The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1891-08-13


rates. and therefore subject To the
same general criticism. The report Of
the national department of agriculture
shows a loss of slil.s9G.3s.5 to the pro-
ducerS OF Iowa corn for the period given.
These figures. however. are based on the
assumption that the cost of production
as given by the recent reports Of l.l7o
farmers to this bureau is not exaggera-
ted.
CROPS WHICH HAVE PAID.
The report shows that flax seed has
returned reasonable profit: potatoes
have been the most profitable of all the
crops. Hogs. horses and dairying have
resulted in more or less profit to produ-
GERS, but the cattle market has under
gone a diseoHraging depreciation.
REPORTS or CORRESPONDENTS.
According to the reports of LOIS cor
respondents representing ninety-nine
counties, whose individual returns are
published. the average local market
price of shclled corn in order to make s
per cent profit on the farmers invest
ment. should be 3ots cents: the per cent
OF farmers prevented by debt from
holding their products for the best mar
kets is II: the per cent of farmers los
ing their farm by mortgage foreclosure
since 1850. il .: the per cent Of farm
labor displaced by labor-saving ma
chinery since 1850. is 81: average wages
OF male farm hands from seeding until
the crop is harvested is sis.aa per
month: the average per month for fe-
males Is Ss.5a; farmers average to work
49, hours day; 40 per cent of the
children between and ii year, old are
kept from home to work and the school
children kept at home average To lose
) days per year.
THIS Il SIGNIFICANT.
The LOIS farmers reporting will find
their views on another series Of qu.s-
tions giyen In another table. 1t is sig-
nticant tn note that out of LOIS reports
si'e said that the local market Of farm
products mad averaged below cost since
1885,: sixty-one said at cost. and only
ninety-four reported a small profit: SIS
said they made no profit on the labor Of
hired men. and Ia had made profit on
such labor: soo reported that farming
had yielded less prof. than would have
been derived from the loaning of a sum
equal H. the investment. on ten years
time at eight per cent. and compounded
semi-annuallv, while only nineteen en-
tertained a contrary view.
VOICE OF TIE FARMER.
Tier are forty pages Of the report
which cannot easily be summarized and
yet which are of very much interest.
These pages are devoted To reproduc-
ton of the comment written by the nu-
merpus correspondents Of the bureau.
in the way of remark on their reports.
The comraent discioses all shades of
opinion and Mr. Sovereign wisely made
no attempt - edit the reports but
used them as they reached hi, office.
COST OF PRODUCING CORN.
The cost If producing corn comes in
for long discussion and a series of
valuable tables. Much pains has been
taken with this part of the book be-
cause of the newspaper controversy
which arose o.er the figures when They
Were IN part given to the public
last winter The claim that to figure
the cost of raising corn and compare it
with the market price is not fair. be-
| cause Iowa corn is usually fed To stock
on the farm is thus disposed OF by Mr..
Sovereign:
Ii the reader will carefully examine
the reports Of the national department
of agriculture. for the last ten years.
he will learn that more than one-third
of all the corn product of Iowa during
the last decade was sold in it, natural
state, and that more than one-fourth OF
il was shipped out of the county in
which it was grown. The great flour
ing and hominv mills. alcoholic distil-
leries. starch and glucose factories.
keepers of horses and cattle in cities
and towns, and the people of the great
non-corn producing region, of the civil
lied world demand immense quantities,
of the cereal each year. Corn always
has. and always will. occupy promi-
nent place III the commercial world
The different elements which enter
into the cost Of producing an acre Of
corn are fully considered and the dis
cussion will do much toward bringing
order out of confusion in the general
keeping of farm accounts,
The first series of tables classifies by
counties the different reports received
and abstracts these in full. The reports
of course go by number rather than the
correspondent name.
Each correspondent makes his own
figures on the following items: Fertil-
izing. cutting stalks, plowing ground,
narrowing. planting. seed corn. culti-
vating, husking. cribbing. crib room,
shelling, hauling to market, value Of
land per acre. fence and repairs, tax.
s per cent on value of land cost per
acre, cost per bushel. Those figures
eapitulated in series of tables of diff
ferent form.
The cost of producing an acre of corn
counting everything. is found by an
average Of all the reports to be $lO.3O
and bushel. 80 cents.
Cost. less Smelling. acre, S9.5s: bushel
% cents
Cost, less shelling and marketing.
acre, Ss.55; bushel. % cents.
Cost. less investment in land, acre,
SITS; bnshel. 23 cents.
The elements which go to make up
the cost of producing an acre of corn.
counting all of them, are as follows:
Fertilzihg ....................t ..........$ ~
Cutting stalks ...... .. -
Flowing ground. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. Il3
Narrowing twice. ......... ......... -
Planting .............. ..................... .35
seed corn. .......................... -. .l2
Cultivating three times s................. IH
Husking and or bbing. ............... 49,. LIS
lost OF crib room- Observation-Disclosures. -
Shelling. total. ................. rs
Hauling TO lceai market-ayernoe d-s-