THE BEET-SUGAR INDUSTRY IN THE UNITED STATES 51 



include the acreage to be planted, the price to be paid for the beets, 

 the methods of handling the crop, the time of harvest, and the regu- 

 lation of delivery. Contracts are necessary because a definite acreage 

 of sugar beets is required in order to make a successful mill run. 

 Each mill should have enough raw material for at least a 100-day 

 run, although the average operating period for 1917 was only 74 

 days, as shown by Table IV. It would be a source of loss to the sugar 

 company to undertake to operate a mill with beets enough for only 

 50 days, or at half capacity. Knowing the average yield of beets per 

 acre in a given locality, it is comparatively simple to determine ap- 

 proximately the number of acres that will be required to produce a 

 satisfactory run under normal conditions. Furthermore, it is im- 

 portant that the sugar company shall have a written agreement or 

 contract setting forth the time of delivery of the beets. Beet roots 

 must be delivered in sufficient quantity to supply the mill from day 

 to day. It is very expensive to close a mill and let it remain idle even 

 for a few hours during the sugar-making period ; hence, there must 

 be some understanding with regard to the delivery of the beets. On 

 the other hand, the beets must not be delivered too rapidly, since 

 they might deteriorate in quality if stored too long, especially in 

 certain localities or under certain climatie conditions where the 

 spoiling of the beets before they could be put through the mill might 

 be a matter of considerable magnitude. 



The growers require a contract because they must be insured a 

 market for the beets at a fixed price. This is one of the few crops 

 grown on a commercial scale in which the market price is known even 

 before the seed is planted and for which there is no market of any 

 importance except for sugar-making purposes. 



There are three general forms of contract so far as the price to be 

 paid for beet roots is concerned, namely, the flat rate, the sliding 

 scale, and the profit-sharing plan. This feature of the contract 

 relating to the price of beets differs with different companies and in 

 different localities. 



Flat rate. — The flat-rate contract fixes a definite price which the 

 farmers are to receive for the beets regardless of the quality of the 

 roots. It is usually stipulated in the contract that the roots must 

 possess a specified sugar content and purity in order to be accepted, 

 but in all of the beet-growing areas there is no record that any 

 sound beets have been rejected because of poor quality. The advan- 

 tage in this clause in the contract lies in the fact that the fields that 

 are not testing as high in sugar and purity as is required by the 

 contract can be held until a later date before harvesting. Usually 

 the sugar content of the roots increases rapidly in the fall, so that 

 a delay of a few days at or near harvesting time frequently means 

 a decided increase in the sugar content and an improvement in the 

 purity of the roots. The flat rate is the price per ton for the clean 



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