Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 7, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 January 1917 — MUST MAKE CORN MORE PROFITABLE [ARTICLE]

MUST MAKE CORN MORE PROFITABLE

Farmers Can Cat Coat of Production If Care Is. Taken to Increase The Yield. By G. I. Christie. ' Indiana farmers are striving to in-* crease the net returns from each acre of corn. This crop must be made more profitable in order a fair return may be had on the capital invented in the land. An item receiving serious consideration is that of cost of production, since a net profit of 5 cents per bushel on the corn pfpouced each year in Indiana would amount to $10,000,000. Com growers can obtain this and still a larger profit reducing the cost of com production/ The cost of producing an acre of com in Indiana, according to figures obtained from more than 1,000 farmers, is as follows: Plowing $1.39; harrowing, etc., 63c; fertilizer $1.50; seed 40c; planting 82c; cultivation $1.84;- harvesting $1.41/ rent $6.00; total $13.49. The average yield per acre for- ten years is 37.1 bushels, which makes the cost of producnig a bushel of com in Indiana 36.4 cents. This may be reduced, since many farmers produce com at a cost of 17 to 25 cents per bushel. This was demonstrated in a statewide com growing contest conducted in Indiana during the season of 1015, when 408 men in 23 counties kept accurate records on the cost of producing com. Each two-horse load of manure was valued at $2 and commercial fertilizer was valued at cost. However, only one-half of either was charged to the com crop. Labor of each man was valued at 20 cents an hour and labor of man and team was valued at 35-cents an hour, while 3 cents a bushel was charged for harvesting. Rent was fixed at an arbitrary figure of $6 per acre. On this schedule for expense the following table shows the relation between yield and the cost of production: - Yield No. in Cost Ctot Acre Class an acre a bu. 30-40 .4 ....$12.76 ~.4.34§ 40-50 19 .... 12.48 275 50-60 103 .... 13.53 239 60-70 127 .... 14.49 .... .222. 70-80 100 .... 14.63 .... .19a 80-90 . . .v. 42 . +. . 14.79 .... .176 Oyer 90 .... 10 .... 15.43 160 The east-of producing a thirty to forty bushel crop was $12.75, while the ninety bushel crop cost was $15.43. It will be noted that the cost of producing an acre of corn is approximately the same, whether the firower produces thirty bushels or whether he produces ninety bushels. When the cost per bushel is determined, the table above shows that the more bushels that are grown per acre, the lower is the cost. This is what might readily be expected, since the oost of growing a ninety bushel crop up the time of harvesting will be practically the same as the cost of growing a thirty bushel crop. The difference comes in harvesting. It will cost SI.BO an acre more to harvest the ninety bushel crop, but the crop is worth $36 more when com sells at 60c a bushel. The high yields then are not only more profitable because of a larger total value, but because there is a greater net profit on each bushel produced.