The Teton peak. [volume] (St. Anthony, Idaho) 1899-1904, 1904-06-16
BEETS FOR THE FARMER
A wyoming Man Gives Some
Attractive Figures on the
Sugar Beet Subject.

The following interesting article
on sugar beets was written by
George Little for the Gem State
Rural, and furnishes some reliable
facts and figures for beet raisers:
"As the sugar beet question is
at present agitating the people of
Canyon county, have some facts
pertaining to this matter, that /
would like to get before those in
terested through the Rural. From
1873 to 1888 ! was connected with
James McGibbon, III the sheep
business III Wyoming. know
Mr.. McGibbon we'll. He was them
foreman of the machine shops of
Laramie, Wyoming employing
directly and indirectly, about 700
men. Well, the elements we're
against us and our sheep enterprise.
was failure. came west i'll 1884,
and he went into Office and had
been almost constantly i'll county
Office ever since in Albany county,
Wyoming being most of the time
auditor and recorder In time he
bought a ranch near Fort Collins,
Colorado, and after educating his
three boys at the University of
Wyoming, he put them OH the
ranch to feed sheep for the Chicago
market. He has followed that
business for many years. There
are about 800, 000sheep fed annually
i'll the neighborhood of Fort Col
Inns Mr. McGibbon was here
last week purchasing sheep to feed
and this brings lie to the object OF
this article
Mr. McGibbon tells me that he
can stand at his ranch and see the
chimneys of five sugar factories, the
farthest one being less than twenty
Ave miles and the closest four
miles The last one, being at Fort
Collins cost $1,000, 600 Every
farmer raises from five 10 forty
acres OF beets. The average Yield
is twenty tons to the acre and the
average price has, heretofore, been
\ about "a. 80 per ton.
A colony of Russians located
there do the hand work, and the
total to the farmer of producing
the crop is about S37. 80 per acre.
With the average yield given by
Mr.. McGibbon, it is easy to figure
what there is in it to the farmer.
There is, i'll fact, good money i'll
raising the beets even at con-
: siderably less yield than that given
by Mr. McGibbon.
Now, coming to the sheep matter,
they feed alfalfa and corn, and il
, the spring they clean out their feed
yards and scatter the fertilizer
over the beet lands, plow it under
| thus keeping the land up to its full
producing capacity. Mr.. Nc
: Gibbon says that Canyon county
=, and this section of Idaho is more
an ideal locality for raising beet
7 and with our extra alfalfa yielt
t will be profitable country to feed
e sheep and hence would be mor'
0 profitable for the sugar beet in
dustry. We really have mucl
d more water than Colorado, anc
e what we need to learn is how tt
: manipulate it. Mr.. McGibbon say
that Gov. Eaton of Colorado, is al
ideal ditch man and now handle
/. the waters of the Cache la Poudr
river, that are under his system 0
canals and reservoirs, 50 that the
irrigate five acres to one i'll tn
: past. For hillside work bags c
j sand are used, so chat bad break
: are avoided. Nh McGihbon say
+ that if the farmers here would Ell
IS couarge the building Of enc factor
+, it would not be long until ther
i would be several others i'll south
: western Idaho.
q Having confidence that the state
III menta ! have made are true, m
of object in dwelling on the subjec
a and of introducing MY inforlnan
is that any one who wishes to do s
- may write to any resident
6 Laramie City, and ask abot
III lin mie McGibbon.