GROWING SUGAR BEETS IN UTAH AND IDAHO. 
15 
FARM PRACTICE IN THE PRODUCTION OF SUGAR BEETS AND RELATED 
COSTS. 
SCRAPING THE FIELD. 
The preparation of the seed bed for any cultivated crop grown 
under irrigation frequently demands some special attention in order 
to insure a uniform and rapid distribution of water when the proper 
season arrives. An uneven surface interferes with the run of water 
and prevents a portion of the field from receiving the amount which 
is required by the crop to produce an average yield. It is the custom 
in several of these districts to level the cultivated area with a Fresno 
scraper (fig. 2). Ordinarily a few days are spent during the fall and 
Fig. 2.— Typical crews employed in scraping the field preparatory to plowing. This is done for the 
purpose of making the surface level for irrigation. In this study scraping was considered as improve- 
ment work. 
winter months with a team and a scraper at this particular task. It 
was decided to consider this as improvement work, and although a 
small amount of man labor and horse labor is shown on some of 
these records, no charge for scraping was made against the beet crop. 
As a matter of fact, this expense should be distributed through a 
series of years, and this process, if followed, would render the cost for 
a single crop season practically negligible. It may be stated that 
the analysis shows a variation in cost from $1.55 to $2 per acre for 
scraping. Such work merely adds to the farm capital, and any cost 
incident thereto can eventually be applied to the various enter- 
prises of the farm as interest charge. 
