**EXHIBIT 31.1**

 

**CERTIFICATIONS**

 

I, James J. Horvath, President and ChiefExecutive Officer of American Crystal Sugar Company, certify that:

 

1.                                       I have reviewedthis annual report on Form 10-K of American Crystal Sugar Company (theregistrant);

 

2.                                       Based on myknowledge, this annual report does not contain any untrue statement of amaterial fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statementsmade, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, notmisleading with respect to the period covered by this annual report;

 

3.                                       Based on myknowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information includedin this annual report, fairly present in all material respects the financialcondition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, andfor, the periods presented in this annual report;

 

4.                                       Theregistrant’s other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishingand maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange ActRules 13a-15e and 15d-15e) for the registrant and we have:

 

a)                                      designed suchdisclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls andprocedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that materialinformation relating to the registrant, including its consolidatedsubsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularlyduring the period in which this annual report is being prepared;

 

b)                                     evaluated theeffectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures andpresented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of thedisclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by thisannual report; and

 

c)                                      disclosed inthis annual report any changes in the registrant’s internal control overfinancial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarterthat has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, theregistrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

 

5.                                       Theregistrant’s other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our mostrecent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to theregistrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board ofdirectors:

 

a)                                      all significantdeficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of the internalcontrols over financial reporting which are likely to adversely affect theregistrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financialinformation; and

 

b)                                     any fraud,whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have asignificant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

 

 
| November 26,  2003 | /s/  JAMES J. HORVATH                  |   |
|-------------------------|----------------------------------------|--------|
|                    | James  J. Horvath                      |
|                    | President  and Chief Executive Officer |

 

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