38 BULLETIX 760, U. S. DEPARTMENT OE AGRICULTURE. 
Table XXI Y.— Labor costs. 
District. 
Number 
of farm 
records. 
Total 
acres in 
beets. 
Labor 
cost per 
acre. 
Labor 
cost per 
ton. 
81 
45 
39 
7,711.5 
2,811.0 
3,616.0 
S30.93 
28.73 
35.64 
S2.13 
3.02 
2.29 
MATERIALS. 
Under materials come the items of seed, manure, and water. The 
cash paid out for materials as well as the estimated values of ma- 
terials produced on the farm were used in computing the costs. 
SEED. 
Beet seed is furnished by the sugar companies and advanced to 
the farmer. The seed is paid for out of the first delivery of beets 
to the factory. Xo interest is charged to the farmer on the money 
invested in the seed during this period. 
In the Los Angeles and Oxnard districts, the beet seed cost 12 cents 
per pound, while in the Salinas area the farmer was charged 16 cents 
a pound. The rate of seeding also affects the cost per acre. At Los 
Angeles the average rate of seeding was 20.7 pounds per acre, at 
Oxnard 16.6 pounds, and at Salinas 14.6 pounds. 1 It will be seen that 
the low cost at Oxnard is due to the lower rate of seeding (Table 
XXV) , while the high cost at Los Angeles results from a high rate 
of seeding. In the Salinas district the high cost per acre is due to 
the higher cost per pound of beet seed. 
Table XXY — Cost of mate rid Is. 
District. 
Number 
of farm 
records. 
Cost per acre. 
Total 
cost of 
materials 
per acre. 
Cost of 
materials 
per ton. 
Seed. 
Manure. 
Water. 
Los Angeles 81 
Oxnard 
§2.48 
1.99 
2.34 
SO. 67 
.89 
.27 
SO. 55 
S3. 70 
2.88 
4.11 
SO. 25 
.30 
Salinas 
39 
1.50 
.26 
MANURE. 
The manure charge deals only with the manure produced by the 
stock kept on the farm. Xeither commercial fertilizer nor green 
manures are used to any extent in any of the areas studied. 
An estimate of the value per ton of the manure in the barnyard 
was obtained from the grower. By multiplying this figure by the 
1 This includes seed for replanting if charged to the grower," 
