Commercial corn production cannot be carried on by hand methods; it can be done only with machinery.

Operating costs in corn production greatly depend upon the efficiency of labor, power and machinery management.

Results obtained in a study of the use of labor, power and machinery at Ames are as follows:

Raking and burning cornstalks before plowing in preparing a seedbed for corn required .47 man-hour of labor and .38 tractor-hour of power per acre and appeared to be largely a waste of labor and power.

Cutting stalks with a stalk cutter before plowing required .23 hour per acre for man and tractor with no apparent benefit.

Disking before plowing took .25 hour per acre for man and tractor and seemed to be of doubtful value.