14 BULLETIN 963, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
for the reason that the records for the Twin Falls farms pertain to 
the crop season 1919. (Table X.) 
TABLE X.—Average returns and margin above cost. 
ie sae = | Totalnet erect 
um- gre e- Net re- | returns 
Region. ber of Ae per ceived ost D er! ‘turns per acre, sales 
farms. ~ | aere. | per acre.| * | per acre. includ- beet 
ing tops. tops. 
Tons. 
heh Uitaht se ie et Se | 44 | 303.5 16.1 | $161.77 | $151.59 | $10.18 | $16.49 $6. 31 
Garland and Tremonton, Utah.. 58 | 766 15.8 | 158.41 | 131.40 27. 01 31. 33 4,32 
Idaho Falls and Blackfoot, Idaho 74 | 892.3 13.1 | 130.80 | 115.41 15. 39 20. 03 4.64 
‘pwanalsy rd anor. esse aa eee | 44 | 687.03 10.9 | 119.87} 136.39 | —16.52 | —i11.51 5.01 
It will be seen that net returns from beets varied from $27 per acre 
as a profit in the Garland area to a loss of $16.52 in the Twin Falls area. 
By adding the value of tops in each district the margins are increased 
somewhat for the first three districts and the loss is reduced somewhat 
for the Twin Falls district. It should be borne in mind that the Twin 
Falls growers did not sustain an actual cash loss as indicated in the 
above table, since in addition to interest on investment the crop was 
charged 45 cents per hour for all labor expended on sugar beets by the 
operators. Possibly these men would be willing to accept a shghtly 
lower rate than the amount that was used in computing these costs. 
PERCENTAGE RETURN ON INVESTMENT AS INFLUENCED BY LAND VALUES. 
The results which were obtained on these farms during the years 
1918-1919 may be expressed in the form of interest accruing from 
money invested in the sugar beet business. To say that all farms 
earned a definite percentage on investment would not be correct, 
because certain individuals realized a much higher rate, while others 
fell considerably below this percentage. Furthermore, there was 
quite a wide range in land values as estimated by these growers. In 
the Lehi area the lowest estimated land value was $100 per acre, 
while the highest was $400 per acre; at Garland the range was $150 
to $350: in the Idaho Falls district $100 to $350; and in the Twin 
Falls district, $350 to $800. 
What interest did these men earn on the capital invested in the 
sugar-beet business? This question is answered in part in Table XI, 
showing cost per acre and percentage return on investment on the 
basis of different land values. 
During the war period the prices of farm products increased and 
land values went up. However, there was a tendency for the prices 
of land to lag behind the prices of farm products. So long as farm 
products commanded good prices, it was possible under average 
conditions to have sufficient margin after paying for labor and meeting 
