18 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



THE FARMERS' SIDE OF THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



BY COLON C. LILLIE, COOPERSVILLE. 



I am deeply interested in the sugar beet industry, because it means 

 so much to the American farmer and American agriculture. The compe 

 tition is such that the staple agricultural products, wheat, corn, oats, 

 etc., sell very close to the cost of production. Every acre of land devoted 

 to sugar beets reduces the acreage of these staple crops just so much 

 and helps to relieve the pressure on the market. When we grow beets 

 and sell them we are putting a product on the market that does not 

 come in competition with any other crop that we raise. If we did not 

 produce the beets to make the sugar, we would have to send the money 

 to the old world for the sugar. If we produce the beets we can keep 

 this money at home and get a better price for the staple products we 

 grow. While we produce less of the other products in consequence 

 of having grown beets, it is believed the better price for these products 

 resulting from growing a less amount, will make their total value nearly 

 if not quite as much as though beets were not grown as a crop and all 

 the land devoted to staple products. Hence the beet crop, up to the 

 total amount needed for our home consumption, will be a clear gain to 

 American agriculture. 



Again, at present prices, even, if we learn how to grow good crops, 

 the beet crop is profitable. I believe it to be on the average more 

 profitable for the farmer to grow sugar beets than to grow almost any 

 other crop. Taking these things into consideration, I believe it is the 

 duty of every farmer who lives within the proper distance of a factory 

 and who has suitable land, to grow a certain amount of sugar beets every 

 year. He can get a good profit for his labor and land and he helps 

 prevent overproduction of the staple crops. 



The labor question. — Many are prevented from growing beets from 

 the fact that the necessary labor cannot be secured to care for them 

 and market them. This labor question is a great bug-bear. I was afraid 

 of it at first, but I found that there was no trouble from this point. 

 There are boys enough in every community to thin the beets and they 

 are proud to earn the money. A good smart boy can thin as many 

 beets in a day as a man. Then why not pay him as good waggs as you 

 would a man? If jou will do this there will be no trouble in getting 

 boys to work. 



The greatest labor is in pulling and topping, and I believe this ques- 

 tion is soon to be solved by the invention of a machine that will do 

 this work fairly successfully. 



The test. — There is a great deal of complaint about the testing of beets. 

 Many farmers claim the factories are not always fair, or accurate. The 

 trouble is that the farmers have no means of knowing whether they 

 are fair or not. If some system could be devised so that the farmer 



