7 
Relation of annual repairs to first cost 21 
Shelter 22 
Relation of machinery cost to cost of farm 
operations 23 
Conclusion 24 
Farm machinery is utilized to the best advantage when it is used 
in profitable work continuously until it is worn out. 1 If a mower 
will give 50 days of actual service, it would be more economical to 
wear it out in 50 days of continuous service than by working it 5 
days a year for 10 years. If such a mower costs $45, and money is 
worth 6 per cent, the total cost of using the mower 50 days, not count- 
ing repairs, is $45 plus 37J cents interest. But if the mower is used 
for 50 days spread out over 10 years, the total cost rises to $45 plus 
$14.85 interest, 2 and the interest charge per acre or per ton of hay 
becomes 40 times as great as in the first instance. There is also a 
replacement cost; that is, the sum which must be charged against the 
machine annually to provide for getting a new machine when it wears 
out, which tends to make it more economical to make the most of a 
machine while it is comparatively new. If machinery could be kept 
from deteriorating from rust and decay, this replacement cost per 
1 In addition to cost of operation, the use of farm machinery entails three kinds of expense, as follows: 
(1) To provide for the replacement of the implement when it is worn out; (2) to pay interest on the cost of 
the machine; and (3) to keep it in repair. These are referred to in the following text and tables as replace- 
ment cost, interest charge, and repairs, respectively. In most cases there is also more or less expense for 
shelter for the machinery. 
2 If the mower lasts 10 years, 10 per cent being charged off annually for replacement, the average amount 
upon which 6 per cent interest is earned is $24.75, the interest on $24.75 for 10 years at 6 per cent being $14.85. 
13345°— Bull. 338—16 1 
