2 BULLETIN 1446, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
price of wheat increased more rapidly than the other factors. When 
the break in the general price level of farm products came in 1920 
the price of wheat declined much more rapidly and fell to a much 
lower level than did the factors of the cost of production, which 
resulted in heavy losses to wheat farmers generally. This situation 
continued until 1924 when the trend in the price of wheat was again 
upward. For that year the index figure for wheat stood at 171, 
as compared with a figure of 146 for farm wages and 182 for farm 
machinery (Table 1). 
INDEX NUMBERS OF FARM PRICE OF WHEAT AND COSTS OF 
IMPORTANT FACTORS IN WHEAT PRODUCTION 
1913 - 1924 
250 
200 
150 
•26 
Fig. 1.— The price of wheat increased much more rapidly than production costs at the beginning 
of the World War and declined much more rapidly after the war 
Table 1. — Index numbers of the farm price of wheat and costs of important factors 
of production, 19 13-192 J,. l 
Year 
Average 
farm price 
of wheat 
per bushel 2 
Monthly 
wages of 
farm labor 
without 
board 
Wholesale 
prices of 13 
represent- 
ative farm 
imple- 
ments 3 
Value per 
acre of all 
land with 
improve- 
ments 
1913 . . 
100 
107 
116 
149 
268 
273 
272 
269 
131 
135 
119 
171 
100 
103 
98 
104 
137 
171 
196 
200 
142 
142 
157 
146 
100 
101 
105 
110 
131 
178 
188 
196 
185 
161 
176 
182 
100 
1914 
107 
1915.. 
100 
1916 
93 
1917 
109 
1918 
139 
1919 
127 
1920 
160 
1921 
180 
1922 
133 
1923 
137 
1924 
136 
1 All for the State of Oregon except for farm implements. The implement prices are from International 
Harvester Co. of America and are the prices to dealers over the United States. 
2 Average of prices for year beginning July 1. 
3 Effective as of April 15, for years 1913-1921. For the year 1922 effective as of September, 1921, and held 
through 1922; for 1923 effective as of May 8 that year; and for 1924 effective as of November 15, 1923, and 
remained in effect throughout 1924., 
