GROWING SUGAR BEETS IN MICHIGAN AND OHIO. 



39 



In order of importance, labor comes first, comprising over 60 per 

 cent of the cost of production. " Other costs " come next, from 25 

 per cent to 32 per cent of the total, while materials constitute the 

 remainder. It can be readily seen that any serious farm-labor prob- 

 lem is going to affect materially the cost of production of the sugar 

 beet, since almost two-thirds of the total cost involves labor alone. 



SUGAR BEET RETURNS VERSUS COST. 



The sugar companies did not all pay a uniform rate to the farmer 

 for his sugar beets. Several companies paid a flat rate of $6 a ton 

 for beets either delivered on board the cars at the local shipping 

 point or hauled to the factory bins. One company gave $5 a ton 

 for the beets, plus an additional price, or bonus, per ton, depending 

 on the increase in the New York market wholesale price for sugar 

 above $5 per hundredweight, during the months of October, Novem- 

 ber, and December. Another sugar company paid for the beets 

 on a sliding scale, dependent on the per cent of the sugar content 

 of the beets. For beets testing 12 per cent, $5.25 a ton was paid, with 

 an additional 40 cents per ton for each per cent above 12. Applying 

 this scale, beets testing 13 per cent sugar were worth $5.65 a ton and 

 14 per cent beets brought $6.05 per ton. 



It will be seen that, owing to the different methods of payment, 

 the average receipts per acre will vary somewhat. In some cases in 

 the same section, farmers contracted beets to different sugar com- 

 panies and received different rates of payment. 



Table XXV gives a comparison of the beet costs and receipts per 

 acre and the margin above the cost of production received by the 

 farmer. 



Table XXV. — Average returns and margm above east in producing sugar beets. 



District. 



Caro 



Alma 



Grand Rapids. 



Northwestern Ohio 









Net re- 



Yield 



Receipts 



Cost per 



turns per 



per acre. 



per acre. 



acre. 



acre for 

 beets. 



Tons. 









9.72 



$54. 62 



$47. 65 



$6.97 



11.40 



68.40 



57.42 



10.98 



10.16 



61.31 



53.05 



8.26 



13.17 



71.83 



56.04 



15.79 



Net re- 

 turns in- 

 cluding 

 beet tops. 



$8.67 

 13.16 

 11.34 

 17.60 



The receipts per acre depend on the yield of beets produced and 

 the amount received per ton. Northwestern Ohio growers received 

 the lowest average price per ton, or $5.45 ; Grand Rapids growers got 

 $6.03, the highest rate received; Alma, $6; and Caro, $5.62 a ton. 

 The yield per acre is the greatest factor affecting beet receipts in the 

 districts studied. 



The net return per acre was obtained by subtracting the cost from 

 the receipts, this item varying from $6.97 at Caro to $15.79 per acre 



