Excerpts from the Preface: This annual publication contains estimates of costs and returns for 1960 and earlier years on 34 important types of commercial farms in 19 major farming areas in the United States, together with a brief analysis of changes that have occurred in production, income, and costs on each of these types of farms in recent years. The major sources of basic data for these costs and returns series are (1) the United States Census of Agriculture, (2) rural carrier and mailed questionnaires sent to farmers and dealers by the Agricultural Estimates. Division, Statistical Reporting Service, (3) enumerative field surveys, and (4) research results and related data from State experiment stations and Federal agencies when data for individual farms are available or when group data meet the specifications for farms by type, size, and location. In the main, data for individual farms of a particular type and size are used. Data on production rates, prices, and related items for local areas, and which do not differ greatly by size of farm within a reasonable range, may be used.