30 Years Ago / Excerpts from the January 1979 Issue

A Pretty Fair Analysis! (By Emery Spangler, Fieldman, Amalgamated Sugar Company) — “Are you debating on whether or not to grow beets? With all the talk going on about the lousy future of beets, we might well question the profitability of another beet crop. But let’s look at the other side.

“The outlook for domestic sugar is improving with President Carter’s move to set fixed fees on all imported sugar. With enough action from our legislators, we will be able to improve this situation even more. . . . . Now you ask, what can I do? Have you written your congressman? Given your senator a call? It is going to take a united efforts on the part of the growers, processors and the farm organizations. . . .

“Besides changing legislation, there are other things we can do to alleviate the effects of the cost price squeeze. With the tools and the talents now available, we are able to completely automate the sugarbeet crop, thus eliminating high labor costs. It is important to keep an open mind about new techniques and methods.

“With fertilizer prices as they are, we should take advantage of soil testing methods that we might more fully utilize our fertilizer and micronutrients. With new herbicides and better techniques, we are more able to control weeds throughout the growing season. Proper irrigation practices can dramatically affect a crop. We have seen from experience the benefits of using irrometers to measure moisture in the ground. . . .”

‘We Will Support a Balanced & Fair Program . . .’ (Excerpts from comments by Secretary of Agriculture Bob Bergland to the American Sugarbeet Growers Association) — “I know there have been severe economic problems with the sugar industry. That has been obvious for three years or more. But prices have improved a little since January 1977. Prices paid to sugarbeet producers in 1977 were up $4.50 a ton from 1976, including the $200 million in payments to producers and processors.

“In spite of this improvement, economic problems facing the industry continue to be difficult and intractable, especially in areas where production costs are considerably higher than average.

“The facts are that some adjustments are always necessary. By adjustments, I mean that there are some production areas, and some mills, where it simply will not be economically feasible to continue. For others, it will be economically feasible to expand production. . . .

“I can tell you that we have no intention of bringing about the economic collapse of our domestic sugar industry. I know that we would be subject to much greater price variations if we were totally dependent on imports.

“It is in the national interest to have a viable domestic sweetener industry to meet a large part of our requirements. . . .

“It is absolutely essential to fully consider the impact of our sweetener policies and programs on every group, including sugarcane and sugarbeet producers and those who work for them, sweetener producers, processors, refiners, users, consumers, sellers and exporting countries. These groups have different interest[s] and concerns. This fact makes it extremely difficult to reach agreement on sugar and sweetener policies and programs.

“A final and most important concern is the impact of sweetener policies on inflation. We are going to be very forthright about this. We will support policies that are consistent with the President’s anti-inflation program.”

U & I Sugar Factories on Block — “U and I Incorporated announced on November 20 [that] its sugar factories* and terminal facilities are for sale.

“Growers in the producing areas affected by the announcement have indicated interest in forming grower-cooperatives, but as of mid-January no firm plans have surfaced. U and I has said it does not plan to operate its sugar factories in 1979.

“U and I is the pioneer sugar producer of the Intermountain West and has operated sugar facilities continuously since 1891. . . .”

*As of 1978/79, U and I was operating sugarbeet factories at Garland, Utah; Idaho Falls, Idaho; and Toppenish and Moses Lake, Wash.

Crystal to Close Rocky Ford Mill — “American Crystal Sugar Co., the nation’s largest processor of sugarbeets, announced on January 4 that its Rocky Ford (Colorado) plant will close permanently at the conclusion of the present processing campaign. The plant has operated continuously since 1900.

“The announcement to close the facility followed a decision by the board of directors of Colo-Kan Sugar Inc., a grower-operative of Eastern Colorado and Western Kansas, that they plan to discontinue growing sugarbeets and will cancel their lease of the processing facility with American Crystal.

“Colo-Kan President, Kaku Akagi, of Johnson, Kan., said their decision to end operations was based primarily on low sugar prices, caused by importation of cheap foreign sugar, over the past two years which have caused sugarbeet prices to fall way below the cost of growing them. Continuing increases in the costs of shipping beets by rail from the Kansas and Colorado growing areas, and a conclusion that the future of the beet industry wasn’t very promising, also played a role in the decision, Akagi said. . . .”