22 BULLETIN 963, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
which had produced a crop of beets the preceding year. Sugar beets 
followed the 1918 crop on essentially 56 per cent of the Lehi acreage 
upon which these cost figures are based. About one-third of the 
boet crop was grown after grain in both the Lehi and Twin Falls 
districts. The Garland and Idaho Falls growers reported that sugar 
beets followed beets on 84 per cent and 71 per cent, respectively, 
. during the year 1918. Continuous culture was employed to a some- 
what greater extent in 1919. 
Taste XIX.—Occurrence of sugar beets in cropping system. 
PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL SUGAR BEET ACRES FOLLOWING CROPS SPECIFIED. 
: Pota- Pas- aes Miscel- 
Region. Beets. toes, | Alfalfa. ture. | GT4!D- liane ous.| otal. 
ehi Witahig 08 52 coke 2 tents ate eee One ae BY Ay 10.7 Oban Reo Ssee 28. 6 33 
Garland and Tremonton, Utah._.._.......... 83. 8 .8 Serle eae LEB ROR Suse 100. 0 
Idaho Falls and Blackfoot, Idaho-............ Tale 22. 5 2.3 0.7 2.8 100. 0 
winahalissdaho wseccem see eet sane ee 31. 2 9.8 225 Ohm anece 33. 6 3.4 1 
PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL SUGAR BEET ACRES FOLLOWED BY CROPS SPECIFIED. 
LUCSAVES OI Aen Olea eh Saeco cae Pe, Se eee Ree aA | 55.9 | ea ee vse eemearee ZB) Olloaccanss 100.0 
Garland and Tremonton, Utah._.............- O65. | Fear ee Le eee Sores OOF ISM ei ee 100. 9 
Idaho Falls and Blackfoot, Idaho.........-... | 78.6 | SEQ Ui era Ney acl ike eet 12057 Sees 100. 0 
Ryu Malls tdahio 234 tess a. a ee pe ere ee WEES OT Diol Bessa ph Sameer eae cee 47.8 100. 0 
Both the enterprise survey which was carried out in these districts 
in 1915 and 1916 and the present survey appear to indicate that 
quite a large number of growers favor the production of sugar beets 
on the same piece of land for several years in succession. This prac- 
tice is no doubt due in part to the prevailing opinion that beet land ~ 
improves with cultivation. Many growers contend that they are 
getting better yields now in fields that have produced five or more 
crops than they were able to obtain during the first two or three 
years of their experience. It is not unusual to find beets upon the 
same field for eight to twelve years without the introduction of any 
other crop. Such a system invariably invites trouble and eventually 
brings a shortage in yield through the development of plant dis- 
eases or the multiplication of insect pests. A few men have recog- 
nized the serious possibilities of such a condition and are endeavoring 
to modify this method of cropping. (Figs. 4 and 5.) 
LABOR REQUIREMENTS. 
Growing sugar beets involves two classes of labor—that furnished 
by the farmer and his teams, and contract hand labor. Since it is 
a general practice to hire certain operations done at a stipulated 
price per acre or per ton, it is customary to report the contract labor 
in money values. There were several farms in each of these districts, — 
however, on which the hand labor was performed by the operator 
