Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1921-11-23
EXPLAINSHOW
COTTON COST
Was FIGURED
Method State Used In Deter.
mining Average of 25.S
Cents is Detailed

AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 23-How
the state department OF agriculture
determined the average cost of pro-
ducing cotton in Texas this year at
25.s cents per pound was explained
bv George b. Terrell, commissioner
of the department, in q statement
in which he said that agriculture
must be put ''upon a naying and
enduring basis" Commissioner
Terrell urged cooperation of inter
ested parties in obtaining some con
stituted authority to regulate the
price Of cotton that will cover the
average cost of production and q
profit ON the investment
The Texas department Of agrl-
culture has for the past several
years had system Of finding the
average cost of producing cotton
and 1t has proved 70 be approximate.
ly correct, Mr. Terrell said.
Cotton producers in al parts Il
the state are furnished with blanks
with instructions as to how to fill
them out. Every item of cost, enter
ing ino the production of cotton,
froL the time the seed are pur-
chased and the land prepared for
planting until the crop is laid by
is entered on this blank. These in
clude every days work with man
and team. chopping. hoeing, culti-
waiting, wear and tear on teams and
tools, depreciation, taxes and interest
on investment. current wages being
allowed Totals will be the cost of
a given acreage, Mr. Terrell said.
The totals divided by the number
Of acres will get the cost per acre.
The United States government es-
innate Of lint coton production per
acre for that year is used as a ba-
sis of yield and the cost Of picking
at current prices. ginning and wrap
ping the cotton are added TO the to-
tai cost Of cultivation. Then, for
example, if the cost Of production
per acre should be $32 and the
yield Of lint cotton should be $50
pounds per acre, the cost would be
21.33 cents per pound which is
found by dividing the total cost per
acre by the number of pounds Of
lint cotton produced per acre.
''If 500 men. report this cost.
when their cost figures are added
and divided by 500 you will get the
average for all 500 and this will
fairly represent the cost for the en-
tire state If the 500 men are aver
age farmers cultivating average
land" said Mr.. Terrell. 1T was
found this year in estimating the
average production cost in Texas
that the cheapest production Of any
man reporting was ID cents per
pound and the highest was Is cents
per pound.
"But il was also found that the
majority had produced the crop at
a cost ranging from 2l cents to 30
cents per pound and the average
was found TO be 258 cents per
pound. If the production this year
had been an average yield per acre.
as compared with past years, the
coust would have been less than 20
cents per pound.
s'1'he average cost Of production
for the years 1918, 1919 and 1920
was much higher than this year and
ranged from 80 to 40 cents. owing
to high cost of labor. fertilizer. feed,
farm implements and everything en-
tering in TO the cost Of production.
"The federal government kent
the cost of producing cotton on
SAP farms throughout the cotton
belt in 1918 and found such cost to
be 20 cents per acre. These were
selected farms and well cultivated
and produced a high yield. The
cost of producing cotton anv year
will vary with individual farmers
according 70 cultural methods, the
kind of cotton grown. weather ccndi
tions in each locality and the raw
ages of insect nests. The govern
ment found in keeping cost Of pro-
duction on the SAP farms that s.
per cent Of them produced 1T a pro
fit. With this large majority re-
ceiving a profit. farming will pros
per.
4The price received by a major
itv of the producers Of any farm
product will determine whether il is
profitable TO grow that product and
whether or not such industry can sur
vive. The minority cannot sustain the
industry The department Of agricul-
4uro az TayaS ranuaetc tha eo-onera.
tion ofthe commissioners of agricul-
CONTINUED on Page Three)