CHAPTER XII 
BY-PRODUCTS 
In some of the live-stock communities, sugar-beets are 
becoming one of the most important crops because of 
the large quantity of inexpensive stock feed produced as 
by-products of the beet-sugar industry. It is the opinion 
of some experienced beet-growers, especially dairy-men, 
that beets would be a profitable crop to raise in order to 
secure the tops for stock feed, even if no profit were ob- 
tained from the beets themselves. In addition to the 
tops, sufficient cheap feed in the form of pulp and molasses 
is annually available to fatten thousands of cattle and 
sheep. Sugar-beet regions are usually profitable live-stock 
sections. Each acre of sugar-beets yielding a good crop 
furnishes nearly as much feed in the form of by-products 
as is obtained from most ordinary forage plants. The 
best beet-growers are generally good stock-men and re- 
ceive considerable of their income from live-stock. 
SUGAR-BEET TOPS 
In topping the beets, there remains in the field from 
one-third to two-thirds as much weight as is hauled away. 
This consists of beet tops and crowns. The quantity 
varies considerably with the soil, climate, water received, 
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