GROWING? SUGAR BEETS IN COLORADO. 
47 
18.6. The Fort Morgan operators applied manure at the rate of 14.3 
tons per acre. 
Spray material. — Relatively few farms expended any money for 
the purchase of materials to use in destroying insects or to apply for 
the purpose of controlling plant diseases. Grasshopper poison was 
put out by 10 operators in Otero County, by 4 in Weld County, and 
by 5 in Morgan County. This item of cost, though exceedingly small, 
must not be ignored entirely, as each grower may at some time in 
his experience be called upon to do this kind of work. It frequently 
happens that a little money expended for poison insures a much 
better yield. 
Irrigation water. — The annual charge for water did not differ greatly 
in the three districts under observation. The average for all districts 
was slightly more than 50 cents per acre. Several irrigation com- 
panies operate in each area, and some growers obtain water from two 
or more sources. This feature was given careful consideration, and 
an attempt was made to compute a fair charge for the annual use of 
water. Some of the original ditches have comparatively low water 
rates on account of early priorities. While there may be wide varia- 
tion in the annual water assessment paid by individual growers who 
are receiving their supplies from different sources there is uniformity 
in the farms served by a given canal and the average charges for each 
district are also quite uniform. 
OTHER COSTS. 
There are certain expenses that must be carried by the farm as a 
whole, of which each enterprise must bear a just proportion. The 
solution of this problem in connection with a single enterprise in- 
volves a careful study of the entire business of the farm. Having 
obtained a true perspective of the relationships that exist between 
the various branches of the business, it was possible to distribute such 
costs as insurance and taxes, interest on land and land rental, ma- 
chinery charges, and overhead expense on an equitable basis (Table 
XXVI). 
■ Table XXVI. — Other costs for three Colorado districts. 
Year. 
Num- 
ber of 
farm 
records. 
Total 
acres in 
beets. 
Cost per acre. 
Cost 
per 
ton. 
District. 
Insurance 
and 
taxes. 
Interest 
and 
rent. 
Machin- 
ery. 
Miscella- 
neous. 
Total. 
Greeley 
Fort Morgan 
Rocky Ford 
1914-15 
1915 
1914-15 
195 
66 
106 
5,028.40 
2, 455. 50 
2, 428. 95 
$0.85 
1.05 
.74 
$21. 21 
16.65 
16.87 
$2. 06 
2.85 
2.00 
$1. 41 
1.29 
1.32 
$25. 53 
21.84 
20.93 
$1. 63 
1.60 
1.61 
