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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 CF EACH CROP If Precise Recordb 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 Aii, ,,. i.ilui e.) Figures r 1-. . r 1 ,.h,c,i the farme can compute I.., niniit the cost of pro-tluctioi! pro-tluctioi! ! n..u, corn for slluge,- wheat, mils, and bay, under given condlllons, lire presented In a preliminary report on labor und material requirements f those crops, recently Issued by the United Stales Department of Agriculture. Agricul-ture. These figures cover the normal hours of man labor und horse labor, and quantities of seed, fertilizers, etc., 1 required per acre for each crop, as determined by surveys by the office of farm management and farm economics. econom-ics. Apply Basic Factors. The money cost Is found by applying apply-ing to these basic factors the current a'ates for labor, seetl, etc. Inasmuch as It bus been found that, In general, labor and material costs approximate SO per cent of the total operating cost , for these crops. It Is easy to find this total 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 farmer 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 average for his own region as a basis and applying current rates for Inbor and tnnterlals, 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 material 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. I 2. Determine the total operating ex- j 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 J0.35 J8.T6 Horse-hours 61.8 .25 12.95 Beed, pounds 9.9 .08 .79 Manure, tons 2.2 2.00 4.40 1 Gasoline. ' (rations 2.8 .25 .70 I Coal, pounds 14 .0o5 .07 Twine, pounds 3.6 .25 .90 Total labor and material (SO per cent of operating expense) 29.57 Total operating expense (100 per cent) : 36.96 Interest on 1 acre of land ($200 at 6 per cent) 10.00 Total cost 51o96 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 dally, so use the self-feeder for the pigs that are Intended for market purposes. I |