FARM ORGANIZATION IN SOUTHWESTERN MINNESOTA 
15 
Table 5. — Man and horse labor requirements per acre by operations for seed-bed 
preparation, 1921 
Plowing 
Disking 
Harrowing 
Farm No. 1 
Hours 
Df labor 
Farm No. 1 
Hours of labor 
Farm No. 1 
Hours of labor. 
Man 
Horse 
Man 
Horse 
Man 
Horse 
3 
1.81 
1.94 
2.17 
2.19 
2.32 
2.35 
2.35 
2.96 
2.99 
3.06 
3.12 
3.12 
3.13 
3.21 
3.22 
3.23 
3.27 
3.31 
3.33 
3.47 
3.66 
4.34 
8.60 
2 8.18 
( 5 ) 
8.68 
9.43 
9.90 
10.60 
11.59 
9.59 
11.37 
12.48 
13. 95 
11.95 
3 9.63 
10.64 
10.94 
10.03 
13.78 
15.73 
10.25 
10.98 
14.29 
13 
0.33 
.45 
.43 
.47 
.48 
.49 
.50 
.50 
.51 
.53 
.54 
.55 
.57 
.58 
.58 
.59 
.60 
.62 
.63 
.68 
.71 
.84 
i 0.09 
1.80 
1.98 
1.88 
1.85 
2.26 
1.90 
1.73 
2.04 
1.86 
2.18 
2.50 
2.76 
2.90 
2.26 
2.00 
2.31 
2.71 
2.52 
2.62 
2.70 
2.97 
3 
0.19 
.19 
.22 
.23 
.23 
.23 
.23 
.24 
.24 
.26 
.26 
.27 
.27 
.29 
.29 
.32 
.34 
.35 
.35 
.39 
.46 
.46 
0.76 
10 
3 
18 
.76 
13 
10 . 
9 
.81 
1 
1 
4 
7 
2 
7 
.98 
6 
13 
.87 
2 
10 
1.13 
4 
5 . 
.83 
19 
11 
1 
.84 
11 
4 
.96 
8 
20 
8 
.92 
22 
6 . 
2 
1.04 
12 
9 
6 
1.04 
7 
19. 
20. 
.94 
18 
14 
12 
.92 
16 
8 
19 
1.12 
5 
16 
17 
1.29 
21 
12 
21 
.95 
9 
18 
16. 
1.31 
14 
15 
14 
1.41 
15 
17. 
11 
15 
1.16 
20 
22 
1.28 
17 
21 
22 
1.84 
Average 21 farms, 
19216 
Average 21 farms, 
19216 
Average 19 farms, 
1921 6 
2.83 
2.66 
2.95 
2.81 
10.94 
9.73 
11.40 
10.69 
.54 
.59 
.52 
.54 
2.20 
2.40 
2.23 
2.26 
.27 
.29 
.29 
.29 
1.02 
Average 17 farms, 
1920 6 . 
Average 19 farms, 
1920 6 
Average 20 farms, 
19206 
1.11 
Average 18 farms, 
1922 6 
Average 20farms, 
1922 6 
Average 21 farms, 
1922 6 
1.10 
Average 54 farm 
Average 60 farm 
years 6 
Average 62 farm 
years 6 
1.08 
1 Farms are arrayed in order of man-labor requirements beginning with the lowest. 
2 In addition to the horse hours, 0.14 tractor hour per acre was used for plowing. 
3 In addition to the horse hours, 0.41 tractor hour was used per acre for plowing. 
4 In addition to the horse horns, 0.31 tractor hour per acre was used for disking. 
8 Instead of horse hours, 2.17 tractor hours per acre were used for plowing. 
6 Data from farms using tractors omitted in calculating these averages. 
CAUSES FOR VARIATION IN LABOR REQUIREMENTS FOR SEED-BED PREPARATION 
The 7 farms having the lowest man-labor requirements per acre 
used gang plows largely. Two-bottom gangs and 4 or 5 horse 
teams were used except on Farms 10 and 13, where part or all of 
the plowing was done with 3-bottom gangs and tractors. On the 
remaining 15 farms 16-inch sulky plows and 3-horse teams were 
used on all but 3. Both man and horse labor requirements were 
lower where gang plows were used. On farm 3 with the lowest 
man-labor requirement, most of the plowing was done with a 5- 
horse team. Man-labor requirements for harrowing were in general 
less where 4-horse teams were used than where 3-horse teams were 
used. Man-labor requirements increase as the ratio of man labor to 
horse labor increases. 
The size of the horses also affects the rate of plowing. The num- 
ber of hours of horse labor required to plow an acre on farm 14 was 
nearly 50 per cent greater than on farm 4, although there was con- 
siderable sod plowing on the latter and only stubble plowing on 
farm 14. The land on farm 4 was plowed more deeply. The lower 
horse-labor requirement on farm 4 in spite of the more difficult 
plowing was due in part at least to the fact that four horses aver- 
aging 1,800 pounds in weight were used on a 14-inch 2-bottom 
gang plow, whereas five horses were used on the same sized imple- 
ment on farm 14, but these horses averaged less than 1,400 pounds 
