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Show HOW TO FIGURE COST OF CROPS Farmer Enabled to Compute for Himseff Expense of Producing Produc-ing Various Crops. REQUIREMENTS OF EACH CHOP If Precise Recordt, Are Not Available on Labor and Material Expenditures Expendi-tures Close Estimate Can Be Made of That Section. (Prepared by the United States Department Depart-ment of At;, .failure.) Figures fr,,u, ,. 1 1 t',i the farme can compute l. inin.-,..ii the cost of pro-iluctim pro-iluctim ,,l l,,.u, corn for silage,- wheat, oats. cud hay, under given conditions, lire presented In a preliminary report on labor and material requirements f those crops, recently issued by the United States Department of Agriculture. Agricul-ture. These figures cover the normal hours of man labor and horse labor, and quantities of seed, fertilizers, etc., required per acre for each crop, as determined by surveys by the oliice of farm management and furui economics. econom-ics. Apply Basic Factors. The money cost Is found by applying apply-ing to these basic fuctors the current a'tttes for labor, seed, etc. Inasmuch as It has been found that, in general, labor and material costs approximate 80 per cent of the total operating cost , for these crops. It Is easy to find this totnl when the labor and material costs are known. The figures given represent average crop requirements for the regions where investigations have been made. If the fanner does not have precise records of labor and material expenditures expendi-tures for his own farm, he can estimate esti-mate them pretty closely by taking the overage for his own region as a basis and applying current rates for labor nnd mnterials, with due allowance for any unusual conditions that may exist in his own case. The method of computation com-putation Is as follows: 1. Determine the total cost of labor and materlnl per acre by applying current cur-rent rates to the quantities of labor and materials obtained from the Individual's In-dividual's own records, or, If such are ( not available, use those given in the table. 2. Determine the total operating ex-; pense per acre by dividing the cost of , labor and material by the percentage figure given for each region. 8. Determine the total acre cost of production by adding the . Interest charge or the cash rent paid for the use of land. 4. To determine the cost per bushel or ton divide the total acre cost by the yield per acre. The following example shows how this method worked out In figuring the cost of corn for silage on an Iowa farm : Estimated Esti-mated Amount, rate. Cost. Man-hours 27.9 0.35 W.76 Horse-hours 61.8 .25 12.95 Beed, pounds 9.9 .08 .79 Manure, tons 2.2 2.00 4.40 i Gasoline. ' gallons 2.8 . 25 . 70 j Coal, pounds 14 .005 .07 Twine, pounds 3.6 .26 .90 Total labor and material (SO per cent of operating" expense) 29.67 Total operating expense (100 per cent) : 36.96 Interest on 1 acre of land (1200 at 6 per cent) 10.00 Total cost J(o96 Average yield per acre. 9.8-tons. Average cost per ton, J4.S0. Self-Feeder for Market Hogs. A great many hog men do not have the time to feed their hogs twice dnily. so use the self-feeder for the pigs that are Intended for market purposes. |