14 
BULLETIN 1188, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
in the average costs per bushel. The difference in yields tends to 
reduce the variation in cost per bushel. The high cost per bushel 
for the Monroe County, N. Y., area is due mainly to the low yield in 
1919. The normal yield for this region is about 150 bushels per acre, 
but in 1919 the average yield obtained was only 110 bushels. With 
a normal yield the cost per bushel would compare favorably with the 
other sections studied. Many of the farmers in this region w r ere within 
driving distance of Rochester, enabling them to realize higher prices 
for their potatoes than the farmers who had to ship. It is to be 
expected that the cost of producing potatoes in the important pro- 
ducing centers would not vary greatly w T hen the transportation 
charges are the same. 
VARIATION IN COST PER ACRE. 
In Table 9 the farms have been grouped according to the cost per 
acre. The farms of Aroostook County, Me., are in a class by them- 
selves. The extensive use of fertilizer and the high yields increasing 
the labor requirements result in high costs per acre. The variations 
in cost per acre in the other areas are more similar. Slightly more 
than one-third of the farmers produced the crop at a cost between 
$80 and SI 00 per acre, and about one-fourth of the farmers produced 
the crops at less than $80 an acre. 
Table 9. — Variation in costs per acre (461 farms, 1919) — Potatoes. 
Number of farms. 
Per acre 
cost groups. 
Minnesota. 
Wisconsin. 
Michigan. 
New York. 
Maine. 
Clay 
County. 
Anoka 
County. 
Barron 
County. 
Wau- 
paca 
County. 
Mont- 
calm 
County. 
Grand 
Traverse 
County. 
Monroe 
County. 
Steuben 
County. 
Aroos- 
took. 
County. 
Less than 
60 dollars.. 
3 
10 
u 
16 
3 
2 
1 
1 
1 
1 
11 
is 
10 
10 
2 
1 
4 
7 
18 
7 
9 
1 
1 
3 
7 
10 
10 
11 
5 
1 
3 
2 
9 
15 
8 
8 
3 
1 
3 
60 to 69 dollars... 
3 
5 
12 
7 
10 
6 
5 
1 
70 to 79 dollars... 
3 
5 
9 
7 
11 
7 
80 to 89 dollars... 
2 
6 
9 
10 
10 
7 
4 
1 
90 to 99 dollars... 
100 to 109 dollars. 
110toll9 dollars. 
120 to 129 dollars. 
1 
130to 139 dollars. 
1 
140tol49 dollars. 
3 
1 
1 
1 
150tol59 dollars. 
1 
160to 169 dollars. 
1 
1 
1 
170to 179 dollars. 
2 
180 to 189 dollars. 
1 
5 
190 to 199 dollars. 
8 
200to 209 dollars. 
8 
210 to 219 dollars. 
8 
220 to 229 dollars. 
7 
230to 239 dollars. 
7 
240 to 249 dollars. 
5 
250 to 259 dollars. 
4 
260 to 269 dollars. 
1 
270 to 279 dollars. 
1 
280 to 289 dollars. 
1 
Average yield(bush- 
els) 
103 
104 
152 
123 
109 
124 
141 
110 
278 
