38 



BULLETIN 74S, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



case, it is necessary to prorate the expense and charge the beets with 

 a just proportion of the annual implement cost. Where machinery- 

 is hired, the actual cash paid out is considered. This was done in 

 computing the machinery cost per acre of sugar beets. An average 

 rate per acre was worked out for each district studied, and used for 

 all the farms in that locality. 



Since practically all of the implements employed were similar in 

 the four regions, there is little variation in this charge, which was 

 the same at Alma, Grand Rapids, and in northwestern Ohio, and a 

 little lower in the Caro district. 



MISCELLANEOUS EXPENSE. 



There are a number of minor farm expenses, a portion of which 

 every farm enterprise must stand, such as telephone, farm papers, 

 interest on cash to pay regular farm help, and other general farm 

 expenses. 



This charge can be closely approximated, and, in this instance, is 

 found by taking 3 per cent of the cotobined costs of materials and 

 labor. There is very little difference in this charge for the four sec- 

 tions studied. 



COST SUMMARY. 



It is interesting to note the relative importance of the several 

 classes of expense which, taken together, give the total cost of pro- 

 ducing sugar beets. Table XXIV gives the percentage distribution 

 of costs for all areas. 



Table XXIV. — Summary and distribution of costs. 





Cost 

 per acre. 



Cost 

 per ton. 



Percentage distribution of costs. 



District. 



Labor. 



Materials. 



Use ol 



land and 



other costs. 





$47. 65 

 57.42 

 53. 05 

 56.04 



$5.62 

 5.04 

 5.21 

 4.26 



65.9 

 61.3 

 64.4 

 60.7 



11.4 

 10.5 

 11.4 



6.7 



22.7 



Alma 



28.2 

 24.2 





32.6 







The total cost per acre of producing sugar beets varied from $47.65 

 at Caro to $57.42 at Alma. This difference is due to three items — 

 labor, manure, and rent. The cost per ton in the first three areas 

 was above $5, while in the last district the cost was considerably 

 below the five-dollar mark. It is interesting to note that the lowest 

 cost per acre gave the highest cost per ton at Caro, and that the sec- 

 tions producing beets at a higher cost per acre than at Caro showed 

 a lower cost per ton than the Caro figure. Here the difference in the 

 yield per acre is the determining factor. The yield was low at 

 Caro, and considerably higher in the other districts. 



