BULLETIN 693, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



The development of the sugar-beet industry in Utah and Idaho 

 is apparent in Table I. 



Table I. — Sngar-heet acreage and yield in Utah and Idaho. 



Utah. 



1899 1909 



Idaho. 



1909 I 191.5 



Total acreage , 



Production (tons) , 



Average yield per acre (tons) 



7,546 



85,914 



11.4 



27,472 



413, 846 



15.0 



59,400 



691,000 



11.6 



None reported. 



do 



do 



15,601 



179, 661 



11.5 



35,900 



375,000 



10.4 



The figures for 1899 and 1909 were taken from census reports. The 

 1915 figures are from the Government estimate on the sugar-beet 

 crop in Utah and Idaho. Between the years 1898 and 1909 the sugar- 

 beet acreage in Utah was increased almost fourfold. Within the 

 six years from 1909 to 1915 the area planted and harvested more 

 than doubled. It vnH be seen that Idaho farmers did not begin 

 raising beets commercially prior to 1900. The past few years have 

 witnessed a decided increase in the acreage devoted to this crop. 

 The slight fluctuations which are apparent in the average yield per 

 acre for the respective years were undoubtedly due to seasonal 

 conditions. 



The acreage devoted to beets in the Garland district doubled 

 within the five years from 1910 to 1915. There were 879 beet 

 growers in this county in 1915, and they planted 10,874 acres to this 

 crop. The average beet acreage per farm for the same season was 

 12.37. This figure shows a shght increase over the preceding four- 

 year average. The normal yield per acre for this region from 1911 

 to 1915, inclusive, was 11.53 tons. 



There were 5,763 acres planted to sugar beets for the Idaho Falls 

 factory in 1911. This area was increased to 8,076 acres in 1915. 

 The average acreage devoted to beets in this district for the five- 

 year period 1911-1915 was 6,198. Beet growers at Idaho FaUs 

 made an average yield of 11.18 tons per acre for the same period. 



CLIMATIC FEATURES. 



The climate in the region under discussion is semiarid in character. 

 There is a considerable variation in the annual precipitation as 

 recorded by observers at various points in the two States. Garland 

 was not included in the list of weather stations which have kept 

 continuous records through a series of years, hence the rainfall for 

 the Bear River district will have to be judged in part from the 

 reports for Corinne The latter station is located at the southern 

 end of the Bear River Valley The average precipitation for Boxelder 

 and Utah Counties, Utah, and Bingham County, Idaho, for a period 

 of years will be found in Table II. 



