Tractor and Horse Power in the Wheat Area of South Dakota

A study of farm operations and farm management was made on 48 farms in Potter county during 1930, through the method of accounts kept daily by farm operators, assisted at regular monthly intervals by a resident field agent. During 1931 thirty other farmers within the spring wheat area of the state kept records of their tractors; and a survey by visits to farmers in the same area was made in 1931 and 1932, in which additional information about tractor and horse uses, performances, and costs was secured. The results of the Potter county study are being published as preliminary reports, of which this is the second. A part of the information secured during 1931 and 1932 is included in this report for the purpose of giving more reliable standards of performance of horses and tractors. The purpose of the report is to make available information which will aid farmers in deciding under what circumstances it is the more economical to use tractors or horses or a combination of both