The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1913-02-08
Seven Years Work on the North
Dakota Demonstration Farms

Of 1909 that year gave an average of
ID 4-10 bushels per acre when the
states average was 10 7-10 bushels per
acre. In oher words, these first farms
i which had been in operation four years
nearly doubled the average yield of
the state. That was an exceptionally
good year Of 1909 and it was followed
by a very poor year, 1910. These first
six farms that rear averaged 10 Ia
bushels per acre, the second series
averaged nearly s bushels per acre,
the farms begun in 1909 which had
their second crop rotation 1910 aver
aged nearly 8 bushels per acre and the
farms put in operation that spring
! (l910) averaged 6 Ia bushels per acre,
when the average for the state was
but 5 bushels per acre. Those first six
farms which Their had been in opera
ton five years more than doubled the
average yield of the state. In other
crops on you farm. the average yield
Of wheat per acre will probably run
from so to 100 per cent more after the
rotation has been in operation four or
five years with a much greater net
profit per acre than these percentages
would indicate, as the cost of pro-
duction of an acre of poor yielding
| WHEAT Is almost as SItdL dS iI6 tJSl
of production Of an acre of wheat that
! yields heavily.
Cost Of Production.
Since these farms have been put in
operation a very careful system of
keeping the cost of each farm opera
ton is kept; it is known exactly what
has been done on each field since the
farms were started. The figures FOR
labor that have been obtained in Min
nesota and which nave been published
in bulletin No. 1T of that station are
used. At Halstad. Mimi, they found
that daily labor cost 13c an hour IN
| April; 12c in May; tic In June; 15c in
July; 22c in August; 23c in September
and 24C in October or, approximately
"a per cent more than what monthly
labor would cost per hour. Horse
labor is figured at the rate Of 8.36 cents
| per hour. This is IA per cent higher
than that figured at Halstad, Mimi.
The day is figured at nine hours, two
minutes or approximately nine hours
a day in the field and the machines are
supposed to operate at a speed Of two
miles an hour and that the width cut
by the machine is ordinarily supposed
to be all that it can take. Plows, or
course, are expected to cut IA inches
wide. An 8-foot binder would cut
~ feet, etc. Corn planters are eX-
| pCNlNu W W. N d. =" tSS 80 way 49,
one-half miles an hour. On this basis
the cost Of production on these farms
is figured out for labor Of men and
horses and the machine is figured at
the same depreciation as that found
in Minnesota. A harrow is supposed
to depreciate IL cents per acre, plows
81 cents per acre and corn binders at
the rate of 80 cents per acre, other ma
chinery accordingly. To this, a gen.
eral expense Of 80 cents per acre Is
added to operations that could not be
classified according to any particular
operation. Land rental is figured at
6 per cent on actual value Of the land,
that is, land worth $50 an acre would
be charged with an expense equiVa-
lent to SO a year for rental or interest
on the investment. Three items Of
cost are left out in this discussion.
| They are the expense Of hauling the
produce to market. AS the roads are
very variable, the cost of hauling diff
ferent crops is so variable it was not
considered we'll to figure it in. Taxes
is another item that is not figured in
as this varies a great deal in different
sections Of the state. The cost Of
picking corn in North Dakota is an
other factor that is not figured in as
there is no accurate data on this sub
ject which applies to North Dakota
conditions.
In 1gurlng the income or LneSe IdTLnS
the different grains are sold on Dec. 1
of each year at the market price OBJ
tanned for the different grades Of grain.
This is somewhat arbitrary but arbi-
trary terms must be used in figuring
up the different operations n the
cost of the same on the farms and
these figures are probably as nearly
correct as any set Of figures could be.
Sometimes on Dec. l the price may be
lower than what could be obtained at
other times and, again it may be high
er than what may be obtained for
selling the crop at some other period
in the year.
| Net Profits.
According to this method Of figur-
ing profits or losses per acre, which is
quite reasonable, the net profit at New
Salem in 1906 per acre was $4.44; in
1907 it was $2.09; in 1908 it was $6.11;
in 1909, $12.56; in 1910 there was a loss
of $4.01 and in 1911 a loss of $1.35 an&
in 1912 a net profit of $13.56; or, a
total net profit per acre for a period of
seven years on all the fields grown in
rotation on this farm of SAT-. The
wheat at New Salem produced a gross
return of $13.S5; cost 1854 to produce
and gave a net profit Of $6.31 to the
acre. Macaroni wheat gave a gross
return of $5.13, cost 1926 to produce