16 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



beans 14 bushels; rye 121/2 bushels; hay, 1.18 tons; beet?, 9.4 tons. The 

 cost of producing an acre of each of these crops, figuring on the same 

 Ibasis of tho ])rice of labor in all cases and charging .$5.00 an acre for 

 the rent of land is as follows: Wheat, oats and rye, |12.00 per acre; 

 corn, 114.50; beans, |17.00; hay, |9.20; potatoes, |20.00; beets, |35.25. 

 This would make the cost as follows : Wheat, fl.OO per bushel ; oats, 39 

 cents; rye, 99 cents; beans, |1.21; potatoes, 20 cents; hay, $8.00; beets, 

 |3.75. If we do not charge the crop with the rent of the land, we find 

 that the average profit of a crop of beets, according to the State statis- 

 tics is $20.76. In order to have the gross income of other crops equal 

 the net profit on beets, we find that wheat must sell for $1.72 per bushel; 

 corn, 59 cents ; oats, 67 cents ; potatoes, 21 cents ; beans, $1.48 ; rye. $1.66 ; 

 and haj, $17.60. What better evidence do we need to prove that beets 

 are the most profitable crop that can be raised on the farm? 



There is practically nothing to lose so far as a permanent investment is 

 concerned. The capital the farmer has invested can be turned to other 

 purposes, while the factory's capital invested is practically useless for 

 any other purpose. Taking all of these things into consideration, and 

 this, being purely an agricultural industry, it becomes vitally important 

 that the farmer use his best endeavors to overcome the objections and 

 help to solve the problems that stand in the way of increased profits and 

 future development. The farmer and the factory are mutually interested 

 in the success of this industry. The factory cannot exist and do business 

 without the support of the farmer. The farmer can exist but not so well 

 without the factory. If the farmer gets a large yield, the factory gets it. 

 If the farmer raises a high per cent of sugar, the factory gets it, and 

 it costs no more to put through a ton of beets containing 16 per cent 

 of sugar than it does a ton containing 12 per cent. One thousand farmers 

 <;ould raise two acres each with an average of ten tons of beets per acre 

 of a high content of sugar, making 20.000 tons of beets worth $5.00 per 

 ton, or $100,000.00. If the cost of raising is $60,000.00, the profits would 

 be 66 2-3 per cent to the farmer, while the factory would lose money. 

 The farmer can make a profit on one acre, but the factory must have 

 thousands of acres with a good yield to pay a profit. We are all anxious 

 to see the factory make a profit, for the price the factory can pay for 

 beets depends entirely upon the profits they can make, and the profits 

 that the factory can make depends upon the quantity, test and purity of 

 beets received, and the general expenses of conducting the business. 

 If the factory could be assured that it would have enough beets to run 

 its full capacity, it could pay a higher price to farmers. If the factory 

 could know that the sugar content and purity would be high, it could 

 pay more for beets. The situation resolves itself into a mutual partner- 

 ship where the interests of each are identical; the success of the one 

 tends to make the success of the other. They should join hands and 

 work for the common good of the industry. There should be more 

 intimate relations between them. The factory should take pleasure in 

 extending every courtesy in its power, taking particular pains to explain 

 in detail that part of the factory which is of a pecuniary interest to 

 the farmer, and thus inspire confidence. The farmer has so often been 

 the victim of scheming vultures that he takes for granted that everything 



