Modern American farming is a complex business operation. As farms get bigger and investments higher, more and more figuring is required for determining the costs and returns of the farm business and for such things as depreciation. Social Security, credit, life insurance, retirement, and estate planning. Today's farmer needs to be able to figure the interest rates charged by competing sellers and creditors, the size of installment required to pay off a debt at a specified interest rate over a given term, survivorship benefits payable to dependents under Social Security if he dies before retirement, and his own retirement income if he lives. He needs also to be able to convert life insurance proceeds into installment income for dependents in order to know whether Social Security and present life insurance will provide adequate incomes for them. And because financial computations are based on physical measurements, he needs to know such things as how to estimate acreages, yields in the field, and bushels in the bin. This report is an attempt to make these and many other calculations easier for farmers and for county agents, country bankers. State and Federal employees, and others whom farmers call upon to advise and assist them. The calculations presented are those most frequently asked of Department of Agriculture and other public employees. The material is presented in question form with detailed solutions, so that the reader may solve similar problems with the help of the tables included in the report.
