4 BULLETIN 693, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTUEE. 



time, it has loeen found that an analysis of a suitable number of farm 



estimates provides material that indicates the trend of affairs in such 



a group and conchjsions which may be drawn therefrom can be 



regarded as significant. 



COOPERATION. 



In developing and projecting these studies the Office of Farm 

 Management worked jointly with the Office of Sugar Plant Investi- 

 gations of the Bureau of Plant Industry. Acknowledgment is due 

 the farmers in these districts who gave wilUngly of their time in order 

 to furnish careful estimates with reference to their methods of pre- 

 paring the soil, planting, cultivating, irrigating, and harvesting the 

 sugar beet. These men also gave information relating, to the acreage 

 and' yield of the crops grown on the individual farms. The crop 

 sales were given, and it was therefore possible to determine the 

 relative importance of the sugar beet in these systems of farming. 

 Each operator also reported the live stock on hand at the beginning 

 and at the end of the farm year, and a statement was made showing 

 the sales of live stock during the year. The relation of animal 

 industry to beet production may be seen in these estimates. In all 

 of these phases the growers cooperated heartily. 



AREAS STUDIED. 



Thi'ee distinct areas were included in this survey (see fig. 1). 



In Utah County, near Provo, Utah, 21 reports were taken for 1914, 

 and 37 farm records were obtained in the same area in 1915. Utah 

 County has been an important beet-producing center for several 

 years. The manufacture of sugar had its beginning in this State 

 as early as 1852, but this pioneer venture did not prove successful. 

 It remained for the farmers of Utah County to demonstrate at a 

 later date the value of the sugar beet as a cash crop. The past 30 

 years have witnessed the development of an exceedingly important 

 mdustry for farmers living within the Salt Lake Basin and con- 

 tiguous territory. In Boxelder County 39 records were obtained 

 for 1914, and to these 40 were added for the crop year 1915. The 

 farms which were visited lie adjacent to Garland, Utah; hence, in 

 this discussion, the name of this town is sometimes applied to the 

 district. A beet-sugar factory was built at Garland in 1903. At 

 present Boxelder County leads all other counties in Utah in the 

 number of acres planted to sugar beets. 



The third district in this series furnished 36 records. These 

 farms were located in Bmgham and Bonneville Counties, near Idaho 

 Falls, Idaho. The observations on this area were confined to the 

 year 1915. The sugar factory at Idaho Falls, Idaho, was constructed 

 in 1903; thus the beginning of the industry in this area corresponds 

 with the initial work in beet production at Garland. 



