12 
BULLETIN 1446, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
the operator's labor. The number of months of man labor expressed 
in terms of number of men shows an equivalent, in 1922, of slightly 
more than two men per farm. 
Table 6. — Amount and cost of man labor per farm, 1920-1922 
Item 
1920 
(67 farms) i 
1921 
(114 farms)i 
1922 
(152 farms) 
Labor 
Cost 
Labor 
Cost 
Labor 
Cost 
Months 
11.7 
2.8 
12.0 
Dollars 
1,623 
213 
1,088 
Months 
13.5 
2.6 
12.0 
Dollars 
1,399 
173 
1,070 
Months 
11.6 
2.8 
12.0 
Dollars 
1,155 
Unpaid family labor 
153 
836 
Total. _ 
26.5 
2,924 
28.1 
2,642 
26.4 
2,144 
i Certain farms have been omitted for the reason that the data on the months of hired man labor were 
incomplete. 
The cost of hired man labor for all years was somewhat greater 
than the estimated value of the operator's labor, although the average 
months of hired man labor was slightly less for all years, except 1921, 
than the months of labor of the operator. This is mainly because a 
large portion of the hired labor was employed during the harvest 
period at a high wage rate. 
The months of man labor used on tractor and nontractor farms of 
specified sizes (table 7) indicates that there was some saving in man 
labor on farms where tractors were owned. This saving in man 
labor per farm owing to the use of the tractor was as follows: 0.8 
months on 640-acre farms, 0.6 months on 960-acre farms, and 0.9 
months on 1,280-acre farms. In selecting these farms for comparison 
care was taken not to include any which had an undue influence on 
the months of man labor used, such as farms on which there was an 
appreciable amount of contract work or where outside work was 
done. 
Table 7. 
■Amount of unpaid family and hired man labor used on tractor and 
nontractor farms of specified sizes, 1921 
Size of 
farm 
Tillable acreage 
Amount 
of man 
labor 
used 
Number and class of farm 
Wheat 
Other 
crops 
Summer- 
fallow 
Total 
Tractor farms: 
5 rr 
Acres 
640 
960 
1,280 
640 
960 
1,280 
Acres 
219 
335 
396 
275 
294 
402 
Acres 
36 
32 
49 
32 
81 
65 
Acres 
294 
406 
457 
262 
383 
433 
Acres 
549 
773 
902 
569 
758 
900 
Months 
10.4 
3 
12.5 
5 
15.9 
Nontractor farms: 
14 
11.2 
5 
13.1 
6 
16.8 
