Cavalier County farmers press. (Langdon, N.D.) 1920-1921, 1921-05-26
Preparing seed Bed With Tractor Power.

ment of Agriculture.)
During October and November, 1920,
representatives of the United States
Department of Agriculture visited 286
tractor-owners in Ohio, Indiana, and
Illinois. A complete record Of all the
work done during the year both with
tractors and horses was obtained from
each farmer. Information from which
the cost of using the tractor and the
cost of maintaining the workstock
could be determined was also obtained.
q The investigation was made through
the cooperative efforts of the bureau
of animal industry, office Of farm man
agement and farm economics and the
bureau of public roads, in accordance
with plans outlined at the farm power
conference at Chicago, ILL.,, in October,
1919. The object was to obtain infor-
nation, in addition to that already
available in the Department of Agri-
culture, which would aid in determin-
ing advantageous forms of power for
different farms and different condi-
lions.
Farms Above Average in Size.
The average size of the farms Wis
tied was 258 acres. This is consider
ably above the average size of all
farms in these states.
Two-plow tractors were owned on
174 of the 2S6 farms, three-plow trac-
tors on 1O4, and four-plow tractors on
six farms. One farmer owned a one
pillow machine, and one farmer owned
a fve-plow machine. Two-plow ma
chimes were found on IS per cent of
the farms with less than 100 crop
acres, and on SO per cent. of those with
100 or more crop acres.
One hundred and six of the tractors
had been in use one year, 100 had
been in use one and one-half or two
years, 40 had been in use two and one
half or three years, and 81 had been
in use more than three years.
On the average the tractors were
used for 30.8 full days during the year
covered by the investigation. Twenty
three and five-tenths days of this was
drawbar work on the home farm,
81 days was belt work, and 4.6 days
was custom work. Seventy-three of
the 2S6 tractors did less than 20 days
work during the year and 26 did so
OF more days work.
The number of workstock still
owned varied from two head on II of
the farms to more than 15 on five of
the large farms. On the average there
were 6.S head per farm at the
time of the survey, and their value
vas S145 per head. In all there were
1,S7S head of ,Workstock on the 286
farms and Ill colts less than one year
OF age.
The average number of full days
work per year per horse, for all farms
was 6S.6. On 30 of the farms the
worlkstoek did less than 40 full days
work and on 81 they did 100 or more
days work per year.
The tractors did So per cent of the
blowing on these farms, Is per cent
of the disking, 43 per cent of the har-
rowing. planting, rolling, and pack
ing, Al per cent of the grain cutting,
and about 10 per cent of the loading
and hauling of hay.
OF 267 men who did spring blowing.
142 did it all with tractors, l21 used
both tractors and horses, and -four
used horses only.
OF 225 who did fall blowing, 100
did it all with tractors, 81 used both
tractors and horses, and eight used
horses only.
In all, the power for 30 per cent OF
the drawbar work on these farms, as
measured by days of horse labor re.
quired for it, was furnished by trac.
tors and the remainder by horses.
The average cost per head of keep.
ing workstock on these farms for the
year ending November ], 1920, was
$3.50, and the average cost per farm
was Sl.76.
Costs 45 Cents Daily TO Feed Horse
Exclusive of grass and stalk pasture
the average ration per horse consisted
Of 1.3 tons of hay, 10 tons of straw
o. acre Of stover, 37.S bushels of corn
and 22.3 bushels of oats. The total
cost of feed per head vas $134. Based
on present prices March, 1921, the
cost Of feed per head would be about
$50.
The average cost per day Of horse
labor for the year Of the survey was
$2.48. Based on present prices the cost
on these farms would he not far from
S1.50 per day.
The average first cost OF the two
pillow tractors was $972, OF the three,
pillow tractors Sl,a54, and Of all trac,
tors Sl,I40, The average anount spent
for equipment, mostly plows and disks
for nse with tractors was about s3a0
The average value ~ tae h0rse,drawi
implements disnoscd OF after the nur,
chase Of tho frDoiops waT $i2.
the gserafe iife ne these tractors
81 estimator q their owners n OF