36 



BULLETIISr 693, IT. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



reduced to the average cost per ton, the lowest figiire was shown for 

 the Provo group — namely, $2.54 per ton. It will be recalled that 

 the contract rate which prevailed at Idaho Falls was $20 per acre. 

 This is 57 per cent of the total labor cost. 



COST OF MATERIALS. 



Cost of materials includes the value of the manure in the yard, 

 money spent for the purchase of manure on a few farms, expenditures 

 for beet seed, and water assessments. (See Table XXVI.) 



Table XXVI. — Cost of materials. 



District. 



Year. 



Num- 

 ber of 

 farm 

 records. 



Total 

 acres 



in 

 beets. 



Cost per acre. 



Cost 



Manure. 



Seed. 



Water. 



Total. 



per ton. 





1914-15 



1914-15 



1915 



79 



58 

 36 



1,461 

 83.3 

 735 



S3. 62 

 4.22 

 3.52 



S2.21 

 2.24 

 2.18 



SO. 93 

 .49 

 1.47 



S6.76 

 6.95 

 7.17 



SO 45 





46 



Idaho Falls 



53 







Manure. — Each grower gave an estimate of the value of manure 

 used, thus furnishing a basis for computing the manure charge. 

 There w;as a slight difference in the rate of application for the re- 

 spective districts. The Idaho Falls group shows the lowest rate of 

 application per acre and the lowest charge. The Garland group 

 shows the highest average application of manure, but the highest 

 manure charge is for the Provo area. It should be observed, however, 

 that the total manure charge was distributed over a relatively large 

 acreage in the Garland district. The area manured per farm was also 

 less than in the Provo district. 



Seed. — The common practice in these areas was to plant beet seed 

 at the rate of 15 pounds per acre. The seed was sold to the grower 

 at 15 cents per pound, making a total charge of $2.25 per acre. A 

 few farmers in the groups studied used less than 15 pounds of seed 

 per acre, the average cost varying from $2.18 to $2.24 per acre. 

 These rates are a fraction below the standard charge. 



Water. — The farms in the Garland area invariably showed a uniform 

 charge of $1 per acre for water assessments. This group, however, 

 contained some rented farms. In such cases the water assessments 

 were not paid by the operator, but were included in the rent. With 

 these farms eliminated, the average rate is lower than $1 per acre. 

 In the Provo district a number of growers obtained their irrigation 

 water from artesian wells. This feature had a tendency to reduce 

 the number of men who paid water assessments on a given ditch, 

 and the rate per acre is consequently comparatively low for this 

 area. The average water assessments reported for the Idaho Falls 

 district was 98 cents per acre higher than that for the Provo district. 



