4
—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 8, 1961
FROM WHERE WE STAND -
Let s Look At Renting Farm Machinery
We heard about a fellow the other
day standing with one foot in a bucket
of ice and the other in the fire. In“ theo
ry, this fellow was supposed to aver
age out just about comfortable.
That is the trouble with averages.
They don’t tell the whole story.
Did you ever stop xo consmer how
much it costs per hour of use for you
to own a corn planter? Most farmers
store that piece of machinery for
about 360 days and use it less than one
week. Com planters are only one ex
ample. Many pieces of machinery
stand idle for long periods of time so
that they will be on hand for a rela
tively short period of time when they
are needed. -
If the cost- of seldom-used items of
equipment is spread out over the 365
days of a year, the average daily cost
is pretty comfortable. But if you con
sider the cold fact of depreciation
costs while the machinery stands idle,
or the -hot fact that some machinery
costs several hundred dollars a day,
per day of use, there is very little com
fort to the averaging.
While we are averaging, let us
point out some other items of interest.
The average cost of machinery per
worker in agriculture rose from $220
in 1940 to $2,000 in 1060, according to
the federal-state crop reporting ser
vice. Indications point to even more
spectacular rises in the average cost of
machinery in the next 20 years.
Farmers are always looking for
ways to reduce the cost of the expen
sive machines needed to perform the
complicated chores on the modern
farm '
Up to the present time, one of the
most common means of hedging on the
high cost of owning machinery has
been to have the special work done by
a custom operator. This method has
had considerable success in spreading
the cost of machinery over a larger
number of acres or a larger number of
days.
ivldiij- farmers have tried to over
come the high cost of machinery per
acre by purchasing special equipment
on a cooperative basis with one or
more neighbors. This method takes
►
O rr V Id liß
The United States Depart- ceed income by more than a
ment of Labor reports that a billion dollars. This, coupled
dollar bill today is worth on- with a compulsory increase
ly 47 cents, in terms of what in minimum wages, is like
it would buy just prior to fighting fire with gasoline
Wor d War II For more than 20 years we
The Department’s index of have been living by a false years Contrast this with la
prices of goods and services set of standards; we’ve had bor’s 77 5 % income increase
used by a typical American more and more dollars, high- on a production increase of
fami y shows a steady trend er incomes and larger profits only 35 %.
toward more and more mfla- and have called that prosper- When it is taken into ac
tion Or, to put it another ity. count that the dollar will
way the value of the dollar . buy 20% less than it did in
is becoming less and less all ' Most 1949, we see that the aver
the time We f ould not measure age farmer can buy far less
President Kennedy announ- “ ““
s ri.’srss ss *
starting next Julv 1 will ex- n e ed their dollar Sonars received before pay
svaruns next auiy a, win ex mcome faster than prices (Turn to page 5) -
have gone up. They have
prospered, temporarily. Oth
ers have not increased their
income as rapidly as prices
have increased. They have
been hurt by inflation.
Older people who live on
a fixed dollar income from "You’re lucky to live in the
investments in insurance, country
Fh.,i„, Lancaster wlao * lve on pensions, or on And pay no water rent,
LVprcss 4-3047 retirement oav have been -.r ~ ~
JaO ou.n Editor You have all the wa - £ r YOU
Roin-n o Campbell, Advertising robbed of niore than naif of need.
Duectoi u Bu&mess Manager their real income by inflation.
'iLv' 11 ' Satijn.Ly ”b. The chief beneficiaries of n 1 oeSn 008 a cent ' TO HANDLE SPRAY MATERIALS CAREFULLY'
“I";,";.'. “f°a~ Yes, I’m lucky to live m the are on hand Oh most farms m order to »»
Lam tsiPi Pa. under Act of Man , triai wa S e earners, me i.a- country, modem methods. This requires very careful stora£ {
8 I-TM additional entry at Mount bor Department records show _ T . , VtartaitrttT t , . . , . „ lin n«
Joy P. the average hour’y income of But not for the reason Y° u n ndllng by the farmcr to prevent injury to hum®
titree^ve-:;'Pnc* factory workers has mcreas- tel1 ’ st .° Cl f’ ° r *ll should be kept out
ft cents cd by 77.5% since 1949. But You could buy water for °f children and livestock; positive identification sll °
Mtion''National P Rdnor- the amount of goods produc- twenty years on each container at all times; also, the strength ° r
ui A-w.otation ed per worker has increased For the cost of digging my should be retamed with the label. Special caution
- by only 35%. well. t -ed
Lancaster Farming
Lancaster County’s Own Farm
Weekly
f o i-iox 1524
Uiruaettr, Penna,.
Offices
> North Duke St.
Lim i ter Penna
THIS WEEK
—ln Washington
With Clinton Davidson
The. 47c Dollar
many forms, from outright cooperative
purchasing on the amount of estimated
use of each of the purchasers to swap
ping of equipment between neighbors.
This method has quite obvious draw
backs as well as several advantages,
and such arrangements have met with
both success and failure.
' Some farmers have tried swapping
work with neighbors. For example,
one farmer who owns a combine may
harvest wheat for his neighbor who
has a hay baler. The farmer with the
baler will return work for work, wi
any differences in acreage or hours be
ing compensated at the going rate for
custom work.
Now comes an idea that is new to
us. A phamphlet from the Agriculture
Economics Department of the Pennsyl
vania State University suggests, “Let’s
Consider Renting Farm* Equipment”.
The National Retail "Farm Equip
ment Association has gone so far as to
work out a formula for dealers who
are interested in renting equipment to
their customers. For purposes of rent
ing, the value of a machine is its new/
delivered price, according to the NRF
EA formula. The suggested formula is
one per cent of the new delivered re
tail price of the equipment for a 10
hour day—five per cent on the same
basis for a week—ls per cent per
month, 25 per cent for two months and
33Vs per cent for three months.
Under the plan, the farmer would
be responsible for picking up and re
turning the equipment and furnishing
an operator, fuel and supplies. With
the exception of picking up and re
turning the equipment, the farmer
would be responsible for these other
costs whether he rented or owned the
machinery. In addition he wou’d have
repair costs, depreciation and interest
on investment on the machinery he
owns
At present the practice of renting
machinery is not widespread, but as
farmers and machinery dealers be
come. aware of the possible savings to
farmers and profits to dealers, -the
practive may gain in favor.
At least that’s how it looks from
where we stand.
Farmers Are Hurt
When the wages of one
group rise faster than their
vt*y other groups
must make up the difference
by paying higher prices. As
pointed out recently by Her
schel Newsom, head of the
National Grange, “one man’s
wage becomes another man’s
costs.”
In contrast with factory
workers whose pay has gone
up faster than their product
ivity, farmers have received
only 5% more income per
worker while increasing
their productivity by more
than 50% in the last eleven
Rural Rhythms
MISCONCEPTION
By: Carol Dean Huber
Bible Material: Job 23.12-28; Proverbs u.i ■„ RaUaMinn
1 1-7. Ecclesiastes 12.13, 14. James Bo ‘ ln ntUeillOU
Bevotionai Reading: Psalm 80 1-12. every generation the
_ foolish notion comes to ]if e
j the same notion that (m th (
' sis story) occurred to the ( lr ,
pie in the world: that if \ V(
God’s Answer
| to be wise wc must kick 0V(
I traces, get out of the harm
T IFE IS made of Innumerable *°. s^e ® k ' , 1116 r ’‘H
L small decisions. Even in bem ® ™1 >
childhood and in second childhood, fi en T . al 011
something has to be decided every n? i? '
day. We sometimes say'that the * aw ‘ " ads . of f hli ! 0 '
Bible has-the answers, or the haun ed by ghosts of such
Christ is THE An. Feople who do (anti Wc
e -° r other)
wer. inis is true themselves as the s.
,r the great life. e of wlsdom _ Th
* a f gl "* d * C J: admit this, but it’s true
ions. But there ;
ire life-shaping Th* Fear Of Th* Lord
as well as life- Fearing God, as the Bib!
changing choice* j[ lis expression, does not m (
be made. Wis- m g a f ra ;,j 0 f him. There
10m is needed for wis( j orn in terror. Feam
,he everyday means reverencing him
small problems 0 f Lord is said many ti
just as truly as for the great once- be the be g m nmg of wisdom
m-a-lifetim,e crises. Can the Bible to say Lesson I( the found ,’
help us here? everything else/ This dot
Oetd End Roads mean that a God-fearing ms
The highway department has because he worships God, a,
two kinds of signs. One is the kind ors , him ’ Z m
that says “Louisville 50 miles” or wisdom. Feaung God doe
“Through Traffic Keep Eight.” teach a to ride s
Such signs tell you exactly what to nor mend a t l ra9tor n “ ™"
do, or to expect. The other kind of c . el . , nor S fll ct f SCh °°.
sign is the one that reads "Dead chddr f’ But fear ? ffl
End Road.” It doesn’t tell you «the beginning of wisdom,
much about the road, or how far ™ ls ( means fust of,
it is to anywhere. It only tells you God s wIU f ls ahvayS best al
that if you try that road you will 50 tor f ™ ade + knov ' r ;
not get anywhere.' Now the Bible “ “ utterly foolish to pay'
puts up signs of both kinds. Mention The fear of the
Take the question of wisdom. means ’ fu , lthe % somcthln 2
for example. There are certain f av “ us fr °m_ fearing mtr
books in the Old Testament called b ° vV t 0 something or sor
“Wisdom Literature.” because Jf jess
they are crammed with directions f l6Ur ? ° “J,’ 9se 1 °“ ZI
on how to be wise. But a great part bow ta Pubhc opinion or
of the wisdom literature (Job, the b°-*nd-SoAhmks or-what*
Proverbs. Ecclesiastes, some of of us to beies*
the Psalms) is not so much con- vv ebow to theidolcafedl
cerned with How to be Wise, as it Dcdy as ‘ f p f ™
is with How Not to Be a FooL To could find out what Eight is
put it another way, the Wisdom E ‘^ atlo "‘ fear 01 thf
Literature puts up some Dead- r ’f ans thatwe keep remenl
End-Road signs for those who a)1 ° ur days ’ thart th 9 hf
wish to be wise. and tHe preseat J ‘
One of these blind alleys is tne only judgment .fei
Money and another is Nature. Our _ L ers ’ !S os ’ n ° m; "
chapter m Job suggests .these. In . of ‘
a poem of moving beauty, the au- >rnonai Council of -.e j «
... , . , ’ C. r.st in the ti. S. A 1.t1.f
thor Of Job speaks of how hard it CommunllT Pres* Struct
Lesson for April 9, 1961
Now Is The Time • . ♦
TO CHECK PASTURES—Livestock
ducers who have pastures borderu
roads or highways should make a cl(
trip before turning their animals to
ture. Empty bottles, paint cans, oi
o. various content may have been tl
there during the wmter months In
cases poisonous materials should be
and removed in order to prevent si
losses.
TO CONTROL SHEEP TICKS
MAX SMITH
LAMBS—Sheep ticks are the most
mon external parasite on sheep in this state; many;
lambs may be carrying a heavy infestation of this
these parasites move from the adult animals to the
soon after the lambing season. Flock owners are u«
inspect their lambi, for this tick; the adult „s reddish I
to gray in color, flat in conformation, and about '4
length. Dust the lambs with a 2% Rotenone or a 101
dust at the rate of one pound for every 12 to 15 head
TO FERTILIZE SHRUBS—Fertilizing landscape
early m the spring before growth starts is very uni
The use of 3 to 4 pounds per 100 square feet of o«
of a complete fertilizer such as 5-10-10 on moat dec*
shrubs and most evergreens will stimulate good col° r
growth for the season. The fertilizer should be worK
the top one or two inches of the soil and kept well " i!
if normal rainfall is lacking.
Is fbqcflnd. wisdom,' It “ea nil
gotten for gold,”—that is, yr
walk into a store and buy at
in it if you’ve money enoug
wisdom is never to be se;
a price-tag on it. It is also
suggested here that natm
not have, the answers foi ni ,
man needs. Doing what',
naturally Is a sure way t 0
trouble
BY MAX SMITH