42 BULLETIN 748, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
$1.50 to $3.40 an acre. The lowest figure is shown where the tops 
were plowed under for manure, while the highest value was placed 
on tops used as feed. Grand Rapids growers gave the highest esti- 
mated value for tops fed. In this area many farmers hauled the 
tops to the barn or feed lot and fed them to dairy cattle. In some 
sections the tops were pastured on the ground after the beets were 
harvested. In such instances many of the tops were trampled by the 
stock, while some spoiled because of unfavorable conditions and 
could not be used for feed. 
TABLE NXVI.—Disposition and estimated acre value of sugar-beet tops (1915). 
= Value 
Nrmber Value Value | Per cent 
District. offarm pencent when For cat when | plowing ] ean 
records. | *© 8- fed. SS sold. under. =a a 
Care eee ee eee ee 68 97 $1278 = Se eee 3 $2.00 
571 Oe RE eee ame 51 96 2.20 Piles eaS2200 2 1.50 
GrandsRaplds sean eee 33 07 S240 eee Pao ce oe 3 Pd 
ZOO USE a = ee ae ee aes oe 52 ig 
Northwestern Ohio.........__.. | S2 48 
Some growers follow the practice of feeding a portion of the tops 
and turning under the remainder. In such cases, where the greater 
part of the acreage was fed, the value of the tops was higher than 
where the larger portion was turned under. The utilization of the 
tops depends largely on the amount of stock kept on the farm. Many 
farmers do not keep enough live stock to consume all of the beet 
tops produced on the farm. In some sugar-beet sections cattle and 
sheep are fattened for market. The stock is turned in on the beet 
field after the beets are harvested. When the beet tops are cleaned 
up, alfalfa and corn are fed until the stock is ready for the market. 
The feeding period lasts from two to five months. If the grower 
has no stock to fatten, he may sell the tops to a stock feeder, who 
turns his cattle and sheep into the farmer’s field, paying a certain 
sum per acre for the pasturing privilege. Only two farmers sold 
all of their beet tops in this manner. 
RELATION OF BEET ACREAGE TO TILLABLE AREA. 
There was a decided variation in the size of the beet acreage per 
farm. Grand Rapids farmers grew the smallest acreage and north- 
western Ohio growers the largest. There is also a difference in the 
acreage of tillable land per farm in the four sections. However, 
when reduced to a percentage basis there is little variation for these 
regions. Approximately three-fourths of the farm land is tillable; 
at Grand Rapids, 71 per cent; at Alma, 72 per cent; at Caro, 75 per 
cent; and in northwestern Ohio, 83 per cent. (See Table XXVILI.) 
