14 



BULLETIN 963, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTUEB. 



for the reason that the records for the Twin Falls farms pertain to 

 the crop season 1919. (Table X.) 



Table X. — Average returns and margin above cost. 



Region. 



Num- 

 ber of 

 farms. 



Acres in 

 beets. 



Yield 

 per 

 acre. 



Re- 

 ceived 

 per acre. 



Cost per 

 acre. 



Net re- 

 turns 

 per acre 



Totalnet 

 returns 

 per acre, 

 includ- 

 ing tops. 



Credit 

 and 

 sales 

 from 

 beet 

 tops. 



Lehi, Utah 



Garland and Tremonton, Utah.. 

 Idaho Falls and Blackfoot, Idaho 

 Twin Falls, Idaho 



303.5 

 766 

 892.3 

 687. 03 



Tons. 

 16.1 

 15.8 

 13.1 

 10.9 



$161. 77 

 158. 41 

 130. 80 

 119. 87 



$151. 59 

 131. 40 

 115.41 

 136. 39 



SIO. 18 

 27.01 

 15.39 



-16.52 



$16. 49 



31.33 



20.03 



-11.51 



$6.31 

 4.32 

 4.64 

 5.01 



It will be seen that net returns from beets varied from $27 per acre 

 as a profit in the Garland area to a loss of $16.52 in the Twin Falls area. 

 By adding the value of tops in each district the margins are increased 

 somewhat for the first three districts and the loss is reduced somewhat 

 for the Twin Falls district. It should be borne in mind that the Twin 

 Falls growers did not sustain an actual cash loss as indicated in the 

 above table, since in addition to interest on investment the crop was 

 charged 45 cents per hour for all labor expended on sugar beets by the 

 operators. Possibly these men would be willing to accept a slightly 

 lower rate than the amount that was used in computing these costs. 



PERCENTAGE RETURN ON INVESTMENT AS INFLUENCED BY LAND VALUES. 



The results which were obtained on these farms during the years 

 1918-1919 may be expressed in the form of interest accruing from 

 money invested in the sugar beet business. To say that -all farms 

 earned a definite percentage on investment would not be correct 

 because certain individuals realized a much higher rate, while others 

 fell considerably below this percentage. Furthermore, there was 

 quite a wide range in land values as estimated by these growers. In 

 the Lehi area the lowest estimated land value was $100 per acre, 

 while the highest was $400 per acre; at Garland the range was $150 

 to $350: in the Idaho Falls district $100 to $350; and in the Twin 

 Falls district, $350 to $800. 



What interest did these men earn on the capital invested in the 

 sugar-beet business ? This question is answered in part in Table XI, 

 showing cost per acre and percentage return on investment on the 

 basis of different land values. 



During the war period the prices of farm products increased and 

 land values went up. However, there was a tendency for the prices 

 of land to lag behind the prices of farm products. So long as farm 

 products commanded good prices, it was possible under average 

 conditions to have sufiicient margin after paying for labor and meeting 



