GROWING SUGAR BEETS IN CALIFORNIA. 45 
Table XXIX. — Relation of acreage and yield to cost of producing beets. 
10 tons or less per acre. 
11 to 15 tons per acre. 
16 tons or over per acre. 
Acres in beets. 
Number 
of 
farms. 
Cost per 
acre. 
Cost per 
ton. 
Number 
of 
farms. 
Cost per 
acre. 
Cost per 
ton. 
Number 
of 
farms. 
Cost per 
acre. 
Cost per 
ton. 
40 and under 
41 to 70 
15 
14 
16 
$54. 04 
57.46 
50.84 
$6.63 
6.03 
5.97 
16 
18 
25 
$66.93 
67.54 
62.05 
$5. 29 
4.83 
4.60 
18 
15 
28 
$80. 77 
79.31 
73.85 
$4.50 
4.22 
4.05 
It will be noticed that the group growing 40 acres and under had 
a higher acre cost than the growers producing 71 acres and over, but 
that the group growing 41 to 70 acres had a higher acre cost than the 
first group except in the case of farms with a yield of 16 tons or over 
per acre. An analysis of the records in this group shows that the 
major portion of these records was obtained in the Los Angeles and 
Salinas areas, where the acre costs were uniformly higher than in 
the Oxnard area. Generally speaking, however, the larger the acre- 
age devoted to sugar beets, the smaller is the cost of production 
per acre. 
The effect of both acreage and yield can be plainly seen in the cost 
per ton. The higher average yields in the group which produced 41 
to 70 acres throw this group into its logical place in relative unit cost. 
As the acreage and yield increase there is a uniform decrease in the 
cost per ton. 
VALUE OF THE SUGAR-BEET TOPS. 
The sugar-beet tops are a valuable by-product of the sugar beet, 
and their value depends on the use made of them. The tops may be 
fed to stock or plowed under. They may be sold as pasture on the 
farm (see fig. 26) or sold and hauled away from the farm. Some 
growers may combine two or more of these practices, especially if 
the beet acreage is very large. ( See Table XXX. ) 
Table XXX. 
-Disposition and estimated acre value of sugar-beet tops. 
District. 
Number 
of farm 
records. 
Per cent 
feeding. 
Value 
when 
fed. 
Per cent 
selling. 
Value 
when 
sold. 
Per cent 
plowing 
under. 
Value 
when 
plowed 
under. 
81 
45 
39 
10 
11 
$3.04 
2.82 
42 
51 
18 
$2.82 
2.37 
3.25 
9 
29 
56 
$2 67 
2 08 
3 61 
Among the Los Angeles and Oxnard growers the general practice 
was to sell the tops as pasture. Forty-two per cent of the former and 
51 per cent of the latter handled the tops in this manner. About 10 
per cent in each of these areas fed tops to stock kept on the farm. 
In the Los Angeles district 39 per cent of the growers combined two 
