42 COSTS OF PRODUCING SUGAR BEETS 
TABLE 16.—~Weighted average costs of production and returns to growers from the 
sale of sugar beets 
SUMMARY FOR UNITED STATES AND ANALYSIS BY STATES, 1921, 1922, 
AND 1923 
[Per pound of sugar extracted from the sugar beets] 
Amount by which the 
returns to growers 
from the sale of sugar 
peets exceed? the 
costs of production of 
sugar beets? 
Average costs ! 
Pounds of 
sugar ex- 
yracted per 
bon of beets 
paid for 
by the 
factories ¢ 
Average 
~eturns to 
growers 
from the 
sale of 
sugar beets 
State and year 
No allow- 
ance made 
for land 
rental and 
nterest on 
other capi- | 
tal 8 
Allowance 
made for 
land rental 
and in- 
terest at 
5 per cent 
on other 
capital 
No allow- 
ance made 
for land 
rental and 
nterest on 
other capi- 
tal § 
Allowance 
made for 
and rental 
and in- 
terest at 
8 per cent 
on other 
capital 
United States: 
3-year average ......_.._-. 
1921 eae 
11 
1923 eee 
Pounds 
263.9 
268.1 
263. 2 
259, 6 
Cents 
2.35 
2.41 
2.26 
2.34 
Cents Cents 
2.85 | 2.92 
2.97 2.34 
2.78 3.04 
2.77 3.50 
Cents 
0. 57 
—.07 
.78 
1.18 
Cents 
0.07 
—. 63 
.26 
.73 
Michigan: 
3-year average... ---..-. 
1921... mma 
1922... ————— 
1923... 
Ohio: 
3-year average. ..-------... 
1921 cee 
1922 ee 
1923 cee 
Nebraska: 
3-year average... .-- 
1921... i 
1922... J. 
19°" — 
Colorado: 
3-year average... 
192). 
1922... 
1923. 
Utah: 
3-year average. 
1921. __. 
1922... 
19023__ 
229. 7 
215. 5 
229, 4 
248. 6 
3.10 
3. 39 
2, 79 
3.01 
3. 61 
3.97 
3.28 
3.46 
3.25 
2.80 
3.15 
3. 82 
. 18 
~. 59 
.36 
81 
—. 36 
—-1.17 
—. 13 
. 36 
210. 1 
205. 1 
232.1 
201. 2 
2. 91 
316 
43 
05 
3.47 
3.81 
7: 
2 ng 
3. 66 
2.92 
2.96 
4, 62 
75 
—. 24 
. 53 
1. 57 
.19 
-. 89 
.02 
1.03 
252.2 
274. 5 
248.0 
220 ( 
> NR 
2.99 
2.40 
3.23 
3. 56 
91 
.33 
1.45 
1.12 
.45 
—. 16 
1.06 
.63 
ant 
2f} 
28" 
2.85 
7. 44 
a 
. oY 
29 
. 62 
94 
.09 
—-. 19 
.04 
.49 
—. 05 
-1.01 
.38 
. 67 
.19 
—-.72 
. 58 
.68 
t When composite figures appear as in the 3-year average for each State and in the figures for the United 
Btates, Phare the data for the States investigated are combined, the acres of sugar beets harvested are used 
AS weights. . 
! A minus sign (—) before a figure indicates that costs exceed returns by that amount. 
3 See pp. 33-38 for explaination of methods of determining costs. . 
4 The basic data from which the pounds of sugar extracted from a ton of beets were obtained were fur- 
nished by the U. 8. Department of Agriculture. Sugar extraction from beet roots depends upon the sugar 
content, the coefficient of purity, the general condition of the beet roots when sliced, the extraction and 
refining processes used, and the efficiency of the mills. These data are restricted to those beets for which 
costs were obtained in this investigation and, therefore, are not necessarily the same as the data published 
by the Department of Agriculture or those published in Concerning Sugar, which are averages for all beets 
sliced by all the factories located in the respective States. . 
8 Land rental and other capital charges, paid and unpaid, are excluded from this cost. For the United 
States as a whole cash rental was actually paid on 5.4 per cent of the acreage planted and share rental on 
41.7 per cent. On a large percentage of the farms, interest amounting to 20 cents per acre, or about 1.8 cents 
per ton, was actually paid on cash advances made by the factories to the farmers for the payment of contract 
labor. Many of these farms are mortgaged, and interest is actually paid on these farm mortgages at rates 
varying from 5 to 9 per cent and averaging 7.14 per cent. In order to put the data for all farms on a com- 
parable basis and simplify tabulations, however, all farms were treated as owned by the operators and taxes 
and overhead costs on this rented acreage were included as general costs and all capital charges, whether 
paid or unpaid, were segregated.