10 
BULLETIN 726, IT. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
RELATION OF BEET ACREAGE TO IRRIGATED AREA. 
It is a question whether the ideal rotation area for sugar beets can 
be given. There is no doubt a theoretically correct relationship be- 
tween the areas .devoted to the important staples in a given district, 
and this balance may be approximated on some farms each year. 
In a district where the various enterprises are well established the 
ideal cropping system may be more nearly approached than in sec- 
tions where there is considerable change in the selected list from year 
to year ; This study cfoes not attempt to answer the point at issue,, 
but it does show the average conditions that existed on these farms 
at the time of the survey. 
Under the system of general farming that prevails in the Fort 
Morgan and Rocky Ford districts it appears that the list of leading 
crops is smaller than in the Greeley area. The Fort Morgan records 
indicated three staples, namely, alfalfa, beets, and barley, whereas 
in the Greeley section the list included alfalfa, potatoes, sugar beets, 
and spring wheat or barley. This brief discussion may therefore 
explain, in part, the difference of 10.6 per cent between the per- 
centage of irrigated land in beets at Greeley and the percentage at 
Fort Morgan (Table IV). 
Table IV. — Average farm area, tillable area, irrigated area, acres in beets, and per cent 
of irrigated land in sugar beets. 
District. 
Number of 
farms. 
Acres per 
farm. 
Acres till- 
able. 
Acres irri- 
gated. 
Acres in 
beets. 
Per cent of 
irrigated 
land in 
beets. 
Greeley - 
Fort Morgan 
105 
68 
106 
136. 40 
143. 40 
92. 33 
112. 39 
113.59 
70.72 
107. 40 
107. 55 
65. 77 
25.72 
37.20 
22.91 
24.0 
34.6 
34.9 
SOIL TYPES. 
The counties included in the beet-growing districts afford a large 
number of soil types for comparison. Two surveys have been made 
in these districts by the Bureau of Soils of the United States Depart- 
ment of Agriculture. 1 In the Kocky Ford area there are two impor- 
tant soil types, namely, Maricopa sandy loam and Fresno fine sandy 
loam. These two constitute approximately 70 per cent of the area 
mapped in the Arkansas Valley. The Fresno fine sandy loam has a 
fine sandy or silty texture, is yellowish in color, and extends to a 
depth of 6 feet. It is comparatively rich in plant food, but is some- 
times deficient in organic matter. It is well adapted to such staples 
as alfalfa, sugar beets, melons, and grain, is easily tilled and can be 
maintained in first-class condition without an undue amount of 
work. The Maricopa sandy loam has, a much more open texture 
i Soil Survey of the Lower Arkansas Valley, Colorado, by H. Lapham and party, 1902. Soil Surrey of 
the Greeley area, Colorado, by J. Garnett Holmes and N. P. Neill. 
