Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-05-08
REDUCING THE COST OF AGRICULT-
URAL PRODUCTS.

reduce the cost OF farming products. The |
farmer has no command or power over prices. |
These are regulated by supply and demand.
For instance, the price of wheat in this State |
is not regulated by the quantity produced
here. The crop in California may be large |
and the prices may rule high, or the crop |
here may be very light and still the prices
may be low There are so many countries
producing wheat for the market of the world
that the good or bad crop of any one has but |
a slight effect on the relation of supply and
demand. If we had only home market for
our wheat the situation would be different
then good crop would produce an over-sup-
ply and fat prices, and poor crop would
produce a scarcity and high prices
When, however the world is the pro-
Queer and the world is the con-
sumner, there are so many contingencies
in the calculation that there is no other safe
course for the farmer but to reduce the cost
of production. Indeed, if we were to examine
into the reason why there is so great dis
parity in the success Of those engaged IN
farming pursuits, we should find as rule
that those who prosper and get ahead do so
because they have learned the secret of keep
ing down the cost of production-in keeping
the expense side of their operations at a
minimum figure. We care not what particu-
lar branch of farming is followed, the appli-
cation of this rule is equally imperative. If
we are engaged in the production of beef, our
profits must depend more upon the cost of
producing than upon the ruling prices. The
general demand and the general supply regu-
late the price, and a single producer can
hardly expect to make a perceptible impress
sion upon either-both are beyond his con-
trol-but he can gauge his profits
by gauging the cost of the article
upon which he is to make his profits.
Indeed, this is the rule that applies to all
classes of production. The mechanic that
can reduce the cost of a certain class of ma
chinery in general use below what it costs
his neighbor and competitor to produce the
same article of like quality, has a margin of
profit which in time will tell in his favor. If
we look over the history of the worlds in
dustries we Will find that the great secret of
success to individuals and to nations is in the
success with which they learn to reduce the
cost of production. The time was when
England could supply America with all her
wooden and cotton cloths, because with her
more perfectknowledge of the secrets of manu-
facture, her better machinery and cheaper
and more skilled labor, she could produce
these articles at lower cost than could
America. The time was when English cut
lery was in use almost exclusively in every
part of the civilized world, because
from her coal mines and iron mines
and cheap skilled labor she could
produce this class of goods at less cost than
any other nation. At this time the United
States is competing against the world in sup
plying the English markets with wheat, with
beef and pork, with butter and cheese, and
many other agricultural products. The mar
ket is an open and certain one. England is,
and will certainly be, an extensive buyer of
all these articles. The farmers of the United
States-the farmers of California-are and
will be the producers of them. While by
any course of ours we can have but little
influence upon the price that England will
pay for wheat or beef or pork or butter and
cheese, and cannot in this way increase the
profits to accrue from their supply, we can,
by the reduction of the cost of these articles
on our farms materially affect the profits to
be gained by the trade. There are many
ways by which the cost of producing wheat
can be reduced or kept at low figure. To
study this subject intelligently we should ex-
anime the factors hatenter into its production.
The rent or use of land is one of the principal
factors of cost in the production of wheat.
It is plain that the farmer whose land costs
him $50 per acre can produce wheat cheaper
than he whose land costs him $50 per acre,
all other things being equal. But if
two farmers, having 500 acres of the same
quality Of land at the same price and equally
well situated, enter into the business of
wheat-raising for profits, then the question
of success between them will depend upon
main question then will be the skill in man
agement. The relative skill of the two men
as agriculturists, as wheat farmers, will then
be tested. If one by the use of none but the
best seed, good machinery, good cultivation,
careful harvesting and saving his grain, can
reduce the cost one-eighth of one cent. per
pound lower than the other, then it is evil
dent he has just that much margin for profits
over his neighbor. If each, for instance,
produces TO-, 900 centals of wheat per year,
then the profits of the best manager will be
12l cents greater on each 100 pounds than the
profits of his neighbor, or on 10000 centals
his greater profits will be represented by
81, $50. If, however, the one farmer, by su-
perior management, produces twice as much
| grain as the other, at the same cost-that is
to say, 20, 600 centals at the same expense
that the other produces 10, 000-then his in
creased profits will be doubled, or will be
represented by $500. Now. it is no nm
common thing to see even greater difference
in the cost of wheat production, attributable
to no other cause than the difference in cult
walton of land and general skill in farm man.
agement. While some men are making
money every year in this State in raising
wheat, others occupying and cultivating
equally as good land are making nothing at
all, and are discouraged and sick of the bust
ness. The same may be said of every other
branch of farming. The dairy is branch
of farming well calculated to test the
skill of the operator. The successful
dairyman applies business principles to every
part of his business In the first place, he
selects his land for the amount and quantity
of grass it will produce, for the plentifulness
and purity of the water upon it, and for its
location as to market for his products. His
COWS he selects, not because they are short
horns or Ayreshires or Jerseys or any other
breed not because they are red, black, roam
or any other color, but because they are good
| COWS for the business he wants them; be.