SPRING WHEAT IN THE GREAT PLAINS AREA. 9 
been used in compiling this table. This is equivalent to a record of 
44 years at one station. An accurate record has been kept of all the 
farm operations performed under the various methods under trial. 
These have been averaged for the eight stations. The amount of 
work required for some methods of treatment varies with the season 
and with the soil, and the expense of some operations varies with 
the soil. The amount of labor performed under each of the methods 
was neither more nor less than that which the man in charge believed 
to be necessary to bring about the results sought. 
In computing the cost of the various operations a fixed wage of 
$2 per day for a man and $1 a day for a horse was adopted. This 
may be above or below the actual labor cost in any particular locality, 
but it is believed to be a fair average and one that will afford a profit- 
able market to the farmer for his labor. The time required for men 
and teams to cover a given acreage in each of the several farm opera- 
tions obviously varies with soils and other conditions. The average 
shown in Table II has been determined from the actual experience 
of a large number of men connected with these investigations, which 
experience has extended over a wide range of conditions and many 
years of time. 
The factors included in the cost of production are calculated on 
an acre basis for each of the separate operations performed, beginning 
with the preparation of the land and ending with the harvesting and 
shocking of the grain. To these items are added the cost of seed at 
85 cents per acre, interest and taxes on the land investment, calculated 
at 8 per cent on a valuation of $20 per acre, and the deterioration 
and repairs of the binder at 15 cents per acre. No allowance is 
made for deterioration of other farm equipment, as it is believed 
that the wages allowed for men and 'teams are sufficient to cover 
this item for the remainder of the equipment. The above-mentioned 
items are fixed charges per acre; that is, they do not vary greatly 
with the yield per acre, except the item of twine, but this variation 
is not sufficient to materially affect the relative total cost of produc- 
tion under the several methods. 
Table II shows the cost per acre based upon what is considered 
an average day's work for each of the farm operations involved at 
the above-mentioned wage. As before stated, the type of soil and 
seasonal conditions will determine to a certain extent the labor 
required and the consequent cost per acre. The cost of production 
as computed in Tables II and IV is not offered as being absolute 
for any locality, either in the amount of labor required or its cost, 
but is given as a working basis for the comparison of the results by 
different methods of preparation. 
