40 



BULLETIN G93, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, 



per acre or ton, the contract labor is always given in money values. 

 In order to obtain the total man-labor requirement for the three 

 districts under consideration, this cash outlay for contract work has 

 been changed to its equivalent in man hours by dividing through with 

 a rate of 25 cents per hour. The hours of man labor reported in 

 Table XXX represent the total man labor necessary in the pro- 

 duction of an acre of sugar beets under the conditions that obtained 

 in this investigation. 



Table XXX. — Labor required in ^producing an acre of sugar beets. 



. District. 



Number 



of 

 records. 



Acreage 

 grown. 



Average 



yield 

 per acre. 



Hours of 

 man 

 labor. 



Hours of 

 horse 

 labor. 



Garland 



79 

 58 

 36 



1, 461 

 83.3 

 735 



14.85 

 14.96 

 13.62 



133.3 



130.8 

 119.4 



98.5 





117.14 



Idaho Falls 



79.3 







The Provo and Garland districts have essentially the same man- 

 labor requirements. Idaho Falls operators produced an acre of 

 sugar beets with 11 to 14 less man hours than growers in the com- 

 panion districts. It is of interest to note that the contract labor in 

 the Provo area was about one-third that of the other areas. The 

 major portion of the hand labor at Provo was performed by the 

 farmer and his family and, as has been previously pointed out, was 

 ac'comphshed at a lower cost than would have been possible if done 

 on a contract basis. This practice is feasible only where the farm 

 units are small. In the other districts the farms are larger than at 

 Provo. 



The fewest horse hours were necessary at Idaho Falls and the 

 most at Provo. TTiis difference was due partly to the difference in 

 acreage in beets in the different areas. More efficient use was made 

 of horse labor on the larger beet tracts. The average acreage per 

 farm in beets was 14,36 at Provo, 17.94 at Garland, and 20.40 at 

 Idaho Falls. Larger crews were used in the Garland and Idaho 

 Falls regions than at Provo, and this had a tendency to reduce the 

 horse-labor requirement per acre. 



VALUE OF TOPS. 



More attention is being given annually to a better utihzation of 

 beet tops. This by-product is considered quite important by many 

 gi-owers. Other men attach very Uttle value to them. In view of 

 the fact that there is quite an appreciable waste under certain methods 

 of handhng beet tops, it is not surprising that opinions on the value 

 of this feed should vary widely. 



The field estimates in Utah and Idaho dealing with this subject 

 can be divided into three distinct groups. On many farms the tops 



