The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1926-08-20
FARMERS DOLLAR
STILL BUYS LESS
Although AgricuIture's Financial
Condition Is Improved, Advantage
Stays With Industrial Workers.

WASHINGTON.-Farmer as a
class are still at a financial advant.
age compared with industrial workers,
although their income showed a moi
crate Improvement during the 1926
26 season, according to an analysis of
receipts and expenditures just COM
pleted by the department of agricul-
ture.
Gross income from agriculture is
estimated at $12,415, 100000 for the
year, compared with $12,OO3, 100000
for 1924-25, an increase of about
three per cent. The increase appears
in both cash income from sales and
in the value of products consumed by
farm families. Increased income
from potatoes, dairy products and
meat animals more than offset de-
chnes from grains and cotton, the de-
partment says.
Gross Income
The gross income attributed to the
farmers is made up Of $9,891, 100000
computed as cash income from sales
and ,524,OOO,OOO, the value of food
and fuel consumed on farms. The to-
tai gross income is made up of the
following items: Dairy and poultry
products, $3,577,OOO,OOO; meat ami
mails, S2,746,000,0 cotton and cot.
ton seed, $1,682,0OO,OO0; fruits anC
vegetables, 81, ,625, 100000; and grains
81, ,565, 100000.
Receipts showed a larger increase
than expenses, yielding an increase iT
net income available for all capita.
employed, including reward for man
agement, of four per cent compared
with a 13 percent increase in 1924-25
The larger net income represents g
return of 4.6 percent compared with
IA percent the preceding year. Cor
porations enjoyed return of over II
percent for the same period.
Out of the gross income of $17,,
415,O00,O00 farmers paid S6,812,00O,.
900 including S1,216,000, 900 wages tC
hired labor; $3,076,0OO,OOO for prod,
repairs and maintenance of buildings
and equipment; S635,000,000 taxes or
operator-owned investment; $1,127,-
100000 rent on property rented from
non-operators, and $758,000,000 inter
est on mortgages and other indebted
ness held by ncn-Operators.
Food and Food Value
The difference is $5,6O3, ,OOO,OOO OF
which S2,524,000,000 represents the
value of food and fuel consumed on
farms, and S3,079,000,0 is the net
cash income, which gives as average
per farm of 1919 compared with S854
in 1924-25 for operators capital, la
Dor and management.
The analysis shows further that the
farm operators earned on their own
net investment including management
after paying rent and interest on
debts, 3.5 percent compared with 3.2
percent in 1924-25. These rates are
considerably less than the rates earn
ed by the other owners of farm CAPT
tai such as mortgage holders.
If a conservative interest return is
allowed on investment, the average
farm family earned S648 for labor and
management, or $24 more than in the
preceding year. Although this figure
is considerably above the very mea-
ger earnings during the severe years
of the depression, it is still nearly SO
per cent below the earnings of 1915
and 1920.
Factory wage eaners, on the other
hand, the department points out, fol
the past three years have earned ap'
proximately the same money income
as they did in 1919-20 and have beer
able tc buy with those earnings about
Is per cent more than they could II
1920, while the farmer, with hi:
income has been able to buy about q
percent less.