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 
