Permalink : http://hdl.handle.net/2115/62989

The present standard for calculating costs on family farms is dependent on a method of calculating the production cost of agricultural products provided by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. This cost is the so-called "social production cost", which is based on a concept of economics. It is not suitable for individual farm level costing accounting. Generally speaking most of the farmers do not practice bookkeeping with a cost accounting system. Cost is calculated outside the books. In such cases farmers calculate various kinds of costs. Take labor cost for instance. It would be more accurate to base labor on the cost of living on a family farm, rather than on the pre-vailing wage. The growth of book-keeping with a cost accounting system is limited, especially in diversified farms. Nevertheless, the growing popularity of personal computers, improvement in software and the increased participation of women in bookkeeping will all play an important role in the growth of an authorized cost accounting system.