COST OF CULTIVATION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19320, 6 May 1926, Page 14

COST OF CULTIVATION.

CROPPING WITH HORSES. Of late years the cost of tractor-farming have often been quoted in an effort to proves the effectiveness of the machine in comparison with horses. Now few farmers are in a position to quote the actual costs incurred in carrying out cropping with horses, so the arguments are mostly on one side. Turretfield Demonstration Farm in South Australia, which is being run on commercial lines as a mixed wheat and sheep farm, supplies exact figures for its working horses, and as the farm accounts are under the care of a trained accountant these may bo accepted as correct for that district. A statement made in South .Australia shows the cost of upkeep of between 36 and 37 working horses over a period of three years, which is summarised in round numbers as follows: Wages, £7O: feed, £450; grazing, £76; depreciation and repairs, £36; sundries, £l7; total, £649. This works out at £l7 15s 5d a horse, the distribution being —wages, £1 18s 2d, feed £l2 6s lOd, grazing £2 Is 9d, depreciation and repairs 19:s lOd, and sundries 8s lOd. In a dotailed statement the cost of a horse-hour of work is put at about 4.8 d, which makes the cost of an eight-hour day 3s 2.id. The estimated cost per acre of various farm operations has also been summarised as follows: —Fallow ploughing, 9s 2d; cultivating, 4s 9d; harrowing, Is 4d; combine drill, 4s 2d; drilling, 3s Id; binding, 7s Bd-; harvester (wheat), 9s 4d ; harvester (barley), 8s 2d; reaper-thresher (barley), 7s 6d; reaper-thresher (barley), 4s lid; reaper-thresher (peas), 12s Id; stripper (wheat), 9s 2d; stooking, 2s lOd. These are valuable figures to anyone interested in farm economy, and will servo aS a basis for many farm contracts. Others useful costs are also given. Under costs per bushel, grading seed wheat is put at fa.2d, pickling (bluestono), 1.7 d, winnowing 3.2 d, bag sewing 0.4 d. In this summary is included costs per ton of stookfield 8s 2d, binding 4s Id, chaffcuttiug ing Is 7d, carting and stacking hay in 13s 4d..