Excerpts from the April 1986 Issue of The Sugarbeet Grower

‘They’ve Been Pretty Good to Us’ / By Phil Mills, Jr. — “Derek Cantrell has lived near Buhl, Idaho, for 49 years.  And for 30 of those years, he’s been raising sugar-beets and competing with his neighbors for top yields and high sugar levels.
 
“ ‘They’ve been good to us,’ he points out.  ‘Sugarbeets are a pretty stable crop in this area.’

“The decision to raise sugarbeets was based on market stability.  It also gave Cantrell, who farms in partnership with his son, Rick, a chance to ‘specialize in sugarbeet production.’  Cantrell grows about 250 acres of sugarbeets each year, in addition to 70 acres of malt barley, commercial pinto beans for seed and winter and spring wheat. 
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“Although sugarbeets have been good to Cantrell, he knows his success didn’t happen by accident.  ‘It takes tender, loving care,’ he explains.  ‘You have to get involved with each crop you raise.’ . . .

“Cantrell’s sugar level ranges from 15.5 to 17 percent. His average is about 16.4 percent.  Yields vary by field. He has an annual goal of between 22 and 25 tons per acre. ‘You’ll lose tonnage going for high sugar.  But, I figure you can give up two tons of yield for the sugar,’ he adds.”

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Corn Sweeteners Widen Their Lead — “Sweeten-ers made from corn probably will widen their lead over sugar this year in the race for American taste preferences, according to analysts in the Agriculture Department.  

“The use of corn sweeteners, particularly high fructose corn syrup, has risen greatly in recent years while the overall U.S. consumption of total sweeteners has in-creased, but not as rapidly.  As a result, sugar is being dis-placed by the corn sweeteners.

“In 1985, the department’s Economic Research Service said, the total per capita consumption of ‘caloric’ sweeteners such as sugar and syrup averaged 129.8 pounds.  That was up 10 percent from 118.1 pounds in 1975.

“But in the same 10-year span, average consumption of refined sugar by Americans dropped from 89.2 pounds to 63.4 pounds, a 29 percent decline.  The per capita use of all corn sweeteners, meanwhile, rose from 27.5 pounds in 1975 to 65 pounds last year, a 236 percent increase.

“Almost all of the gain has been in the use of HFCS, which has been popular among soft drink manufacturers. From only five pounds consumed per capita in 1975, HFCS last  year grew to 43.5 pounds.”

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