Morris tribune., 1907-01-12
aOW THE COST
WAS OBTAINED
COLLECTING STATISTICS CON.
CERNlNG BUSINESS Or
FARMING.
Y Dung Men Collected the Data from
a Whole Neigtborhood In Three
Widely Separated Sections OF
Minnesota.

The valuable bulletin on the cosI
of producing farm products was the
result of four years of most careful
investigation. The bulletin itself de-
scribes the methods as follows:
The Investigations into the cost OF
growing crops and of producing i've
stock were began in 1898 at the Nortn
Dakota Agricultural Experiment
Station. The college farm of $40 acres
was divided into rectangular fenced
fields on which the labor and other
Stems of cost for each crop was re-
corded daily. While it was soon
found that the cost per acre OF grow
ing crops on an experiment farm was
higher than on private farms, because
.of greater care and because of expert
ments in progress, this work suggest
ed a plan of securing the data OF the
normal cost of production from farms
that were being worked for profit.
On January /, 1902, the Bureau OF
Statistics of the US. Department OF
Agriculture joined in corporation
with the division of agriculture OF the
Minnesota Agricultural Experiment
Station to gather data from Mime
sofa farms on the cost of producing
field crops and livestock products.
The expense was shared about equally
and the work was directed from the
Minnesota Agricultural Experiment
Station. Three young men, students
of the Minnesota College OF Agrlcul-
ture, were employed as route status
ticians and three statistical routes
were established; one in southeastern
Minnesota, in Rice county, near
Mortified; another in southwestern
Minnesota, in Lyon county, near
Marshall; and another in northwest
ern Minnesota, in Norman county,
near Halstad. Fifteen farmers on
each route, chosen as farm staustlcs
co-operators, agreed to be interview
ed daily throughout the entire year
nv the route statisticians, giving
record of each hour of labor perform
ed bv each man and by each horse
and giving the field crop or other
enterprise upon which the labor was
used. A map, based upon accurate
measurements of each field, was made
of each farm, that the data might be
so collected and classified as to snow
the cost per acre for each crop, on
each farm, also the average for each
route and for the state.
At the beginning and close of each
wear complete inventories were taken
of all live stock, machinery, feed, etc
and during the year all cash items
were secured which had to do with
the receipts and expenditures on tiel;
crops, machinery, horses and labor
During the years 1902 and 1908 very
few data were secured except those
which related to crop production
after which the data were extended
to live stock and other affairs OF thu
farm and the farm home. The mrs
two years. work was in way ex
detrimental. Methods for collecting
and recording the statistics had to b.
devised and many difficult problems
like finding the exact rate OF wage
Der hour for men and horses, were no
worked out by the most exact method
until the second year.
In 1904 some departure was mad
from the plan first inaugurated' In
number of farms on each route wa
reduced from fifteen to eight. Ih
scope of the Investigations was eA