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Show I I SUGAR BEETS H SUGAR BEETS NEXT IN IM- H i PORTANCE TO FRUIT H g RAISING. H 'The sugar beet industry in Colo- H nulo has grown in ten years to be the B premier agricultural industry in the H state. The advent of the sugar beet H made towns and hamlets grow like H magic, advanced the price of land M from $75 an acre to $150 land $200, and B in some instances as high as $300 an M acre. Farmers have become wealthy H cultivating the saccharine producing M plant, and today the manufacture of M tfect sugar is by far the leading in- H dustry of the two great agricultural M sections of the state- Northern Col- M oYadb and the Arkansas Valley. ' H An 1907 the huge sum of $ 15. .750.- m 000 was paid the farmers and workers H in Mic beet fields, and 150,000" acres M of land was devoted to the growing H of beets. The total annual produc- M tioii'of sugar beets in 1907 was 2,- H 100,006 tons. The sugar extracted H from these beets was Almost enough H to supply the demands of the popula- H tion west of the Mississippi river and H waY valued at $25,000,000. Hj The sugar beet industry has passed the experimental stage and the farmers farm-ers of Colorado find it the most profitable pro-fitable crop they can raise. Today there arc 16 sugar factories in Colorado, Colo-rado, -nearly one-fourth of the entire number of beet sugar factories in the United States. There is still room for more factories in Colorado, for the reason that .there arc many acres of land in this state that possess the essential es-sential qualities for the growing of the sugar beets, and the market is far from being overstocked with beet sugar. The average net profit per acre realized re-alized by a farmer is $40. These crops yield from $70 to $150 an acre. These figures speak for themselves. Another advantage to the farmer in raising sugar beets is the knowledge that the market price is assured before be-fore he plants his crop. The prevailing prevail-ing market price is $5.00 a ton delivered deliv-ered to a factory or a railroad receiving receiv-ing station as soon as harvested. An additional 50 cents a ton is allowed the farmer who siloes his beets; that is, places them in the ground to be held until they arc called for by the factory. The factory contracts with the farmer at the beginning of the growing season, so the grower' knows just where he stands when he plants his seed. For the purpose of strengthening the soil, beets arc rotated with alfalfa, small grains and vegetables. Alfalfa is the best fertilizer and beets grown on land Miat has been previously planted to this class produces remarkable remark-able results. The value to the former of raising sugar beets -docs not end with the sale of the crop at the factory. The by-products also enter into his calculation calcu-lation of benefits. Sugar beet pulp supplies a fattening food for stock. The pulp can be bought from the factory at 40 cents a ton and it contains con-tains a high degree of fat producing qualities. Experiments made by the State Agricultural College at Fort Collins have demonstrated beyond a doubt that beet pulp produces in the. animal meat value of $1.50 to $2.50 for each ton of feed. The benefits to the "critter" eating pulp is both nutritive and sanatory. Feeders arc often inclined to use too much heat generating food, which lcatfs to stomach and intestinal disturbances.- Pulp mixed "with the regular regu-lar feed ration acts as a laxative, which keeps the animal in a. healthful condition tand permits the fattening process to continue uninterrupted !; 'Gattlc fed on sugar beet pulp arc in j great demand in the market, owing J to the fact that their flesh is juicy and I of fine flavor. i Absolute cleanliness in feeding pulp is necessary, as the pulp will decay, if allowed to remain in the corners 'of the feed troughs; therefore it is neccs- ; sary to feed the pulp only in quantities quanti-ties that will assure its immediate ( consumption. The troughs should be j cleaned1 thoroughly -before another feeding. The establishment of beet sugar , factories in different parts of the state has stimulated other industries j that arc part of the success of the farmer. The packing industry is enlivened, en-livened, and creamery and cheese factories fac-tories arc increased in number. The ramifications of this industry arc such that its effects arc felt in every line of trade. No other industry hasdonc , so much to upbuild the towns of j Colorado in the beet sugar districts, and no other industry except fruit has or can increase the vcluc of land to such an extent as the growing of this. plant. The factory towns arc active business centers. In 1899 there was one sugar factory in Colorado. Last year there were 16 faictorics in operation and the same number will be in operation this year. The capacity of the original factory has been doubled and those built later have from two to four times the capacity ca-pacity of the first plant. Beets grown in Colorado carry a high percentage of saccliairinc matter and the sugar ,! extracted from the beets is of an exceptionally ex-ceptionally high grade. Eight years ago 3ooo acres in Colo-ratio Colo-ratio were devoted to the raising of sugar beets, for which $200,000 was paid. Compare these figures with those for 1907 and the wonderful strides of this industry arc apparent. The average farmer realizes from $70 to $90 am acre gross from his beet crop, 'but there are many instances where $100 and over per acre have been received from the crop. $150 an acre is the highest price on record in Colorado. Each year sees the acreage in- ' creased as the growers become more i proficient in cultivating their crops. The industry has come to stay. Pro- j fessor Knoor in Ranch and Range. j |