CAPITAL AND CAPITAL CHARGES—UNITED STATES, BY
STATES
TABLE 49.— Market value of the land upon which sugar beets were grown
SUMMARY FOR THE UNITED STATES AND ANALYSIS BY STATES, 1921,
1922, AND 1923
[Per Acre]
Area
United States 1... eee ccccmccccmcmccacamaecaae——--
Michigan. . cca ccaaceee. meememmmeemm————
EVIE cs 0 ee re re le re ER
Nebraska. cceeecececccececoen . - mmm mmm —————
CO01OTAA0. cece cece cee cc cece cemmenenn -omm————————
Ja eee eee eee meee mmm mmm
VARIO. cae eee ieee cee caaeccmc ccc icmmeaceaemaa———
[1040 1611 o¥- SR -. A, w
Montana. .eeea-e---. .- eee
Oalifornia.
1921
‘er acre
$250
13L
21¢
Ah
1922 | 1923
A
~~
-r acre
$188
120
196
16%
2
4 ~~
4)
157
3-year
average
Per acre
$222
2128
203
179
101
206
196
130
152
522
+ Weighted on the basis of the total acreage harvested in the 9 States investigated.
1 Weighted on the basis of the total acreage harvested in the State in each year respectively.
_ NotE.—The 1921 and 1923 values were obtained by adjusting the 1922 values of sugar-beet land, as shown
in the table, on the basis of the variation in values of “good plow lands,” as shown on p. 998 of the 1922
Yearbook of the U. S. Department of Agriculture. For example, the values of “good plow lands” in
Michigan were reported as 7.8 per cent greater in 1921 than in 1922 and 3.9 per cent less in 1923 than in 1922.
Consequently to obtain the 1921 values the 1922 values, as obtained in the field investigation, were
increased by 7.8 per cent and to obtain the 1923 values the 1922 values were reduced by 3.9 per cent.
The values of sugar-beet land shown here for the year 1922 are the estimates of the farmers of the market
value of the land upon which were grown their 1922 crops of beets.
While in the field, the agents of the Tariff Commission checked these farmers’ estimates against actual
sale values in the respective localities, and against the values given by prominent local men other than the
farmers themselves, such as county tax officials, bankers, real-estate dealers, county agricultural agents,
and officials of the various agricultural colleges, particularly professors of agricultural economics and farm
management, and adjustments were made where the values were evidently out of line.
TABLE 50.— Average value of other capital used in sugar-beet production
SUMMARY FOR THE UNITED STATES AND ANALYSIS BY STATES, 1922
[Per acrel
Area
United States 1...
Michigan. occa
10.) 15 Co JR
Nebraska . cooceomoaoaes ccvens
Colorado.
Average value
of capital,
other than
land, used in
sugar-beet pro-
{etion in 1922
$20
0
‘
ires
Jtah___._.
dah...
Wyoming. ...ceeeeeo-
Montana .c.------
Jalifornia_____.
Average value
of capital,
other than
land, used in
sugar-beet pro-
duction in 1922
$38
36
28
28
20
1 Weighted on the basis of the total acres harvested in each of the 9 States investigated in 1922.
Note.—Other capital includes only that part of the total value of work horses and equipment allocated
to the sugar-beet crop, plus $3.33 an acre ($10 an acre for 4 months’ time) for the advances of the sugar com-
panies for the payment of contract labor. Therefore, the full value of all work horses and equipment used
in sugar-beet production is not included in “other capital.” The following examples make this point
clear: If two teams worth $400 were used in the production of sugar bests for but one-half of the total time
they worked on the farm during the year, the other one-half time being used in the production of corn, hay,
beans, potatoes, etc., only one-half of the costs of these horses was charged to beets, and only $200 shown as
capital employed in sugar-beet production. Likewise, if only 50 per cent of the annual cost of repairs and
depreciation of a wagon valued at $100 is chargeable to sugar-beet production, then only $50 is included as
“other capital’’ employed in sugar-beet production.
_ About 82 per cent of the handwork of blocking, thinning, pulling, and topping, and 77 per cent of the hoe-
ing required in the production of the sugar-beet crop is Gone by contract laborers who are paid so much an
acre for doing the work. In a large percentage of cases the sugar companies advance the money for the
payment of these laborers as each operation is completed. In practically all cases where such advances are
made, the farmers pay the beet-sugar companies interest on such loans from the time they are made until the
beets are harvested, when the amount of the loar plus the interest is deducted from the farmer’s beet check.
Preliminary tabulations of the sugar-beet cost data in the possession of the commission showed that
these advances, where made, averaged $10 an acre and ran on an average for a period of about 4 months,
which is equal in capital value to $3.33 an acre for a year. Consequently, $3.33 an acre is shown as a part
of the capital used in the production of sugar beets.
The same value of other capital was used for 1921 and 1923 as for 1922
