The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1885-02-21
THE COST OF RAISING CORN.
Kent County Farmers Discuss an Inter-
esting Subject.


The Agricultural Club of Kent county, Nd,
holds weekly meetings at which subjects of gen.
eral interest to the farmer discussed. At the
meeting, on the I'd inst, the subject was-"What
is the average cost of bushe of corn, grown on
2OO-acre farm, on 4O-acre field, taking 40
bushels to the acre as an average yield7'
The question was opened by T. J. Willis. who
made the following estimate Of the cost of pro-
ducing bushel of corn under the conditions
named. The proportionate cost of the regular
labor on 2OO-acre farm applied to cultivating
4O-acre field of corn he estimated at $14450 for
labor and board, counting wages at $3.50 per
month, extra labor $780, Smelling off 900 bushels
of corn $1,000, wear and tear of plows $780, wear
of cutivators $500, of harrows $500, horses 50,
one-haIf the wear of six horses for the year $50,
grain for horses $3.50, hay $1,000, aggregate
cost $685.. [Just here there seems to be mistake,
either by Mr. Willis or by the reporter, in taking
down his figures, as the aggregate seems to be
$412.l Dividing the aggregate cost OF $3.50 by
the number of bushels, 1900, the cost of produce
ing one bushel is found to be "a cts. If it may
be allowed that the fodder saved from the corn
crop Is worth 500, then the cost of production is
lessened to 1886, or to 175 cents per bushel. If
the tller of the farm were renter, then the cost
of production would be to him, after paying one
half to his landlord, something less than SO cents
per bushel. at a1
E. P. Janvier said there many contin-
gencies attending the growing of crop of corn
that it is almost impossible to estimate the cost of
production. He thinks for the most part farmers
are compelled to go it blind and trust to provi-
dence. He thinks figures are utterly unreliable
in estimating cost of producing corn crops. He
thinks there are at least ii 900 contingencies upon
which the growing of a corn crop depends.
]. w. Corey said that of course every farmer
understood that corn crop is liable to failure
from drought and other contingencies, but every
sensible farmer also understood what fairly
average corn crop is and could form some judg-
ment as to what is a fairly average cost of pro-
duction, taking average crop in an average
year. A good work horse may be estimated at a
value of 500. He estimated the interest on cost
and the wear of horses at SIG per year. Six
horses, about the proper number on 20O-acre
farm, may be estimated to entail cost OF $50.
He said nothing about the cost of keeping horses,
as he considered this to be offset by the crop of
fodder, and he thought even enough surplus f0d
der might be sold to pay. for the grain which the
horses consume To cultivate 2o0-acre farm
would require hands for ten months at SIS per
month each, they to board themselves, total
cost of $40. The interest on cost and the wear
and tear of implements on properly equippef
20O-acre farm he would estimate at 500, and
would charge about this amount to the corn
crop. The total cost of tiling a 2OO-acre farm,
according to above estimate, would be 1916. Set
ting one-half of this to the corn crop, except in
the matter of implements, where the corn crop
should be charged with third, he found the
cost of producing each bushel, if the farmer got
40 bushels to the acre on 40 acres, to be within
small fraction of % cents per bushel. 1t be should
get as low as 80 bushels to the acre the cost on
each bushel would be something over 30 cents per
huShal IF the farmer n land renter. the
cost of his one-half would be respectively "A or 90
cents per bushel, in accordance with whether he
got 40 or 80 bushels to the acre.
J. NJ. ]. Byron estimated the cost of corn
crop to farmer who should live on his own farm
and who should raise 40 bushels to the acre on a
field of 40 acres as follows: Interest on cost of
horses $40. Wear of horses $685.. Horse feed
in hay sol, horse feed in grain S44, labor $3.50
and board of labor SIP, interest on cost of i'm
plements 50 and wear of implements S25, taxes on
land Sl4, replacing hoes spades, &C., S3l6, total
S47532. Cost per bushe a little over 291 cents.
In the case of renter by crediting to the above
estimate the cost of provender and taxes on land,
the total amount of cost would be S475.32 less
1874 or $341.32, which divided by 1000 bushels
would give cost of 215 cents per bushel or cost
of 42s cents per bushel after paying the landlords
rent.
Mr.. Corey said he thought there was some
significance in the fact that Mr.. Willis, Mr.. Byron
and himself, without knowing anything of each
others calculations, had come close together in
their estimate of the cost of producing bushel
of corn under the conditions named.
Mr.. Corey said that the hard times are caused
very largely by the extravaganza of the farmer of
the present day and not by the low price of grain.
Fifty years ago, grain was lower than now, and
the cost of everything the farmer had to buy was
double what it is now, and yet farmers got along
in those days. Mr.. Corey drew picture of the
simple ways of fifty years ago, when carriage
Ioolv Il k,1.a &c
He-argued that if farmers would only return to
the simple ways of their forefathers, they would
soon have more money than they would know
what to do with.
Mr.. E. P. Janvier moved that it be expressed
as the sense of the meeting that farmers in Kent
county cannot raise corn at less than so cts. per
bushel aud make money on it. The motion was
unanimouslv adOnted