The enterprise. [volume] (Harlem, Mont.) 1899-1926, 1916-03-30
GROWING SUGAR BEETS
AS A BUSINESS ON THE FARM

Pest For the Farmer in the North
west, Says L. $. Farm Expert
!. ID. D'Donneli of Billings.
At the Phillips County Cour
house, Malta, Thursday afternoon
|. ID. O'Donnell of Billings, U. S
Farm Expert, gave an exceptionally
good address to a crowded house o,
the subject OF the growing of sugar
beets.
Mr.. O'Donnell is a practical farm
er OF 80 years experience and con
ducts a 600 acre farm near Billings
from which he Melted last year ovel
$4,000. He is a close student Of
all farm problems and firm believ
er in a thorough and comprehensive
bookkeeping system on the farm.
Great interest was shown by the
public in the meeting and by p m.
the hour set for the meeting, stand
ing room was at a premium, and
many were turned away. l.. c.
Edwards introduced the speaker
with few remarks dealing with the
reasons for calling the meeting.
Mr.. O'Donnell came here expect
ing to talk on the subject of better
farming, but found that much inter-
est was manifested by the farmers
throughout the Milk River valley
in the subject of raising sugar beets,
and said he would confine himself
principally to that subject.
Among other things Mr.. O'Don-
nell said, that the raising of sugar
beets is the most profitable business
in the Northwest for the farmer,
and the profits depended OH the ro-
tation of the crops and thorough
cultivation of the soil, the latter be-
ing the most important AS to the
possibility of beet sugar factory
in the Milk River valley, he said
that the beet men had decided to
put in thousand acres Of beets in
the Waller irrigation district in Te-
ton county, and most of their spare
beet seed and field men Would be
sent there. but he hoped there
would be enough left to make a
that the climate OF the Milk River
state for the raising of the beets,
vest of the crop. This, requires
dUOuL SiA WCchS VI uly WCdLnCl JUL
ing September and October. Wet
weather hampers the harvesting, but
frost in that time does not injure
the beets. The great danger in har-
vest tine is from freezing in of the
crop late in the fall, which, of
course, would cause total loss.
Mr.. O'Donnell gave it as his ex
perience that the total cost of rails
ing an acre of beets is around $50.
The labor is all contracted for about
SIS an acre to Russians, who are ex-
perts at that class of work, having
learned the business in Germany.
Here Mr.. O'Donnell caused ripple
of laughter by remarking that there
would be many Russians working
for nothing in the German beet
folds this year.
In new beet sugar districts a field
man is furnished by the company
whose duty it is to give advice and
instruction to the farmers and make
the raising of sugar beets from the
farmers standpoint profitable, the
more profitable the better. Seed is
furnished by the company at 10
cents per pound, about half what it
10 to IL pounds of sed to the acre.
and the company sends men and
machines around to drill it in under
the supervision of the field man.
This work is done in April and May. /
AS soon as the beets are nicely up
they are blocked out, leaving only
one plant every s or 10 inches apart.
One beet grown in this distance will
weigh more than ewo in the same
space. Conservation of moisture
and wedding then continues until
July when the first irrigation takes
place, and only two ere needed. The
crop runs from to 26 tons to the
acre and the net profits range from
$12 to $40 per acre.
Mr.. O'Donnell advised farmers to
a, opt some crop edapted to the soil |
of his ranch and then stick to that |
year in and year out. Feeding stock !
is one of his large sources of profit.
Raise all you feed and feed all you !
raise is one of his many pithy re-
marks After his crops are all har-
vested in the fall Mr.. O'Donnell de-
clares that he still has SIS an acre
croft left on the farm, and secures
this by buying sheep and fattening
them for the market. He insists |
that he has proved this to be cor
rect by repeated trials: Many of his
sheep are purchased in the Milk |
River valley.
The price of land in the Huntley
Irrigation project in the vicinity Of
Billings, is we'll above 500 per
acre, some of having ben sold as
high as SITS. Mr.. O'Donell told a
little incident which gives a good
idea of the rise in the value Of irri-
gated land in his section, also shows
the far seeing wisdom of James ].
Hill of the Great Northern Railway
system. While in conversation with