10 BULLETIN 693, V. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTURE. 



Table IV. — Average acreage per farm, total tillable, irrigated, and in beets, 1914-15. 



Diytrict. 



Number 

 of farms. 



Acres 

 per farm. 



Acres 

 tillable. 



Acres irri- 

 gated. 



Acres 

 in beets. 



Per cent 

 of irri- 

 gated 

 land in 

 beets. 



Provo 



58 

 79 

 36 



86.55 



104. 71 



' 91.08 



48.95 

 83.00 



78.54 



41.20 



44.04 

 78.32 



14.36 



18.49 

 20.40 



.34. 9 





42.0 



Idaho Falls . 



26.0 











Practically all of the tillaljle area on the farms in the Idaho Falls 

 district w^f^r^ijider irrigation, (See Table IV.) About 84 per cent 

 of the tiUaMe area on the farms in the Provo district was under ditch, 

 while the Garland farms showed only 53 per cent. A much higher 

 percentage of the irrigated land was devoted to beets at Garland than 

 in the case of the Idaho Falls and Provo farms. 



COMPARISON OF FARM ESTIMATES WITH FACTORY RECORDS. 



Each sugar factory keeps a record of the acres planted to sugar 

 beets on each farm. The various tracts are measured by the field 

 man, and the planted as well as the harvested acreage is definitely 

 established. At the end of the growing season the product from each 

 field is carefully weighed, and the grower is provided with a scale 

 record showing the actual tonnage harvested. These figures, com- 

 piled by the factory, show not only the yield per acre for each farm, 

 but also the average yield for the total acreage harvested. In a study 

 of this character it is therefore possible to check the grower's esti- 

 mate on acreage, yield, and receipts for the sugar beet with the actual 

 acreage, yield, and receipts as sfip^n by the factory accounts. The 

 estimates which obviously contained grave mistakes were discarded, 

 and the reliable figures made available for the analytical study were 

 used. (See Table V.) 



Table V. — A comparison of growers' estimates with factory record,^' average acreage, 

 yield, and return per acfe.perfarni, 1914-15. 



District. 



Number 

 of farms. 



Acres in beets. 



Yield per acre. 



Cash return per 

 acre. 



Esti- 

 mated. 



Factorjr. 



Esti- 

 mated. 



Factory. 



Esti- 

 mated. 



Factory. 



Garland . . 



79 

 58 

 36 



18.49 

 14. 36 

 20.40 



IS. 31 

 14. 70 

 20.7 



14. 85 

 14. 96 

 13.62 



14.80 

 13.64 

 12.02 



69.82 

 69.40 

 69. 47 



68 66 





70 34 



Idaho Falls 









a See Department Bulletin No. 529, "The VaUdity of the Survey Method of Research." 



In the Garland district the average estimated acreage per farm 

 was 1.06 acres greater than the factory record. There was not much 

 difference in the average yield for the same area, and the cash returns 



