THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY . 2- oslS" 7"" Ubfary Material ' T** * Fee for The person charging this material is responsible for its return to the library from which it was withdrawn on or before the Latest Date stamped below. Theft, mutilation, and underlining of books are reasons for discipli- nary action and may result in dismissal from the University To renew call Telephone Center, 333-8400 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN L161 O-1096 SOYBEAN COSTS PRODUCTION PRACTICES By R. C. Ross UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION Bulletin 428 (December, 1936 CONTENTS PAGE SOURCES OF DATA 344 PRODUCTION COSTS IN 1934 347 CHANGES IN COSTS: 1928-1934 351 COSTS IN ENTERPRISE STUDY: 1928-1929 352 PRACTICES INFLUENCING SOYBEAN COSTS 354 BEFORE-HARVEST PRACTICES 355 Relation of Amounts of Labor and Power to Yields 356 Relation of Cultivation to Yields 359 Relation of Power Efficiency to Labor Load 360 Relation of Width of Planting to Yields 362 Influence of Time of Planting on Yields 362 Commonly Grown Varieties Gave Like Yields 363 Inoculation Costs 364 Seed Costs 365 Rates of Seeding 365 HARVEST PRACTICES 365 Costs of Harvesting by Different Methods 366 Labor and Power Requirements of Different Methods 367 Use of Machinery in Different Methods 368 Custom Rates : Bases and Changes 369 Time of Harvesting 372 Losses in Harvesting 373 Value of Straw Differed With Method of Harvesting 374 Method of Disposing of Beans 375 INCOME AND PROFIT FROM THE CROP 376 HARVESTING SOYBEANS FOR HAY 377 PLACE OF SOYBEANS ON CENTRAL ILLINOIS FARMS 379 Relative Profitableness of Soybeans 380 Place of Soybeans in Crop Sequence 382 Competition With Other Crops for Labor and Power 383 Soybeans and Feed Requirements for Livestock 384 Soybeans as an Emergency Crop 384 SUMMARY.. . 386 Urbana, Illinois December, 1936 Publications in the Bulletin series report the results of investigations made by or sponsored by the Experiment Station Soybean Costs and Production Practices By R. C. Ross, Associate Chief in Farm Management 1 MORE THAN 21 million bushels of soybeans were produced in Illinois in 1935, an amount approximately twenty times the average yearly volume during 1920 to 1928. Thus rapidly have soybeans grown in popularity among Illinois farmers during the past decade. 2 Whether this change in Illinois cropping systems will be permanent will depend chiefly upon the ability of this relatively new crop to compete with the older crops in the purposes it serves and in profitableness. In expanding so greatly their acreages devoted to soybeans, farmers have become increasingly interested in growing and harvesting prac- tices that will give them the greatest profit. That improvement has been made in this respect in recent years is indicated by the fact that the increase in production in 1930-1932 over 1920-1928 was relatively larger than the increase in acreage. The income from soybeans, as from all crops marketed chiefly as grain, can be calculated or estimated by simple multiplication yields times the market price or prices received. The cost of production, however, is not so easily estimated. The present study was there- fore undertaken in order to ascertain what the detailed costs are that enter into the production of this crop on Illinois farms ; the effects which different practices used in growing and harvesting have upon yields and costs ; and the probable place of soybeans in corn-belt farming. "Practices" as used in this publication mean specifically those op- erations directly connected with the preparation of the seedbed, seed- ing, cultivation, and harvesting. Practices dealing primarily with soil management and fertilizing, which would of course affect yields and hence costs, are dealt with only incidentally. 'The author acknowledges the assistance of F. L. Underwood and W. W. Wilcox, formerly Assistants in Farm Management, in gathering data for the study in 1928 and 1929. *In the three years 1930 to 1932 the average total acreage of soybeans was more than twice as large as in 1920-1928 and the average total production was more than three times as large. In 1934 and again in 1935 soybean acreage was still further increased because of drouth, chinch bugs and Agricultural Adjust- ment Administration programs. 343 344 BULLETIN No. 428 [December, SOURCES OF DATA Location of Farms. Altho soybeans are grown to some extent in most sections of Illinois, the area of heaviest production lies within a strip approximately one hundred miles wide extending east and west across the central part of the state. Within this area two studies have been made, one a detailed cost-of -production study and one an enter- prise cost study. Both studies are reported in this bulletin. Detailed Cost-of -Production Studies. Annual data on costs, in- comes, and labor and power requirements in soybean production have been gathered in Champaign and Piatt counties since 1921 by the De- partment of Agricultural Economics. But the number of farms and the acreage of soybeans included have been too limited to permit a study of the differences in costs resulting from differences in practices followed. Data from this detailed cost study do, however, show the changes in costs and incomes which have resulted from changes in economic conditions during the seven-year period from 1928 thru 1934. The farms supplying these records grew a total of 5,603 acres of soybeans, of which 3,691 acres were harvested for grain with combines, 858 acres were harvested with binders and threshers, and 1,054 acres were put up for hay. Enterprise Cost Study. In order to secure records from a suffi- cient number of farms to study the practices used in soybean produc- tion and the effects of these practices on costs, an enterprise cost study was made in 1928 and 1929 in two groups of counties in central Illi- nois (Fig. 1). Records were obtained from 226 farms having a total of 10,636 acres of soybeans. The counties in which this study was made were divided into two groups because of differences in soil types, fertility, and land values. Vermilion, Edgar, Champaign, Douglas, Moultrie, Coles, Piatt, Macon, Christian, and Sangamon counties, lying north of the Shelbyville moraine and characterized by dark-colored silt loam and clay loam soils, are designated as the "central Illinois area." Records were secured in this area from 87 farms in 1928 and 95 farms in 1929. The central Illinois area thus includes the two counties Champaign and Piatt in which the detailed cost records were obtained. The second area, in which records were secured on 26 farms in 1928 and 18 in 1929, lies farther south, and as nearly all the farms studied were in Montgomery county, the area is designated as the "Montgomery county area." The soils on these farms belong, for the most part, to the brownish gray and grayish brown soil groups. Inasmuch as the results for the two years in each area were very 1936] SOYBEAN COSTS AND PRODUCTION PRACTICES 345 SOYBEANS I9H9 FIG. 1. ILLINOIS ACREAGES OF SOYBEANS IN 1929 AND 1934, AND AREAS IN WHICH PRODUCTION COSTS AND PRACTICES WERE STUDIED The counties in which the studies were made were approximately the same as those in which soybean production was heaviest. 346 BULLETIN No. 428 [December, similar in costs incurred and yields obtained, the combined results of the two-year study, separated according to the method of harvesting, are presented for each area. Since these enterprise cost studies were concluded, the practices used in soybean production have changed but little except in the wider use of combines in harvesting and of trucks in hauling the threshed beans. The cost of production, however, has changed markedly be- cause of price changes. In the present study the data from the more extensive enterprise cost study are therefore used for the analysis of practices, and the data from the detailed cost-of-production study are used to show recent changes in costs and the costs which were preva- lent at the time of writing. Grouping of Costs. Two classes of costs are involved in producing soybeans: (1) operating costs, arising from the costs of seed and the use of labor, power, and machinery in growing and harvesting; and (2) land charges, consisting of taxes and interest on the investment in land. Land charges (interest plus taxes) are equivalent to a rental figure, altho they are calculated on a different basis. Interest is figured at 5 percent of the inventory value of the land. Taxes are listed for each farm at the amount actually paid an acre. The land charges are there- fore a fixed amount regardless of the crop grown on the farm that year. Operating costs may be subdivided into costs occurring before harvest and costs involved in harvesting. The costs incurred before harvest differ widely from farm to farm, depending on the amount of work performed in preparing the seedbed, in planting, and in culti- vating. The before-harvest costs also vary from year to year, because of differences in (1) the amount of work made necessary by seasonal variations and (2) prices of seed and rates charged for labor and power. Since in any area the practices used before harvest have little relation to the methods used in harvesting, the costs before harvest are similar in a given year regardless of the method of harvesting. Harvesting costs likewise vary from year to year and from farm to farm because of changes in rates; but they vary even more as a result of the methods of harvesting, for different methods require widely different amounts of labor, power, and equipment. During the seven-year period 1928-1934 definite changes occurred in the cost of producing soybeans whether the beans were harvested with binders and threshers, with combines, or were put up for hay (Table 1). In the early part of the period, from 1928 to 1930, pro- duction costs were quite stable; they declined rapidly during 1931- 1936] SOYBEAN COSTS AND PRODUCTION PRACTICES 347 1933 ; and in 1934 they apparently entered upon another period of stability at a lower price-level than in 1928-1930. Costs of producing soybeans in 1934 are probably fairly typical of what may be expected until rates for labor, power, and seed undergo considerable change. PRODUCTION COSTS IN 1934 Total acre-costs of producing beans in 1934 were $17.95 for beans harvested by binder and thresher, $14.89 for beans which were com- bined, and $16.36 for beans harvested for hay. These and the other figures on 1934 costs cited in the following discussion are either found in or based on those given in Table 1. Land Charges About Half of Total Variations in land values and in tax rates among the individual farms resulted in differences in land charges for the three groups of farms classified on the basis of harvest methods, tho it is not assumed that the method of harvesting had any connection with land charges. Taxes and interest together, on the land, were $7.72, $7.91, and $7.74 an acre respectively for farms harvesting beans by binder and thresher, by combine, or for hay, thus constituting about half the total cost of production. Operating Costs About Half of Total Operating costs on these farms comprized approximately half the total cost of producing soybeans 57 percent where binder and thresher were used, 47 percent where combines were used, and 53 percent where beans were cut for hay. Be] 'ore-Harvest Costs. Items of cost incurred before harvest, in growing soybeans in 1934, were similar in kind and in amounts for the three methods of harvesting (Table 1). Total bef ore-harvest costs per acre were $5.03 for beans combined, $5.51 for beans harvested for hay, and $6.24 for beans harvested with binder and thresher. Seed was the largest single item of cost, followed in order by power (horse and tractor), overhead, and man labor. Machinery and fertilizer costs were relatively small. Variations in the items of cost were the result (1) of differences in amounts of work done on the individual farms, and (2) of differences in charges for overhead, since the value assigned to this item was based on the total amount of labor used in growing and harvesting the crop. Overhead costs were lowest when beans were combined, and were highest when the crop was harvested for hay. 348 BULLETIN No. 428 [December, 1936] SOYBEAN COSTS AND PRODUCTION PRACTICES 349 w SS * ;- ; S 32S28S : wo * 69 -(S CS *O O * OJ *O < JJ 69 - "5 ^ O\ OJ-JJ TC 'lofn g SSS8Sa ; 00 ^H . a <*5 Ov 2-^ 69 1/5 69 -* O o wt~- 5! -SsS S SS5?5i : SS _ 00 01 00 -HOC 00 -00 69 69 ^ <** IOO) 69 01 * 82S Ov CS *H 00 ^ O ^< i/lb - )r-\O'HioiO 69 NO OJ C 3 1 o> *o *-< OMOOO \o 10 o fO -^ -< S =39328 : O 0)<*5 VSt^ o O & - r 69 69 *-H i/> i/) r* es s i 69 IO 01 69 - 5 OO-HO> 00 VO -O M 00-00 O 00 00 -" 00 ^ H 0_ 0,0 01 69 69 69 CM 69 "* 69 69 8 jg 0)0v a >oao Ul loSi^SSSfS 8* vot^ 1 o >o 69 69 O (N OOON 01 69 <-i 69 1*5 0) 69 i .e o !> SS8 g SEg 00 0)00 OOOOOO 0^ "1 rt & "2 1 _ 00 O\ O 00 O f*5 H 69 69 m S S Ov 5^2 IO "- 1 O ^ g 00,00,03 ; ! O 00 oo o r a CS .04 .59 $ 8.83 $ 2.90 1.44 .03 .30 l!62 $ 8.75 $ 1.67 .88 .02 .30 .11 2.15 .32 .27 $ 8.37 $ . s!63>> .06 .54 $ 8.44 $ 2.18 .96 .05 .30 '!io Harvesting costs Man labor Horse labor Tractor use Machinery Twine Threshing and fuel Meals Hauling Baling and miscellaneous Total $ 6.33 $15.66 1.82 8.57 $ 5.07 $13.60 1.91 8.95 $ 6.29 $15.12 1.95 8.61 $ 5.72 $14.47 .75 3.92 $ 5.63 $14.00 1.24 5.59 $ 3.59 $12.03 .82 4.11 Operating costs, total Taxes Interest on land Total costs $26.05 $32.17 2.89 $24.46 $34.02 $25.68 $ .... 26. 43 $19.14 $19.01 3.12 $20.83 $30.38 $16.96 $ .... 14. '34 Income Beans Straw Hay Total $35.06 $ 9.01 $ 1.06 22.0 77 106 2 743 2 381 $171.40 $34.02 $ 9.56 $ 1.05 23.5 99 174 5 620< 5 326 $179.00 $26.43 $ .75 $11.89 2.16 121 8 730^ 837 $172.20 $22.13 $ 2.99 $ 1.34 12.0 26 37 629 451 $ 78.40 $30.38 $ 9.55 $ 1.05 19.9 11 30 840* 816 $111.80 $14.34 $-2.62 $11.90 1.43 37 1 906 475 $ 82.20 Net profit an acre . Net cost a bushel or ton Yield per acre, bushels or tons Number of farm records. Number of fields Acres included in costs before harvest Acres included in harvesting costs . . Value of land These figures represent true averages for all fields. b Based on prevailing custom rates. c Includes 291 acres cut for hay and 71 acres not harvested. d lndudes 256 acres cut for hay and 31 acres not harvested. Includes 167 acres cut for hay and 11 acres not harvested. 'Includes 24 acres cut for hay. of the items entering into production were on a considerably higher level in 1928-1929. The data are of value, however, in supporting or showing the representative character of the figures obtained in the detailed cost study (Table 1), which were secured from a smaller number of farms and a more limited acreage. The somewhat lower acre-costs shown by the enterprise records for the central Illinois area in 1928-1929 compared with those shown for 354 BULLETIN No. 428 [December, Champaign and Piatt counties in 1928-1930 by the detailed cost records may be explained in part by the wider range of farming conditions in the larger area included in the enterprise study and in part by differences in the methods used in obtaining the records. Also in the larger area seed and overhead costs were somewhat lower than in the smaller area, and interest charges on land investments averaged somewhat less because of lower land values. Incomes in the two areas showed a rather wide variation because of the inclusion, in the detailed cost study, of records for 1930, a year in which bean prices were much lower than in 1928 and 1929. Yields and net costs per bushel were closely comparable in the two areas, altho the higher acre-cost for hay in Champaign and Piatt counties gave a higher net cost per ton. Differences in the methods used in obtaining data in the two studies were as follows: in the enterprise cost study no charge was entered for fertilizers (for only a few fields had received soil treatments of fertilizer or manure) ; charges for hauling the threshed beans were calculated as a separate item ; and charges for combining were based on custom rates rather than on actual costs. 1 PRACTICES INFLUENCING SOYBEAN COSTS Not only is the acre-cost of producing soybeans affected by the growing and harvesting methods used, but of course yield of beans or hay is also affected and consequently the unit cost per bushel of beans or per ton of hay. The planting of a higher yielding variety, which may involve no change in type of work performed in growing and harvesting the crop, may increase acre-costs for seed and for harvesting a higher yield but may lower unit costs. Hence in the fol- lowing discussion emphasis is given to yields, which the reader may translate into costs. 'In estimating costs in the enterprise study, the various items were calcu- lated at rates prevailing at the time the study was made, according to records kept by central Illinois farmers in cooperation with the Department of Agri- cultural Economics of the University of Illinois. Man labor was figured at 30 cents an hour, horse labor at 14 cents an hour per horse ; two-plow tractors at 75 cents an hour, not including the labor of the operator, and three-plow tractors at $1.25 an hour. Machinery use, not including tractor use, was calculated at flat rates of 70 cents an acre for operations before harvest, 30 cents an acre for harvesting with a binder or cutting for hay, and at custom rates for com- bining. Seed, costs were entered at the purchase price if bought, or at a fair appraised value if home grown ; and inoculation costs, where inoculation was made, were charged at the cost of labor and materials. Overhead costs were calculated at 20 percent of the other current before-harvest costs. 1936~\ SOYBEAN COSTS AND PRODUCTION PRACTICES 355 Altho soil and climatic differences are responsible for some of the variations in practice among Illinois farmers in the production of soy- beans, farmers with the same soil and climatic conditions are by no means agreed as to the best methods of growing this crop. This lack of agreement arises, at least in part, from the newness of the crop and the rapid expansion that has taken place in acreage before various practices have been thoroly tested. Some farmers prepare the seedbed early but do not plant until later, so that as many weeds as possible may germinate and be de- stroyed before seeding and a smaller amount of cultivation may be needed later. Others plant the crop as soon as possible and depend on cultivation for weed control. Nor do all farmers use the same im- plements for cultivation. Many use rotary hoes; others use harrows, bean cultivators, corn cultivators, or weeders. The kind of cultivating implement to be used depends to some extent upon the method of planting. Cultivators can be used only on beans seeded in rows. Beans drilled solid may be cultivated by any of the other implements when the beans are small, but the rotary hoe is best adapted after the beans are well started. Many other variations in practices occur as in the amount anc kind of work given to the preparation of the seedbed, the relative use of horses and tractors for power, and the methods used in harvesting the crop. Fertilizing and soil-management practices also vary and also affect the yields and the costs of producing soybeans, but these practices are not analyzed in this bulletin. In general the method to be used in harvesting has little influence on the practices followed in preparing the seedbed, in planting, and in cultivating the growing crop. In fact, most farmers in central Illinois grow soybeans primarily for the grain, and obtain what hay they need by cutting the borders from the grain fields. BEFORE-HARVEST PRACTICES Average costs of preparing the ground, seeding, and cultivating soybeans in 1928 and 1929 were $8.83 an acre in the central Illinois area and $8.44 in the Montgomery county area (Table 3). Of these costs, 44.4 percent in the central Illinois area was for labor and power and 30.5 percent for seed. The proportions were similar in the other area. Variations in before-harvest costs, both from farm to farm and between the two areas, were caused chiefly by differences in costs of 356 BULLETIN No. 428 [December, labor, power, and seed. Other be fore-harvest costs machinery costs, figured at a flat rate per acre in both areas, and overhead costs, figured at a fixed proportion of other costs incurred before harvest were similar in the two areas. The fairly wide spread in be fore-harvest costs, ranging within the central Illinois area from $6 to more than $12 an acre, resulted in part from variations in rates charged for labor, power, and seed, but chiefly from differences in the amounts of these items used. Obviously so wide a variation in acre-costs would directly affect unit costs unless the practices responsible for the higher acre-costs caused sufficient increase in yields to reduce unit costs. Many of the practices do directly affect the yield, and in the following portions of this publica- tion their influence on costs is therefore discussed primarily from the standpoint of their effect on yield. Because of changes in price-level subsequent to the time the enter- prise cost study was made in 1928-1929, variations in amounts of labor, power, and seed shown therein are more significant from present viewpoints than are variations in rates paid for those items. Relation of Amounts of Labor and Power to Yields In considering the effect of before-harvest practices on before- harvest costs, the practical question for farmers is whether it pays to put more than a minimum of work on the soybean crop a question which can be answered only by comparing the value of the increase in yield with the additional cost incurred. In general, the farmers who put into the growing of beans a medium amount of labor had the highest yields ; those who expended the least labor had the lowest yields ; and those who put in the most labor, both in ground preparation and cultivation, secured about aver- age yields (Fig. 2). The greater labor requirements on some fields may have been due to poor physical condition of the soil. Man labor used in ground preparation, seeding, and cultivation in the central Illinois area varied from 1.5 to 10 hours an acre and averaged 3.98 hours (Table 4). The amount of horse labor used in- creased simultaneously with that of man labor, but tractor use was relatively constant, a relationship which reflects the common practice of farmers to use tractors for the heavy operations of plowing and disking and to use horses for the lighter work such as raking stalks, harrowing, planting, rolling, and cultivating. Farmers who grew beans with the least amount of man labor largely omitted such operations as raking stalks, rolling, and cultivating. Also, they used larger power 1936~\ SOYBEAN COSTS AND PRODUCTION PRACTICES 357 a. o <26 22 /\ V V" AVERAGE NO. OF EQUIVALENT CULTIVATIONS O 5678 LABOR- INPUT GROUPS 11 12 FIG. 2. HOURS OF MAN LABOR AND AMOUNT OF CULTIVATION IN RELATION TO SOYBEAN YIELDS Up to a given point about 5 hours of man labor yields increased with increasing labor input and cultivation. Further increases in labor were used in ground preparation, not in additional cultivations, and apparently had no further effect in increasing yields. The acreages in the last four groups of fields were, however, too limited to warrant definite conclusions on this point. units in preparing the seedbed (the heaviest use of three-plow tractors was associated with least amounts of man labor), and they did the har- rowing and the disking as one operation. The heaviest use of two-plow tractors was associated with amounts of man labor ranging from 3 to 6 hours an acre. Farmers who used the largest amounts of man labor used horses for power to a greater extent than tractors, some of them using horses only. On the central Illinois farms for which data are given in Table 4 bean yields (as grain) increased rather consistently thru the first eight labor-input groups, or until the amount of man labor reached about 5.0 to 5.49 hours an acre (Fig. 2). On farms in the remaining groups the yields were erratic, but, as the acreages involved were compara- tively small, the results were not conclusive. On the farms in the first eight labor-input groups, which included 87 percent of the total acre- 358 BULLETIN No. 428 [December, B5 w2 > Pd Q I * WOO Si ai W H PH 2 0(J W ( - J w ._ Q si - 9 c 5 O O (A o-*o O*O< oovoio O (_(_(_(_ "- <5^. p N o to oo to SO\ oo "O * r- M c* ^ 10 r-i N M O>O "O < IO CS o-< m ( d> >ooN oo 10 SXSC7. >OOOO(S^< -< tOS (NOOOO H robots (N OiO >O -* o> o\ oo oo oo 1000 -H iooiot^t^to o~* -<-'*op < H C4tOC>J CS lOOtO^tOW r< M OC . ..-no -.< o 00.00 OC 30 O H^'CS j'\H ^-tO w>( S25S 8^ g Ox (S *O xO to O* \O t^ *i* rt TCOOtN . . . .(S IO^ iniopp H i I si B S ^ V S " S : : g| : : : : : : :| J : .' : : :? s : -3 ::::::: S. *, . >> :< ^ e = g g-s : : : : : :| 5 S ^ .; 5 a r *tt3i818I88 5 sss I .?. |l I 5 "3 1111111 2 ^^ lip-3 8 ^ "S o, c 3 "^^5^-5-S > "o'o M>>^'O fc S g E 7 g Tj'o'o.*"' 3 s ou333o3< TJ-O grtSoH -2 g X C g U i i 3 *Z J'T'T 1 "7 O fc 2 E Z-. L i 3 1 1 2 Threshing 9 .04 5 Total .05 .06 .07 .10 .15 16 3 2 4 1 31 $ 10 1 Jl 50 1 1.00 $ .04 1 Total i 2.00 2.25 2.40 2.50 3.00 5 3 1 46 1 57 1.00 1.00 1.25 1.25 1.50 .05 .06 .05 .06 .05 4 2 1 3 1 12 372 BULLETIN No. 428 [December, conditions, amount of beans grown in community, prevailing custom rates, and force of competition. Because of such variations, custom rates for harvesting will probably never become entirely standardized. Time of Harvesting Because of the likelihood of unsettled weather at the time soy- beans are harvested, speculation has arisen about which method of harvesting for grain involves the less hazard. Binder cutting begins somewhat earlier than combining, but the greater labor requirements Feb-Ma GROWING COUSINS BINO HARVESTING FIG. 4. SEASONAL USE OF MAN LABOR, HORSE LABOR, AND TRACTOR IN PRODUCING THE SOYBEAN CROP Heaviest work on the soybean crop in the before-harvest period comes in April, May, and June, at the same time as the heavy work for corn. And the time of harvesting soybeans for grain coincides with that of corn. There is no competition between these crops at harvest time, however, when soybeans are harvested for hay. per acre in harvesting with a binder (Table 10, page 367) may create some hazard if the acreage to be harvested is large, since the threshing of the beans competes directly with corn husking (Fig. 4). On the farms in Champaign and Piatt counties on which detailed cost-of-production records were kept from 1929 to 1933 a large 1936] SOYBEAN COSTS AND PRODUCTION PRACTICES 375 portion of the beans was harvested by the two methods during Oc- tober and a small portion carried beyond the end of November. Prac- tically every year, however, a few fields of soybeans are to be observed standing far into the winter, with consequent loss from shattering and deterioration in quality; and instances of complete loss of the crop are by no means uncommon. In 1935, for example, a considerable acreage of beans remained uncut thruout the winter as a result of wet weather in November and heavy snowfall during the winter months. Such delays in harvesting usually result from dependence upon a hired machine whose operator has contracted more custom work than he can do under average or adverse conditions. The increase in number of combines in recent years has reduced such losses, but the increase in number of combines was offset in 1935 by the great expansion in acreage planted to beans. Such losses from late harvesting serve by reducing the yield to- increase directly the unit cost of producing the soybeans, and by a deterioration in quality of the product to decrease the income and the margin of profit, if any, on the crop. ' Losses in Harvesting 1 Losses of soybeans during the harvest season are usually greater,, proportionally, than losses of other crops. Such losses are smaller, as a rule, when beans are combined than when they are bound and threshed. With either method of harvesting, losses occur from cutting the beans too high, from shattering of pods in the field, and from grain being blown out with the straw because of faulty machine adjustment in threshing. Total losses during the harvesting of soybeans varied from 15 to 41 percent in tests with various methods of harvesting, not including com- bining, made in 1925 by the Department of Agricultural Engineering at the University of Illinois. The various methods of harvesting tested were: beating, mowing and threshing, reaping (self -rake reaper) and threshing, and binding and threshing. Combines were at that time new machines in Illinois and were being modified frequently for greater adaptability to soybean harvesting. In the years from 1927 to 1930 numerous tests made on combines operated by farmers under normal field conditions showed average total losses ranging from 11.4 percent in 1927 to 6.9 percent in 1930. In 1929 a series of tests on losses in both methods of harvesting showed average losses of 9.0 percent in- combining and 19.3 percent in binding and threshing. 'This section on soybean losses was prepared by A. L. Young, Assistant Chief in Agricultural Engineering. 374 BULLETIN No. 428 [December, Proper adjustment of machines and care in pitching in the field will frequently reduce losses. In either method of harvesting (binder- thresher or combine), 80 percent or more of the total loss usually consists of pods that are missed by the cutter bar. When threshing is done from the shock, workmen often leave many beans where the shocks are gathered up, a loss that could be greatly reduced by raking the shock rows or having pitchers do cleaner work with their forks. The number of soybeans escaping with straw and chaff may become excessive in combining if the machine is operated carelessly or too rapidly. This loss is normally quite low with stationary threshers. Another common loss, often excessive with both combine and stationary thresher, is damage from the splitting and cracking of the "beans. The chief causes of splitting and cracking are: (1) high cylinder speeds; (2) too many concave teeth; and (3) concave and cylinder teeth bent or improperly spaced. Normally the cylinder speed in threshing beans need not be more than half that recommended for wheat. The operator should use as few concave teeth as possible and yet not leave an excessive number of beans in the pod. Special thin concave teeth are sometimes used to reduce splitting and cracking but the use of fewer teeth, with the concaves lowered, gives about the same result, tho more pods may pass thru without being threshed. Good cleaning often requires the use of special sieves and screens. Openings in screens must be larger than for other grain if weed seeds and pieces of broken beans are to be properly removed. Unless screens are of the nonclogging type they must be watched carefully. Normally a strong blast of air can be used to facilitate good cleaning. If, how- ever, too many hulled beans are forced into the tailings and return to the cylinder, they are then more apt to be cracked than when going thru the first time. Value of Straw Differed With Method of Harvesting Any value gained from the straw of the soybean crop would of course serve to increase the total income from, or the general profit- ableness of, the crop. Beans that are cut with binders are usually cut while a considerable number of leaves are still on the stems, and con- sequently the straw makes a good roughage feed. By the time the "beans are dry enough to combine, however, the leaves have fallen and the straw consists of stems and pods, which have little feed value. Straw from the combine is commonly spread by the machine and later is plowed under for soil maintenance. 1936] SOYBEAN COSTS AND PRODUCTION PRACTICES 375 Method of Disposing of Beans 1 Beans for seed usually bring considerably higher prices than those sold for commercial use. The disposition of the beans therefore affects the income from the crop. The rapidly expanding acreage under the unusually high prices prevailing in the years studied (1928-1929) and the heavy demand for seed of the Illini variety, which was then coming- into general use, doubtless affected the proportion of beans held for seed purposes (Table 12). TABLE 12. DISPOSITION OF SOYBEANS TO DECEMBER 31, IN Two AREAS or ILLINOIS, 1928, 1929, 1930 Method of disposition Central Illinois Montgomery county 1928 1929 1930 1928 1929 1930 Mill beans Sold perct. 72 5 77 7 16 23 87 perct. 44 5 49 14 37 51 95 percl. 72 3 75 2 23 25 75 perct. 43 4 47 1 52 53 26 perct. 42 2 44 15 41 56 18 perct. 33 6 39 2 59 61 15 On hand b Total Seed beans Sold On hand Total Number of farms giving data Data for 1930 from a survey of farms included in study in 1928 and 1929. "Includes beans held for feed. "Includes beans held for seed on farm where grown or for sale as seed. Since the records in this study were closed at the end of each calendar year, or somewhat in advance of the time the seed market became active, no information was available as to whether the beans held for seed were actually so used. That growers in the central Illi- nois area in 1929 overestimated the demand for seed in expecting to use half their crop for this purpose is indicated by the fact that they kept a much smaller part of their crop for seed in 1930, or an amount about equal to that so reserved in 1928. The prices received for beans sold for seed and the values placed on seed to be sold indicate the profits derived from seed sales. Some of the cooperators each year valued seed on hand at the price of mill beans, which averaged about $1.20 a bushel in 1928 and $1.45 in 1929, but usually seed values were estimated at about 50 cents a bushel above current milling prices. During the period of rapid acreage expansion, which has continued 'The discussion here is limited to practices on the farms studied. A more complete treatment of marketing is given in Bulletin 376 of this Station, "Supply and Marketing of Soybeans and Soybean Products." 376 BULLETIN No. 428 [December, to the present, seed demands have provided a remunerative market for many growers whose product has been suitable for seed purposes. The development of new, high-yielding varieties, like the Illini, serves to maintain a satisfactory seed market until such varieties become generally available. The profit to be derived from soybeans when sold at seed prices has doubtless stimulated the acreage expansion. In the Montgomery county area a smaller portion of the crop was "harvested for seed or milling purposes than in the central Illinois area, and yields were lower; hence a larger portion of the threshed beans was normally required for seed. The demand for seed of hay varieties provided a good market. During the past few years when lower price-levels have prevailed, the margin of prices of beans for seed over prices for mill purposes lias narrowed, and it. is unlikely that seed beans will again have, in general, as much price advantage as they held in 1928-1929. Shortages of seed supplies in relation to demand, however, may give rise to extremely favorable seed prices for limited periods, as in the summer of 1934, when greatly increased planting of beans because of drouth and the AAA crop-reduction programs caused a seed shortage and resulted in seed prices ranging from $1.50 to $2.00 a bushel when prices for mill beans were about 80 cents in August. 1 INCOME AND PROFIT FROM THE CROP The income from soybeans is largely a matter of yields produced and market prices. Profits depend, of course, upon the difference between production costs and income. Soybean crops returned good incomes and substantial profits in 1928 and 1929 because of a combination of high yields and favorable prices (Table 3, page 353). Since that time changes in economic condi- tions have caused definite changes in production costs and prices, altho yields have been maintained. Year-by-year records of soybeans har- vested with combines in Champaign and Piatt counties illustrate these changes (Table 13). From 1932 to 1934 total costs per acre were nearly uniform at about three-fifths of the 1930 figures. Early in the period gross income per acre declined even more, relatively, than costs, tut almost regained its 1930 position by 1934. Net losses instead of profits occurred during the first four years of this period, but by 1934 net profits of $4.54 an acre were obtained as a result of increased income and radically lower costs. 'During the planting season there are, as a matter of fact, no mill prices for "beans. Farmers who have beans are not interested in mill prices so long as there is a seed market. 1936] SOYBEAN COSTS AND PRODUCTION PRACTICES 377 Harvest-time prices of soybeans also declined early in the five- year period from $1.45 a bushel in 1929 to $1.00 in 1930 rnd 30 cents in 1931 and then advanced gradually to 40 cents in 1932. 60 cents in 1933, and 74 cents in 1934. In 1934 the price exceeded for the first time since 1929 the net cost per bushel of growing and harvesting the crop. The price of soybeans, as of other grains, is frequently lowest at harvest time. Consequently, since many farmers store their beans at harvest time, the price finally obtained may have been considerably more than that at which the incomes listed in Table 13 were figured. TABLE 13. INCOME AND PROFIT FROM SOYBEANS HARVESTED WITH COMBINES; CHAMPAIGN AND PIATT COUNTY FARMS, 1930 TO 1934 (Data are from detailed cost-of-production records) Year Number of farms Acres Total cost per acre Total income per acre a Bushels per acre Net profit per acre Price at harvest Net cost per bushel 1930... 7 248 324.39 ?21.08 20.5 $ -3.31 31.00 $1.16 1931 9 462 19.19 7.37 24.8 11.82 .30 .77 1932 . 9 393 14 85 12 51 31 2 2 34 .40 .48 1933 19 842 15 05 13 87 23.0 1.18 .60 .65 1934 32 1 623 14.89 19.43 26.2 4.54 .74 .57 Includes values of straw and pasture. Any gains obtained by the farmers from holding the beans would of course reduce the losses or increase the profits shown in the records. In 1928 and 1929 the average yield of 23 bushels an acre was a record, but the yields listed in Table 13 indicate that 23 bushels an acre are not a higher average than may normally be expected. Records from 30 cost-accounting farms in 1935 show an average yield of 27.3 bushels an acre on 2,049 acres. The influence of costs, yields, and prices on net profits are well illustrated in a comparison of 1930 and 1934 costs, incomes, and profits. As a result of high costs in 1930 the soybean enterprise resulted in a loss, whereas in 1934 low acre-costs and high acre-yields enabled these farmers to make a profit even tho the total income from this crop was less than in 1930. HARVESTING SOYBEANS FOR HAY Soybeans harvested for hay are used almost entirely for feed on the farms where grown. In the central Illinois area most growers harvest only small acreages of soybeans for hay, cutting these, as a rule, from borders or light-yielding areas in grain fields. In the Mont- 378 BULLETIN No. 428 [December, TABLE 14. PROPORTION OF SOYBEAN ACREAGE CUT FOR HAY ON GROUPS OF FARMS IN Two AREAS OF ILLINOIS, 1928 TO 1930 Year Central Illinois Montgomery county Number of farms Soybean acreage cut for hay Number of farms Soybean acreage cut for hay 1928 87 95 75 per ci. 12 7 11 26 18 13 perct. 34 18 34 1929 1930 gomery county area, however, hay is relatively more important and hay varieties are frequently plan f ed (Table 14). Furthermore the harvesting of soybean hay usually involves little cash outlay, if any, unless the hay is baled, and for this reason, probably, little attention has been given to costs. Harvesting costs for soybean hay, as well as total costs, are summarized in Table 15. Altho the methods used in harvesting soybean hay are in general the same as methods used with other hays, the practice of curing bean hay in shocks to a greater extent than is common with other hays results in the use of a comparatively large amount of man and horse labor, for loaders cannot be used with hay in shocks and the work TABLE 15. SUMMARY OF HARVESTING COSTS AND TOTAL COSTS PER ACRE is PRODUCING SOYBEAN HAY Central Illinois* Montgomery county* Champaign and Piatt counties' 1 1928-1929 1928-1929 1928-1930 1931-1933 Harvesting costs ,-2.90 1.44 03 30 1.62 $2. 18 .96 .05 .30 .10 53.38 1.78 .02 1.19 ,-2.06 .93 .04 .91* Horse labor Tractor use Baling and miscellaneous Total 56.29 78.83 $15.12 1.95 8.61 53.59 $8.44 512.03 .82 4.11 56.37 511.87 518.24 1.89 8.78 53.94 56.25 510.19 1.71 7.74 Bef ore-harvest costs Operating costs T^Tpa ... . , , ............ Interest on land Total 525.68 2.16 11.89 837 516.96 1.43 511.90 475 528.91 2.06 514.89 216 519.64 2.13 59.37 442 Yield, tons Net cost a ton Number of acres From Table 3. >From Table 1. 'Includes cost of baling. 1936~\ SOYBEAN COSTS AND PRODUCTION PRACTICES 379 must consequently be done by hand. Bean hay is cured in shocks in order to give stems and leaves a chance to dry evenly and also to give some protection against spoilage, for rains and prolonged damp weather are not uncommon during the harvest season. The heavy stems contain large amounts of moisture, and the leaves shatter easily when too dry; but when cured in shocks, the leaves remain fairly tough until the stems are well dried. Soybean hay costs more per acre than biennial hays sown with nurse crops, because the costs for ground preparation, seeding, and cultivation must be charged directly to the hay crop and cannot be spread over two or more years or shared by a nurse crop. Because of these higli costs, soybean hay, even with good yields, seldom returns an income large enough to show a direct profit, altho the net cost per ton is not excessive for good legume hay. The drouth of 1934 emphasized the value of soybeans as an emergency hay crop. Altho a considerable part of this emergency acreage was planted tor late to give maximum yields, it supplied much valuable feed. Likewise in 1935 farmers were forced to depend to a larger extent than usual upon annual hay crops because only a small proportion of new seedings of other hays withstood the drouth. PLACE OF SOYBEANS ON CENTRAL ILLINOIS FARMS On the farms included in the enterprise-cost studies in 1928 and 1929, soybeans occupied about one-sixth of the total acreage and one- fifth of the harvested-crop acreage. Since that time soybean production in Illinois has been greatly expanded both by a more general distribu- tion of the crop over the state and a greater concentration in the areas of heaviest production (Fig. 1, page 345). The extent of this concen- tration is indicated by the records of crops grown in 1935 on 102 farms located in nine of the ten counties comprizing the central Illinois area. 1 On these farms soybeans occupied 36 percent of the total acreage and 42 percent of the acreage in harvested crops. Altho the acreage of soybeans on the farms included in the study both in 1928- 1929 and in 1935 was larger than the average acreage of soybeans on all farms in the area (for only those farms growing soybeans were included in the study), the records nevertheless show how important a place the soybean crop holds on many farms. Over a period of years the place of a crop in the cropping systems "Data for 1935 were secured in connection with a study of combine har- vesting, a study which did not include farms in the Montgomery county area. 380 BULLETIN No. 428 [December, of an area is determined in part by the cost incurred in production and the income and profits obtained and in part by the relationship between that particular crop and the general organization and operation of the farms in the area. Data on costs, income, and profit from the soybean crop have been presented in the preceding sections of this bulletin. The more general relationships which affect the acreage of soybeans relative profitableness as compared with other crops, place in the crop sequence, competition with other crops for labor and power, feed requirements for livestock, and adaptability for emergency uses 1 are discussed in this section. Relative Profitableness of Soybeans The farms of the central Illinois region included in these studies are nearly all located in the area of cash-grain farming, where corn has long been the major grain crop and oats or wheat, or both, are important small-grain crops. The recent rapid increase in soybean acreage in this area has come about largely as a result of the substitu- tion of soybeans on part of the acreage formerly given to other grains. In 1928 and 1929 the average acreage of soybeans on the farms studied exceeded that of either oats or wheat and stood second to corn (Table 16). In 1935 soybeans occupied a larger acreage than corn, and thus ranked first of all crops in acreage. This larger acreage of soybeans than of corn on the 102 farms studied in 1935, and the slight advantage in profitableness which soybeans, when harvested with a combine, had over corn on the farms keeping detailed cost records in Champaign and Piatt counties for the five-year period 1930-1934, must be inter- preted in the light of the unusual conditions which affected corn and soybean crops thruout this period and particularly in 1934 and 1935. *In 1928 and 1929 the farms in the Montgomery county area averaged in size about 60 acres smaller than those in the central Illinois area, grew about one-half as many acres of soybeans, and somewhat smaller acreages of small grains. Acreages of legumes other than soybeans were somewhat smaller and pasture acreages somewhat greater. The amount of livestock was about the same in the two areas, but the proportions of the various kinds of livestock differed considerably. The Montgomery county area had fewer numbers of work animals, more dairy cows, sheep and poultry, and fewer numbers of other cattle and of hogs. These differences in crops and livestock corresponded to differences in soils and topography. The farms studied in the Montgomery county area were quite diversified, with grain, livestock, and livestock products for market, whereas the farms in the central Illinois area marketed grains chiefly. Because of these differences in conditions, a larger proportion of the soybean crop in the Montgomery county area was harvested for hay and less competition occurred with other crops in labor and power requirements. Emergency uses of soybeans in this area were similar to those in the central Illinois area. 1936] SOYBEAN COSTS AND PRODUCTION PRACTICES 381 TABLE 16. AVERAGE ACREAGES OF CROPS PER FARM ON FARMS SUPPLYING DATA; CENTRAL ILLINOIS AREA, 1928, 1929, AND 1935 Land use Average acres per farm Percentage of farm area 1928 1929 1935 88 farms 94 farms 102 farms 1928 1929 1935 Corn 124.3 45.3 10.6 10.0 49.8 3.0 5.6 3.0 5.3 1.7 112.7 31.5 27.7 4.9 47.2 2.0 10.2 2.2 1.5 2.6 87.1 25.4 29.8 41.0 14.9 3.5 3.3 16.4 1.0 1.8 1.0 1.7 .5 39.3 11.0 9.6 1.7 16.5 .7 3.5 .8 .5 2.6 27.8 8.1 9.5 Oats Wheat Barley Soybeans* 112.8 5.5 5.4 .6 1.4 2.2 36.0 1.8 1.7 .2 .5 .7 Alfalfa Red clover Sweet clover. t Timothy Miscellaneous crops Total crop acreage 258.6 37.3 8.0 242.5 37.0 7.8 270.2 34.5 8.3 85.1 12.3 2.6 84.5 12.8 2.7 86.3 11.0 2.7 Pasture Farmstead and waste Total farm area 303.9 287.3 313.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 In 1928 and 1929 only those farms growing soybeans, and in 1935 only those farms where com- bines were owned, were included in the study, and consequently the average acreage of soybeans on these farms was undoubtedly higher than the average acreage of soybeans on all farms in the area. During the earlier years of the period 1930-1934, prices of all crops were abnormally low, and farmers were consequently more ready than they would have been under normal conditions to make shifts in crop acreages if such shifts appeared to promise an increase in income. And during the latter part of the period AAA programs, chinch bugs, and drouth combined to encourage the planting of larger acreages of soybeans. In 1934 and 1935 the limitations on acreages of corn and wheat under the AAA program released a considerable acreage to crops which were not so restricted. The severe chinch bug infestation of 1934 curtailed yields of corn and oats in that year, and the threat in the spring of 1935 of continued damage resulted in some shift in acreage from corn and oats to crops not susceptible to chinch bug damage. The severe drouth in 1934 likewise reduced the yields of corn and oats to a greater extent than of soybeans and damaged the seedings for 1935 meadows. These conditions influenced many farmers to make maximum reductions in corn acreage under their AAA con- tracts and to plant much of this acreage to soybeans, in order to obtain both the corn benefit payments and the soybean crop from such land. Because of these abnormal conditions obtaining during the years covered by this study, neither the relative acreages of corn and soy- beans nor their relative profitableness during the period of abnormal prices provides an adequate basis for ascertaining the relative positions 382 BULLETIN No. 428 [December, of the two crops during a period of normal relationships. Over a longer period the crop which proves to be the most profitable may be expected to occupy the larger acreage unless the advantage of profit is offset by other limitations. Place of Soybeans in Crop Sequence The extent to which soybeans may displace oats and wheat in the rotation is limited by the use of small-grain crops as nurse crops in which to seed grass and legumes for hay, pasture, or soil-building. While most of the farms studied in the central Illinois area had about the proportions of crops indicated in Table 16, page 381, rela- tively few farmers had established a definite cropping plan. The sequence of the crops preceding soybeans therefore varied widely but did not greatly affect the yield of beans (Table 17). When account is taken of the influences upon yields, discussed earlier (pages 356 to 365), the apparent effect of the preceding crop has little significance. On the rather small acreage where soybeans followed oats, the materially higher yields may indicate more available mineral elements in the soil. On the other hand, when soybeans followed soybeans or other legumes immediately, or when there was but one year of a grain crop intervening, no greater yields were ob- tained, a fact which indicates that a larger amount of nitrogen was of little, if any, benefit. The slightly larger yields that resulted when soybeans followed two years of corn probably indicate merely that the soils were more fertile, since it is on the best land that corn more frequently is grown two years in succession. TABLE 17. SOYBEAN YIELDS WHEN SOYBEANS FOLLOWED CERTAIN OTHER CROPS; CENTRAL ILLINOIS, 1928 AND 1929 Ac res Average soybean Number Percent of total yield One preceding crop Corn 5 018 65.0 bu. 23.1 Soybeans 647 8.4 22.8 Wheat 450 5.8 22.6 Oats 350 4.5 26.8 Miscellaneous* 1 250 16.3 21.6 Total or average 7 715 100.0 23.0 Two preceding crops* Corn, corn 1 694 22.0 24.1 Corn, soybeans 1 140 14.7 23.1 Includes, in addition to other crops, many fields which in previous year were divided with different crops on each part; hence relationship of yield to previous crop could not be determined. b First-named crop preceded soybeans; second was on land two years previous. 1936] SOYBEAN COSTS AND PRODUCTION PRACTICES 383 Competition With Other Crops for Labor and Power In the production of soybeans competition for labor and power in growing the crop is more significant than in harvesting it. The opera- tions necessary to prepare the seedbed and plant the seed do not differ greatly from those for corn. Beans are less generally cultivated than corn ; and cultivation, when done, requires less . time than for corn because of the wider machines commonly used on beans. The labor and power distribution for the years 1929 to 1933 indi- cates that the operations involved in growing soybeans center largely in the months of April, May, and June, and thus compete directly with the heaviest demands for labor and power in growing corn (Fig. 4, page 372). This competition doubtless lowers soybean yields some- what since first attention is likely to go to the corn crop. Altho compe- tition with corn is strongest, a conflict also occurs with other crops whose labor and power demands fall in this peak of spring work. The method of harvesting the soybean crop has marked effect on labor and power requirements, and hence on competition with other interests. In harvesting for hay, the heaviest labor and power demands are distributed from August into October, with the peak in September. In harvesting for grain, the heaviest demands come in October, with some carryover into November. The conflict during the harvest season is thus chiefly with ground preparation for and the seeding of winter wheat and to some extent with corn harvesting. When wheat follows soybeans, much less work is required to prepare the seedbed, and when the wheat is drilled directly in the soybean stubble, it is sometimes eliminated entirely. The conflict with corn harvesting is usually not serious, since these two operations are best performed under some- what different atmospheric conditions corn being harvested to best advantage during the morning hours and on damp days, whereas soy- beans are best harvested in afternoons and on dry days. Obviously adjustment to atmospheric conditions is most practical on farms where harvesting equipment is owned, and it is better adapted to the combine method of harvesting beans than to the binder-thresher method. In general, the requirements of power and labor in harvesting soybeans cause little serious conflict with other crop operations except in years, such as 1935, when unfavorable weather greatly delays har- vesting. The conflict during the spring months has been met in part by a more general use of mechanical power, which increases the amount of work one man can do. When crops compete directly, their relative profitableness determines to some extent how the available time and equipment should be used. From this standpoint, soybeans, 384 BULLETIN No. 428 [December, a relatively new crop, had some disadvantage in earlier years, but as the crop and its markets have become better established, this handicap has tended to disappear. Soybeans and Feed Requirements for Livestock Because of the small average numbers of livestock on the farms in the central Illinois area (Table 18), the necessity of growing feed crops does not form an important limitation upon the acreage of soy- beans. Few livestock are kept as compared with western and northern Illinois, and there is normally a surplus of feed grains and an ade- quate supply of forage feeds. In years when the supply of forage TABLE 18. AVERAGE NUMBERS OF LIVESTOCK ON FARMS SUPPLYING DATA; CENTRAL ILLINOIS, 1928-1929 AND 1935 ' 1928-1929 (178 farms) 1935 (102 farms) Work stock 7.9 4.7 Other horses .9 .9 Dairy cows 5.5 6.6 Other cattle 9.3 8.2 Sheep 7.4 6.5 Sows 8.0 3.7 Other hogs 51.9 25.1 Hens 103.0 82.3 feeds other than soybean hay is less than needed, a larger than usual acreage of the soybean crop is harvested for hay. In areas of heavier livestock production the total acreage of soybeans is more limited, and a much larger proportion is harvested for hay than for grain. Soybeans as an Emergency Crop The costs and practices in growing and harvesting soybeans and the yields and profits secured from them, as described in foregoing sections of this bulletin, represent particularly the conditions found in soybean production when the crop is grown as a part of the regular rotation. Soybeans, however, are being used to an increasing extent in various emergency situations in which the practices followed or the time of doing them may vary rather widely. These emergencies arise when wheat has been winterkilled, when legume hay crops have failed or have been winterkilled, when, owing to drouth, hay crops are short, and when late-planted corn or other crops susceptible to chinch bug damage must be replaced. The most recent widespread winterkilling of wheat in Illinois occurred in 1927-28. In connection with this and other studies in progress at that time, records were obtained of acreages of winter 1936] SOYBEAN COSTS AND PRODUCTION PRACTICES 385 wheat abandoned and of crops which replaced the wheat (Table 19). In the central Illinois area 90.2 percent of the wheat seeded was abandoned. Corn replaced one-third of the abandoned wheat and soy- beans replaced about one-fifth. When soybeans replace winterkilled wheat, little further ground preparation is necessary and the beans can be grown with less than the usual labor and power requirements. The use of soybeans as an emergency hay crop varies with the TABLE 19. REPLACEMENT OF WINTERKILLED WHEAT IN Two AREAS OF ILLINOIS IN CROP YEAR 1928 Central Illinois Montgomery county 120 23 Acres seeded to wheat (fall, 1927) ... ... 8 683 1 078 Acres of wheat abandoned 7 834 922 Acreages replaced by Corn , percl. 33 4 perct. 32 2 Soybeans 20.0 19.2 Oats 18.5 42.1 Spring wheat 15.7 Barley 10.2 Miscellaneous 2.2 6.5 time and cause of the emergency. The simplest practice is to cut more of the regular soybean acreage for hay in years of hay shortage, a practice that affects only the harvesting requirements. The severe drouth of 1930, which reduced the yields of all hays and destroyed most new meadow seedings made that year, caused some increase in the acreage of soybeans cut for hay in 1930, but it caused a consider- ably larger increase in 1931. The drouth of 1934 came much earlier than in 1930 and hence re- duced more markedly the yield of hays harvested in June and July. Since this effect of the drouth was evident early in the season, it was doubtless responsible for the increased seeding of soybeans for hay. The total area planted to soybeans in Illinois in 1934 was 1,234,000 acres, an increase of 117 percent 1 over 1933, when it was 568,000 acres. Of this larger acreage, 57.5 percent was harvested for hay, compared with 49 percent in 1933. This wide shift in acreage harvested for hay indicates the adaptability of the soybean crop for such emergency uses. A further increase in soybean acreage in Illinois occurred in 1935, the estimated total area being 1,866,000 acres, an increase of 51 per- cent over 1934 acreage. 1 The proportion of the 1935 crop harvested for hay was probably much less than in 1934 because of the favorable season for and the good yields of other hay crops. J U.S.D.A. General Crop Report, March 1, 1936. 386 BULLETIN No. 428 [December, A part of the general increase in soybean acreage, observation indicates, results from a tendency for many farmers in the central and northern parts of the state to grow small acreages for hay even tho they harvest no beans for market. This tendency is doubtless a result of the higher yields of hay obtained from soybeans than from most other hays and a recognition of the value of soybeans on farms not adapted to growing other legume hays without soil treatment. While the marked increase in soybean acreage in Illinois in 1934 and 1935 was partly the result of emergency drouth situations and AAA crop-adjustment programs, a considerable share of the increase was caused by prices of soybeans in 1933 and 1934 being relatively higher than prices of other grains. Whether the 1935 acreage will be main- tained, or whether it will be increased still more, will in the final analysis depend upon the relation between prices and costs of produc- tion and upon the place of the crop in the rotation. Judging from recent increases in acreage and yields, future prices for soybeans would appear to be influenced more by the development of ways to use the crop profitably than by the ability of farmers to grow it. The place the crop will take in rotations will depend upon its ability to compete with other crops in direct profit, to supply feed needs, to use labor and power and equipment advantageously, and to help in the mainte- nance of the soil. SUMMARY Some 250 farms located in the central part of Illinois where soy- beans are grown most extensively furnished the basis for this study, which includes an analysis of the costs incurred in producing soybeans and the growing and harvesting practices followed, and the place of this crop in the farming systems of the area. The data were collected over a period of seven years 1928 to 1934. Soybean Costs. Total acre-costs of producing soybeans on these farms in 1934, the last year of the study, were $17.95 for beans harvested by binder and thresher; $14.89 for beans that were com- bined; and $16.36 for beans harvested for hay. Land charges (taxes and interest) accounted for about half of these totals, and operating costs for the other half. During all the years included in the study, operating costs varied considerably from farm to farm. Before-harvest costs differed widely, chiefly because of differences in amounts of labor and power used, in 'U.S.D.A. General Crop Report, March 1, 1936. 1936] SOYBEAN COSTS AND PRODUCTION PRACTICES 387 charges for overhead expense, and in seed costs, which varied with prices of seed and rates of seeding. Seed costs were the largest single item in be fore-harvest costs. Variations in harvest costs were due largely to differences in amounts of labor and power required for harvesting by binder and thresher, by combine, or for hay. Binder- thresher harvesting costs per acre were the highest and combining costs the lowest of the three methods. During the seven years 1928 to 1934 the cost of producing soybeans declined markedly, largely because of reductions in prices of seed and in rates charged for labor and power. Custom rates for combining and for threshing soybeans declined sharply from 1928 to 1932 with de- clines in grain prices and increases in number of machines available. In 1935, however, combine rates were again higher, according to sup- plementary data gathered in that year. On farms keeping detailed cost records, incomes and profits varied widely from year to year because of changes both in costs and in market prices for both beans and hay. The crop was generally profit- able during the years 1928 to 1930; it was grown at a loss in 1931 to 1933 and was again profitable in 1934. From 1930 to 1934 it was slightly more profitable than corn, but price relationships during this period were abnormal and hence the relative positions of the two crops as to profitableness cannot be considered typical. Variations in Growing and Harvesting Practices. Variations in the practices used in growing soybeans on the farms studied, even when soil and climatic conditions were similar, arose at least in part from the newness of the crop and the rapid expansion of it that has taken place during recent years. Differences in practices caused before- harvest costs to range from $6 to $12 an acre. The amount of man labor used in ground preparation, seeding, and cultivation varied from 1.5 to 10 hours an acre. Horse labor increased simultaneously with man labor, but tractor use was relatively constant. Harvesting with a combine required less than one-third as much man labor per acre and less than one-sixth as much horse labor as harvest- ing with binder and thresher. Hours of tractor use under the two methods were similar. Farmers who had different kinds of power usually adapted the power unit to the kind of work to be done, thereby increasing the efficiency of their power and reducing operating costs. Effect of Practices on Yields and Profits. Grain yields increased rather consistently with an increasing input of man labor until the input reached about 5 to 5}/2 hours an acre. Up to this point each ad- ditional hour of man labor resulted in about .94 bushel more beans. 388 BUJLETIN No. 428 Hay yields were apparently altered but little by the amount of labor put on the crop before harvest. On most farms only limited acreages were harvested for hay. The cash outlay for hay harvesting was small, but the labor input was comparatively large. Approximately half the bef ore-harvest labor above 2 hours an acre was absorbed in cultivation and, in general, yields increased as the amount of cultivation increased up to and including an average of two cultivations; but there was wide variation in the amount of culti- vation even on fields given the same amount of before-harvest labor. On 85 percent of the acreage planted to beans, the beans were drilled solid. No particular advantage in yield was gained by row planting, tho the acreages so grown may have been too limited to afford valid comparisons. Losses of beans during harvest were much greater with binder and thresher than with a combine. Proper adjustment of machines, to- gether with care in handling both the machines and the beans, reduces harvest losses materially. Beans for seed commanded higher prices, as a rule, than beans for milling purposes. This price difference of course caused relatively large quantities of beans to be held for sale as seed. Any important advantage in price of seed beans usually occurs, however, only when a new variety is being introduced or when during brief periods supplies of seed are short in relation to demand. Place of Soybeans in Corn-Belt Farming. Soybean acreage on these farms increased from 16.5 percent of the farm area in 1928 and 1929 to 36 percent in 1935. In 1935 it exceeded even the acreage in corn. This high proportion of soybeans was due in part to the unusual conditions of drouth, to chinch bug threats, and to the AAA programs of that year. Soybeans served well as an emergency crop to replace winterkilled wheat and to supply hay in years when other forage crops were short. The replacement of one crop by another, or the general adoption of a new crop in the farming system of an area, usually takes place slowly, because new cultural practices must be learned and various adjustments on the individual farms must be made. The rapid increase in soybean acreage during the decade from 1925 to 1935 indicates that soybeans have passed thru this adjustment stage to a considerable extent. On the other hand, the wide variation from farm to farm in costs and in practices of growing and harvesting soybeans indicates that the process of adjustment is neither complete nor uniform. 10,05012-3610890 DIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA