COST OF PRODUCING SUGAR BEETS IN UTAH AND IDAHO. BY, 
85 per cent of the hand labor was done on a contract basis. At 
Idaho Falls 91 per cent was done by the operator and his family. 
HOEING. 
Hoeing is done during the early summer months. Under ordinary 
conditions the fields are hoed twice, but these records show three 
hoeings for the years 1918 and 1919. In cases where a contract 1s 
involved, the hand labor agrees to keep the field free from weeds; 
this may mean hoeing three times, together with some work in 
pulling out large weeds late in the season. 
The stipulations of a typical agreement for contract labor for the 
year 1918 are given herewith: 
The grower, in consideration of the promises herein contained to be kept and per- 
formed by the said contractor, agrees to pay the contractor fcr said work as follows: 
AMER USERS ies oe Sa a oem SOS hee aca ae ea Ce at ea Og ee a $8.00 per acre 
LDSTUS ph OROEL DYER 3 «oa eS Aon ee age Ne TU 2 ae mo ig ce 3.00 per acre 
PSLECCOHINGL | SVOTENI OTIS os ee is Se Mos RIN er epee cogs eee a an 2.00 per acre 
Pulling, topping, and loading—8-ton average crop or under....-.....- 12.00 per acre 
Pulling, topping, and loading—9-ton average crop......-.:.-1.---.----- 13.00 per acre 
Pulling, topping, and loading—10-ton average crop...-.-.-.----------- 14.00 per acre 
Pulling, topping, and loading—11-ton average crop..-.---------------- 15.00 per acre 
Pulling, topping, and loading—12-ton average crop.-.-.--.--.--------- 16.00 per acre 
Pulling, topping, and loading—13-ton average crop...-.-.-.-....------ 17.00 per acre 
Pulling, topping, and loading—14-ton average crop.-.-.-.---.....----- 18.00 per acre 
Pulling, topping, and loading—15-ton average crop...-..-.------- 2 19200" persacre 
In case the crop shall exceed 15 tons average per acre, the grower agrees to pay 
the contractor for harvesting such excess tonnage at the rate of $1 per ton. 
The contractor agrees that out of the money due for thinning the grower shall 
retain the sum of fifty (50) cents per acre, and out of the money due for first hoeing 
the sum of fifty (50) cents per acre, as guarantee for the proper completion of the 
later work. Upon the proper completion of the second hoeing and harvesting, this 
money shall be repaid to the contractor, without interest. 
The grower agrees to pay the contractor promptly upon the completion of each 
item of work, and, in case of delay in payments, the grower agrees to pay interest on 
all deferred payments from the time when due until paid at the rate of 1 per cent 
per month. 
In the event that the grower shall elect to pull and top his beets with a mechanical 
device, he may be released from the further operation of this contract without preju- 
dice, by notifying the contractor of his intention on or before September 1, 1919, 
and by paying to the contractor the $1 per acre retained under the above-mentioned 
arrangement, together with any money due the contractor. 
The contractor agrees, where possible, to space the beets from 9 to 14 inches apart _ 
in the row, thinning the plants so that not less than 90 per cent thereof shall be single 
plants at the time of thinning; to leave the plants in a healthy condition, not to 
expose the roots more than necessary; at thinning time to hoe deep enough to remove 
all weeds by the roots that are in the row or within three inches thereof on either 
side; to keep the beets free from weeds in the row by hoeing them at least twice 
after thinning; if so instructed by the agents of the sugar company, to pull all weeds 
