GROWING SUGAR BEETS IN MICHIGAN AND OHIO. 43 
TABLE XXVII.—Relation of beet acreage to tillable area. 
¢ Per cent of 
Number Aores per | Acres per F 
District. offarm ees Dek farm farm in uilable 
records. Airtils tillable. beets. Beets 
Warnes ee airs Beare ra eye eee SS A 134 109.6 82.3 LS aatl 18. 33 
SNA U TINGS pes Re eta tare ghee ac Rta er (SIDS Sera ear Made 53 103. 65 74. 47 9. 54 12. 81 
GrandbRapidsis seh eesti erste aes 36 126.11 89.33 6. 40 Celle 
ESP 14.00 
Northwestern Ohio........................ 97 134. 75 111.96 15. 
Only 7.17 per cent of the tillable land was planted to beets in the 
Grand Rapids area, while 18.33 per cent was given over to sugar-beet 
production at Caro. In the former area there has been a tendency 
on the part of the farmer to decrease his beet acreage. At one time 
all the sugar beets contracted by the Holland factory were produced 
in this locality. Most of the beets for that factory are now shipped 
in from points in northwestern Michigan and eastern Indiana. The 
scarcity of farm labor to perform the handwork on this crop is prob- 
ably responsible for this situation more than any other one factor. 
In many instances larger acreages could be grown, since the sugar 
beet has a place in the crop rotation of this section. 
BEET ACREAGE PER FARM AND YIELD PER ACRE IN RELATION 
TO COST. 
It seems reasonable to assume that the man who grows a large 
acreage of sugar beets can produce them at a lower cost per acre than 
the man who grows a small acreage. In general this is true, but the 
variation is small (see Table XXVIII). It is also natural to sup- 
pose that the larger the yield in tons per acre the greater the cost 
per acre, since the handling of more beets is involved. 
TABLE XXVIII.—Acres in beets versus yield per acre as influencing cost of 
production. 
Yield, 8 tons or less per | Yield, 9to13 tons per | Yield, 14 tons and over 
acre. acre. per acre. 
Acres in sugar beets. 
Num- | Cost Cost | Num-| Cost Cost | Num-| Cost Cost 
ber of per per ber of | per per ber of per per 
farms. | acre. ton. |farms.| acre. ton. |farms.|]| acre. ton. 
GlOTMIESS eat eye pre eo ts 13 | $48.98 | $8.10 46 | $54.88 | $4.94 19 | $60. 59 $3. 76 
PAO ais mene aa eines elk alee are 22) 49.28 7.05 47 | 52.45 4. 83 25) 58.18 3. 92 
HAIN OW CT eae ee ce 24 47.06 7.00 51 Gd Bie 4.75 23 60. 38 3.80 
Comparing the farms in each group on the basis of yield per acre, 
it was found that in each of the three acreage groups the greater the 
yield of sugar beets per acre the higher the cost of production per 
acre. However, the larger the yield per acre the smaller the cost per 
ton of beets. Where 6 acres of beets or under were grown, it cost 
