. Bulletin. Agriculture -- New Hampshire. March, 1928] AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENTS 1927 21 THE COST OF PRODUCING POTATOES Great variations in the labor cost of producing potatoes in New Hamp- shire are indicated in the figures for the first year in this stud}^ conducted by M. F. Abell. Growers handUng over eleven acres, for example, were found raising the crop up to market time at a labor cost of hours per acre, whereas producers with less than three acres in the same section of the state required 131 hours. Similar variations were found in comparing farmers who used machines for planting an
. Bulletin. Agriculture -- New Hampshire. March, 1928] AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENTS 1927 21 THE COST OF PRODUCING POTATOES Great variations in the labor cost of producing potatoes in New Hamp- shire are indicated in the figures for the first year in this stud}^ conducted by M. F. Abell. Growers handUng over eleven acres, for example, were found raising the crop up to market time at a labor cost of hours per acre, whereas producers with less than three acres in the same section of the state required 131 hours. Similar variations were found in comparing farmers who used machines for planting and digging with those who performed these operations by hand. During the fall of 1926 survey records to determine costs and methods of raising potatoes in New Hampshire were obtained on 191 farms. So far as possible, all farms in the state raising two acres or more were included. The labor required to care for the crop as well as the material used and all miscellaneous costs indicated an V->%K>^'^''^ ,^-'*V^*^'' average cost of $ per acre. The L^a^^T^*"" '"'^^j " actual labor rate on each farm was p tj^^K^' -IliBH^ hrT used to compute labor costs. This figure averaged 40 cents. Horse labor was charged at half this amount. The use of machinery was put at 7 cents per hour, except tractor and truck. Labor requirements varied little in the different sections of the state. Greater differences occurred within the same potato growing section be- cause of variations in area grown. On the smaller areas most of the work was done by hand, and on the larger areas by machinery. In Coos County, where machinery was in- variably used in planting and care, digging was quite largely done by hand. Of the group of 64 farms in that county but 10 had diggers. These dug potatoes with a labor cost of man hours per acre, while those digging by hand required hours. The total human labor cost, where hand methods were employed, averaged 125 hours, 138 hours, and
Size: 1390px × 1798px
Photo credit: © Library Book Collection / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookauthornewhampshireagricultu, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920
