The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1908-11-06

brought out that impress me with its
1t is the matter of the
price per ton. A great many FARM
ers have made up their minds that
$3.50 is not enough for beets, and
that they will not raise any more
until the sugar company pays So.
This has been so persistently talked
Of by pretty good men, and SO much
has been brought out at this meeting
to convince me that the main trouble
lies in other sources, that want to
talk price even at the risk Of precipi-
Eating differences.
Men have been taken out on the
street, and have come in here and
kept silent about the thing that they
consider stands between them and
success in beet raising. 1t is fifty
cents on the price OF the ton, and if
guaranteed that much advance in
price they would put out large
acreage. Now they are men who
have tried it the first year or two,
and did not do we'll. Suppose they
belong It'd the class spoken OF who
produced only seven or eight tons
per acre In the average, and they.
hardly made expenses. The addition
OF fifty cents ton or four dollars an
acre would not put them in the class
that makes a profit that is worth
while, and after trying it again they
would conclude they could do as
we'll raising hay or some other crop,
and they would again quit and the
tonnage would be right back to where
it is now" n
But, someone says, They are not
all that kind OF farmers We will
take the other class and see how it
will increase the tonnage with them.
These men who raise eighteen tons
per acre or sixteen tons. They are al
ready making profit on each acre,
and the amount of profit varies from
about $25 to $35, and they are al
ready raising all the tons possible.
Here are men who have stated that
they have increased their tonnage just
as fast as they could, so the offer OF
an advance of the price would not
make any greater tonnage to come
from that class. OF course the extra
half dollar would be very acceptable
to the farmer, but in all those cases
| it would be an increase that has not
been asked for and it would not in
crease the production. Each OF these
men says he finds beets SO profitable
that he is going to raise all he can
anyhow, and that when he solves the
matter Of tonnage he is on the road
to success at present prices, and the
man who can not make the tonnage
| fails now and would fail If he re-
ceived the advance he has asked for.
Therefore, from these two classes no
increase OF tonnage would result, the
only difference being that the factory
people would have less money and
the successful beet growers would
have more money. Otherwise the
situation would be unchanged"
"There is one class between these
two that we have not analysed. II
is the man who has come so neal
making a profit on $3.50 beet thai
an addition of fifty cents would in
duce him to grow beets instead OF
other crops. This is the only add
ton in tonnage that appears possible
from the advance of the price. Now
that narrows the problem down tC
the question of tonnage as between
merely paying expenses and paying
desirable profit"
Some in this room have been rails
ing hay for fifteen years and selling
it at prices that are equal only II
what we should make il we raised IL
tons of beets per acre and sold then
at SO or 1925 per ton, and 1t Wonlt
be like throwing bomb into THU
meeting as to ask us to raise beets a
SO a ton, or 1925. Yet we are do
ing something equal to 1t when W.
raise hay, the only difference beini
that there is no guaranteed marke
flor the hay and there is for the beets
Carrying the analysis farther, tn
man who raises this poor crop Q
beets, If he received S. or So per ton
would still complain that there wa
!; no profit in beets and would lool
around for something else. .
course nobody is going to pay him :
| for beets, but he could not afford t
raise them If they did. All this rea
soning goes to show me that tn
, real problem to be met and solved i