UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
^^TnTTrvV. 
In Cooperation with the 
Agricultural Experiment Station and the Extension Service of the Oregon 
Agricultural College 
DEPARTMENT BULLETIN No. 1446 
Washington, D. C. 
January, 1927 
COST OF PRODUCING WINTER WHEAT AND INCOMES FROM 
WHEAT FARMING IN SHERMAN COUNTY, OREG. 1 
By R. S. Washburn, Assistant Agricultural Economist, Division of Farm Manage- 
ment and Costs, Bureau of Agricultural Economics, -and H. D. Sctjdder, Chief 
in Farm Management, Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station 
CONTENTS 
Page 
Introduction _,. 1 
Extent of study and method of procuring data. 3 
Area studied 3 
Tenure 3 
Livestock 4 
Farm area and capitalization 5 
Average receipts, expenses, and earnings 7 
Family living from the [arm 10 
Cost and utilization of important factors of 
production 11 
Man labor 11 
Horse work 13 
Farm machinery 15 
Relation of size of farm to man labor, horse 
work, and other factors 17 
Average costs by tenure 21 
Cash and noncash costs of production 24 
Cost of production, 1923 and 1924. _ 26 
Page 
Variation in cost per bushel 29 
Yield an important factor in decreasing costs 
and in increasing profits 29 
Summary of labor practices in wheat produc- 
tion 31 
Suggested plans for the organization and man- 
agement of wheat farms in Sherman County, 
Oreg 32 
Standard organization of a 640-acre farm... 33 
Standard requirements for field work 33 
Estimated cash receipts and cash expenses. 36 
Effect of changes in wheat yields and prices 
upon net cash returns 36 
Family living from the farm 37 
Effect on the farm organization of increasing 
the size of business 37 
Effect of introduction of a tractor on the 
organization of a 1,280-acre farm 39 
INTRODUCTION 
In a region like Sherman County, Oreg., where farmers are largely 
dependent on the production of wheat as a source of income, factors 
which influence the price received or the cost of producing the crop 
have a direct bearing on the profits from such a system of farming. 
Taking 1913 as a base year, the farm price of wheat and the cost of 
the factors of production in this region are seen to have been subject 
to very decided changes. 
Index numbers of the farm price of wheat, the wages of farm 
labor, prices paid for farm machinery, and the value of farm land 
show an upward trend from 1913 to 1920. These trends are shown 
in Table 1 and Figure 1 and indicate that during the period the farm 
1 Acknowledgment is due R. V. Gunn, formerly farm management demonstrator, Oregon Agricultural 
College Extension Service; Clair Wilkes, Oregon Agricultural College, and P. C. Newman, Bureau «f 
Agricultural Economics, TJ. S. Department of Agriculture for valuable assistance in collecting the field 
data presented in this bulletin. Thanks are extended to the many farmers through whose courtesies 
the procuring of the field data was made possible. 
17834'— 27 1 1 
