The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1884-05-17
Skim MIN Farming.

In the section / live In the farmers
are chiefly engaged in wheat raising,
W til a growing tendency in the direc-
ton of stock and dairy farming. ( are
full estimates have placed the actual
cost of producing bushel Of wheat in
| this section at not far from sixty-five
cents this does not include depreei-
alton in land nor cost of transpor at on
BY rail, or otherwise, to the markets Of
the world. These expenses aggTegat at
least twenty-five cents more. and when
the wheat is placed IN any market
where it viii bring 81 per blishel, the
cost Of production and Transport
tat on have run mp to at least
ninety cents. The crop of 'dS
marketed In my town aggregated
550, 900 bushels. worth in Chicago some
thing like half mill on dollars, on
which the farmers have realized a prcit
Of not more than ten per cent, or $780,
0 %, in this favora le wheat year. The
freight tariff alone on this wheat
amounts, however, to $1IF 200, and as
the cost Of transportat on affects the
price pad, this enormous tax really
falls II ON the farmers. Their expenses
for freight alone are Therefore mo
than double their profits.
Now. assuming that stock and dairy
farming arc, of themselves quite as
profitable as wheat farming in
other words, that it costs no
moro to produce given amount
in bu ter or beef than the same
amount in wheat an assumption most
favorable JUDGED to the wheat interest
it is easy to estimate the benefit
tho farmer might receive in this
one item alone. by condens'n g his
products.
Half m lion dollars worth OF live
stoc'S could be sent to the Chica mar
ket at an expense Of not to g lceed $780,
00O, and thus of this S116,000 freight
expense in ident to wheat raising, there
would have been saved, To the farmers
pro t. SS0. 900.
The same product in pork and beef
would have gone to the same market
at an expense of not to exceed $25, 900,
and thus another $4,000 of freight
might have been saved --all clear profit.
The same amount in cheese would
have required the expenditure of but
$40. 900 IN freight, instead Of $4,000,
and thus an oven 100000 of expense
might have been saved TO the farmers,
just twice the amount Of their profits
on wheat; and on Ovid ng t up among
the 90 or more farmers eah would
have u balance of $500 to show for
every 500 he realized on wheat
In the production of butter the differ
ence Is stu moro to his advantage To
sh p 5000, 800 worth of butter would
cost not more than from 81, 1000 to
S., GOO In place OF tho $4,000, and
thus about rs per cent. Of the costs of
wheat transportation would be saved,
and the farmers supposed profit of 10
per cent would be Increased to con-
sderably OYER 80 per cent. of the
gross receipts. Putting it in q different
form and We find that the Southwestern
Minnesota farmer. who produces good
butter, pays odt for transportation to
market but per rent of the value Of
his product. The cheese producer paws
out from 81 TO 1 per cent. The pork
and beef producer pays from 3 to & per
cent. and the I've stock shipper from
TO $ per cent; but the wheat farmer
settles his little freight account BY turn
ing over from % TO 70 PEE cent of all
the gross receipts Of his crop, and a
large share, if not all, Of the balance
goes for other expenses.
The wheat farmer is content to take
his small piitanos Of gain In skim-m'lk,
while the millers' soeiations, the
SPECTATORS, and the railroads take all
the cream Of his crop. From pdps7
~ ". Z. u ard. rial 5etoxe he N w
QGiFgaac'ls sAsspclatiesa
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