Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1921-05-05
Preparing Seed Bed With Tractor Power.

years. The annual depreciation of the
two-plow tractors amounted to $164,
and Of the three-plow $217. The an
nual cost of repairs, including the
value of the owners time spent in re-
pairing the tractors, was $50 for both
the two-plow and three-plow sizes.
The fuel consumption per day for
the two-plow tractors varied from
about 1S gallons for fall blowing to
about IL gallons for drawing the hay
loader. For the three-plow tractors it
varied from % gallons for blowing to
Is gallons for drawing the hay loader.
The two-plow tractors covered &C
acres per day in blowing and three
pillow machines SO acres. The mount
of fuel required per acre by the two
sizes was practically the same, 2.S
gallons for the two-plow and 81 gall
Ions for the three-plow tractors.
Difference in Flowing Costs.
The average cost per acre of power
for the blowing done with two-plow
tractors was about So and, with the
three-plow about 1920 The cost of
power for the blowing done with
horses on these farms was about $3.50
per acre. Based on the present costs
of keeping workstock, the cost Of
power for blowing with horses would
be about $1.90 per acre. For most Of
the other operations the cost of power
when furnished by horses was slightly
. <hor
The cost per acre of power for disk
ing with tractors was $O.67, with
horses, $0.64; for cutting grain with
tractors, $067; with horses, $3.50.
These figures represent the cost of
power only, and do not include either
the cost of man labor, or that of the
implements used.
The average cost per day Of two
| pillow tractors for drawbar work on
| the home farm was about $12.65, and
of three-plow tractors about $17.75.
The total cost of power furnished by
the tractors for drawbar work at home
during the year averaged $341. This
| drawbar work on the home farm con-
| stituted 76 per cent of the total work
| done by the tractors, and only rs per
cent of the total annual charge for de-
probation, repairs, and interest on in
vestment, is included in it.
Tractor Reduces Number Of Work.
stock Needed.
On the 172 farms where there had
been no change in acreage the num-
Der of workStock had been reduced by
% head, an average reduction of 26
per cent. Forty-four Of these 172 men
had not reduced the number of work
stock, 90 had disposed of one or two
head, 43 had disposed of three or four
head, and % of more than four head.
On these 1I2 farms one horse had
been kept for each % acres (total
acres, not crop acres) before purchase
of tractors, and at the time of the
survey there was one horse for each
37.7 acres. For all the farms there
had been an average of one horse for
each 27.6 acres before purchase of
tractors, and there was one for each
$40 acres at the time of the investiga-
ton. On the, farms where there had
been no change in acreage there had
been one horse for each 21.5 crop acres
before the purchase of tractors, and
there was one for each 20 crop acres at
the time of the investigation.
Operating Costs May Be Reduced.
There were great variations on in
dividual farms in the cost of power
furnished by both horses and tractors;
and by more careful management
many farmers could doubtless reduce
this cost. Repair costs and fuel con-
sumption of the tractors could in many
cases have been reduced by more care
full operation. The cost of keeping
workstock could have been reduced ON
many farms by more careful feeding
practices.
The average annual cost of power
for the drawbar work on the home
farm which was done with tractors
was equal to the cost of keeping 81
head Of worlistock and this is prac-
tically the average number displaced
per farm. On the basis of present
prices, however, the cost OF keeping
workStock has declined considerably
more than the cost of operating trac.
tors.
Since, during the year covered by
the investigation, the cost of power on
fathe average farm was no greater than
II it had all been furnished by horses
any saving in man labor costs, any
gain due to getting a larger amount
f'of work done in a given time, and any
other advantages connected with the
use of tractors which cannot be meas
ured directly in dollars and cents.
might be considered clear profit. 1t is
doubtful, however, If such gains were
great enough to balance the cost of
operating the tractors on many of the
farms where there was no change in
acreage and where no workstock was
displaced.