COST OF PRODUCING SUGAR BEETS IN UTAH AND IDAHO. 



15 



other farm expenses to pay the going interest rate on the land invest- 

 ment. It will be admitted that the values which obtained under war 

 conditions were in part speculative values. In a period of declining 

 prices for farm products, adjustments have to be made in the farm 

 business. One adjustment that should receive early consideration 

 has to do with land valuation. Success in the arrangement of the 

 farm will depend in part upon the earnings that accrue and are avail- 

 able to pay for capital. If the land is overvalued, the rate may be 

 exceedingly low. 



Table XI. — Cost of sugar beets per acre (excluding use of land) and percentage return, on 

 investment as injluenced by land values. 



Region. 



Year. 



Num- 

 ber of 

 farms. 



Yield 

 per 

 acre. 



Total 

 cost 

 per 

 acre. 



Return 

 per 

 acre.i 



Mar- 

 gin 

 per 

 acre. 



Percentage return on invest- 

 ment with land at— 



Aver- 

 land 



$200 



$300 



S400 



$500 



$600 



value 

 as re- 

 ported. 



Utah: 

 Lelii 



1918 

 1918 



1918 

 1919 



44 



58 



74 

 44 



Tons. 

 16.1 

 15.8 



1.3.1 

 10.9 



$132. 77 

 108.63 



95.42 

 102. 10 



$168.08 

 162.73 



135.44 

 124.88 



$35. 31 

 54.10 



40.02 



22. 78 



17.7 

 27.0 



20.0 

 11.4 



11.8 

 1S.0 



13. 3 



7.6 



8.8 

 1:3.5 



10.0 



5.7 



7.1 

 10.8 



S.0 

 4.6 



5.9 

 9.0 



6.7 

 3.8 



$215 





259 



Idaho: 

 Idaho Falls and 



Blackfoot 



Twin Falls 



228 

 442 



k 



1 Including beets and beet tops. 



If the different values as given by these farmers are applied, it will 

 be seen that there was c[uite a wide range in the returns on invest- 

 ment. Relatively good yields were reported in the tliree districts 

 surveyed in 1918, while in the fourth district, surveyed in 1919, the 

 crop was rather poor. This fact should not be overlooked in making 

 a comparison of results. With the unfavorable conditions that 

 obtained at Twin Falls and the comparatively high land values shown 

 in these estimates, it was not possible to earn a high interest rate. 



A study of results thi'ough a series of years in all of these districts 

 would doubtless be of great value. From the standpoint of farm 

 organization it is liighly desirable to compare one enterprise with 

 another, using the interest earned on investment as a basis for judging 

 results. 



VALUE OF TOPS. 



More attention is being given from year to year to the utilization 

 of beet tops. The high price of hay in the intermountain region 

 within the past two years has compelled farmers in this area to 

 conserve the supplies of rougliage on the farm. Beet tops liave 

 therefore been saved and have been fed more carefully within r(>c(Mit 

 years than formerly. Certain methods of handling heel (ops cutjul 

 considerable waste under present systems of management. On 

 some of these farms the beet tops were sold to men who had cattle 



