38 BULLETIN 693, IT. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
per acre greater at Provo than at Garland. Idaho Falls growers 
were $4.49 below the highest average interest and rent charge. 
On farms where the greater part of the hand labor is on a contract 
basis it is the custom for the sugar company to advance to the 
operator sufficient money to pay approximately one-half of the total 
cost of hand labor as soon as the thinning and hoeing have been com- 
pleted. The amount of this loan, with interest, is deducted from the 
beet receipts in the autumn. This interest is a part of the cost of 
raising beets, and it has been so charged in this stud}^. 
Beet machinery cost per acre. — In computing the cost for machinery 
it is necessary to consider not only the interest on the original invest- 
ment which was required to furnish field equipment for the produc- 
tion of sugar beets, but also depreciation and annual repairs. A 
part of the equipment used in the preparation of beet land is required 
in caring for other crops; hence the annual charge against these 
implements must be distributed as equitably as possible over the 
enterprises involved. These items were calculated and compiled as 
machinery charge. The method employed in securing the essential 
data in 1914 differed somewhat from the plan which was followed in 
1915. The former plan gave a slightly lower charge than the latter, 
and the fact that the records for 1914 were confined to Provo and 
Garland explains in part why Idaho Falls has the maximum machin- 
ery cost. The difference between Garland and Idaho Falls was only 
59 cents per acre. By comparing the machinery charge with other 
costs in this classification, or with the total cost of production, it will 
be observed that the equipment cost constitutes only a minor part, 
and any small modification one* way or the other would not appre- 
ciably change the final results. 
Miscellaneous expense. — There are certain other costs which are 
not chargeable to any one enterprise in particular, but have to be 
carried by the whole farm, and a certain part must fall upon each 
enterprise. To make provision for these items a 3 per cent charge 
was assigned on the basis of the labor and material costs combined. 
If the labor and materials amounted to $50 per acre, 3 per cent of this 
sum would be $1.50. The latter would then be counted as a part of 
the total cost of producing the crop. There is a difference of 16 
cents between the Idaho Falls group and the average which was 
obtained from the Garland estimates. 
