The Western news. [volume] (Stevensville, Mont.) 1890-1977, 1907-12-04
A BEET FACTORY IN
SIGHT FOR CONRAD

w. u. Conrad, who has just returned
from visit to Conrad, where he
shipped 800 hundred head of very
choice steers, reports that the ship
ping of cattle is practically over this
season, although ne has about 700
| head of beef cattle left in his pasture
! which he may ship later if the market
conditions should justify it. He is
extremely we'll pleased with the ag-
ricultural conditions around Conrad
this year.
| Joe Helms, whose land lies about
threshing his crops. He has about
Is 900 bushels of grain this year and
is farming on a large scale, owning
his steam plow, which tnrns over
about thirty acres per dav, and his
own threshing outfit. He has field
of 320 acres of winter wheat, which is
now five or six inches high, and Mr..
Conrad says it is one of the prettiest
sights he has ever seen in Montana
in the way of verdure at this time of
the year.
| One rancher is now threshiug a
crop of oats that goes about 90 bush
els to the acre. This crop was not
planted until between July 1 and
July 5, and Mr.. Conrad accounts for
the successful crop planted so late
by the fact that the altitude at Conrad
is 1,500 feet lower than the Gallatin
valley, and only about 700 feet lower
than at Salt Lake.
Mr.. Conrad is also greatly pleased
with the progress made on his new
dam. They have gone down to he'd
rock in its construction and plan to
build it at least so feet high. This
will hold body of water covering
5000 acres, SO feet deep in its deepest
portions, and will furnish sufficient
water to irrigate at least 100000 acres
of land. There is already Sufficient
water in this natural lake or reser-
voir to irrigate about 4O, 900 acres, and
with the accumulations between now
and the time the water is needed, Mr.
lConrad is confident it will be filled to
its fullest capacity. They are build
ing houses and sheds for the workmen
| and their horses, so that the construc-
tion work can be continued all winter
Mr.. Conrad hopes soon to arrange
matters so that a sugar beet plant
will be constructed at Conrad, which
will make the land in that section
still more valuable than it now is, and
thatis going some, surely, for many
of the ranchers this year in the vi
cinity of Conrad have cleared about
$35 an acre on their grain crops.
Considering that their land and a per-
petual water right cost them about
$ZO an acre on an average, it is hardly
necessary to comment on north Mon
tana irrigated land from an invest
ment point of view. However, Mr..
Conrad firmly believes that the raising
of sugar beets, where a nearby mar
ket is ready to take them, is still more
profitable than are grain crops. In
this connection a recent Billings dis
patch describes the crop returns for
sugar beets realized by the ranchers
of that section.
Work of harvesting the immense
crop of sugar beets which was raised
during the season just passed in the
Yellowstone valley is rapidly nearing
completion. and it is believed that
the end of November will see the en-
tire crop within the yards at the sugar
factory. The crop has been a record
breaker, the average yield having
been about 20 tons TO the acre. The
price received for the beets at the
factory is SIS a ton, and the average
price yield an acre for growing aud
delivering the crop, with American
labor is approximately $50 an acre,
leaving the net profit to the grower of
$50 an acre, almost, and in many in
stances the entire cost of the land
Great Falls Tribune.