Excerpt from The Farm Cost Situation: November, 1960The rise in total farm production expenses in the United States leveled off this year, and little change is expected in 1961.Production expenses for goods and services of nonfarm origin generally were about the same or slightly higher in 1960 compared with 1959. Total wages paid to hired labor were about the same, but interest payments and taxes rose sharply. Expenditures for livestock and feed, which were obtained largely from other farmers, were lower in 1960 than in 1959.Because of the increase in average size of farms, expenditures per farm continued to rise. Costs and returns on eight types of farms, widely scattered throughout the country and representative of much of U. S. Agriculture, indicate that production expenses were generally higher in 1960 than in 1959; increases ranged up to 12 percent on Intermountain cattle ranches where, because of the drought, more hay was bought at higher prices.In the first 10 months of this year, prices paid by farmers in the United States for production items, including interest, taxes, and wage rates, averaged about a third of 1 percent higher than a year earlier. Prices paid for farm machinery were about 3 percent higher, and wage rates of hired labor averaged about 4 percent higher than a year earlier. Taxes were 8 percent higher than a year ago, and interest payments per acre on total mortgage indebtedness were nearly 10 percent higher than last year. Prices of most other goods and services of nonfarm origin were about the same as in 1959.With carryover of feed at an all-time high and production of another near record crop of both feed grains and forage this year, feed prices have averaged slightly lower than a year ago. Prices of feeder and replacement livestock averaged about 8 percent lower so far this year. In October, prices of feeder cattle averaged 10 percent lower than a year earlier. Prices paid for feeder lambs and milk cows also were lower, but prices of feeder pigs, baby chicks and turkey poults were higher than a year ago.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.