The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-08-03
SUGHR BETS in MINNESOTA

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rowing and pulverizlng, 81: planting,
A cents; cultivating, $131; hoeing
and wedding, STATS; harvesting, 1852;
rent of land, $3.50; seed, $14O; total
cost per acre, $32.77; yield in tons per
acre, 10; cost per ton, $21S; average
price per ton, $4.S5; receipts per acre,
5000; average profit per acre, SEAS.
Possibilities Are Great.
United States last year imported
nearly two million tons of sugar, and
viii import more this year. 1t is pos
slole Tor this country to raise enough
sugar beets to supply not only all it's
own needs, but to export a large bal
ance to foreign countries, changing the
conditions of export and import of
sugar
The Minnesota sugar beet industry
IL 1ulIy developed would require about
ten factories, the annual requirements
OF which would be about as follows
PPeelS' IONS :................ 100000
Fay farmers for beets 5000, 900
Coal required, tons .......... $4,000
Paid to coal dealers ..... $250,0O0
require of lime rock, tons :. $4,000
ray 10 lime QuarrieS ........ $4,000
Require of coke, tons ...... 10000
Fay to coke dealers ........ $4,000
For labor in factories $3.50. 100000
SllOTlS nave Do6n maze TO
secure legislative bounty for the in
dustry in Minnesota, but without sue
cess
There is one factory in the state at
st. Louis park with a daily capacity
of 400 tons.
What the Industry Does.
me establishment of a beet-sugar
factory opens up not only a large field
for the employment of labor, but also
a Held for the employment of capital.
II becomes at once a market for con-
siderable crude material to be used
IN conducting the business. First and
most important, it furnishes market
for the beets. Then the factory is a
large consumer of coal, and as the fac
tories are often established in COM
munlues having coal fields, they be-
come at once local markets for a To-
cal product. The amount of coal nee
essary to work up a certain amount
OF beets is generally computed at about
IL per cent by weight or in case of an
ordinary factory of $50 tons CAPACITY
ABOUT 90 tons of coal per day, or 5000
tons for full campaign of one hun
dred days. factory also consumes
a large amount of lime rock, which of
necessity must also be a local product.
1t usually consumes lime rock to the
extent of about 10 per cent of the crude
weight Of beets worked, which in the
case of a 350-ton factory would be 35
tons of lime rock per day, or $500 tons
for the campaign. 1t consumes about
one-fifth as-much coke as lime. or a
little less than 700 tons during a cam
paign.
The establishment of a factory in a
community necessitates considerable
transportation of crude products
beetS, coal, and lime rock-to the fac
tory, and in carrying the finished pro-
duct to the market 1t stimulates
banking and almost all kinds of mer-
little less than 700 tons during cam
munity.
Beets as a Stock Food.
There are indirect benefits in sugar.
beet growing that the farmer must take
into consideration, along with the di-
rect, as follows: He learns that sugar
beets are very valuable crop to grow
for his stock. 1t is estimated that they
are worth two-thirds as much for feed
ing as for the production of sugar.
They may enter into a food ration for
any kind of stock. The farmer grow
ing beets for a sugar factory retains
for feeding the beets that have been
'docked," or that are liable to be.
He constructs root cellars and stores
them away, and they enter largely into
all animal food rations for winter feed
ing. For stock feeding, sugar beets
have both a nutritive and a sanitary
value.
Improvement of Land.
The big cultivation that must be
given the land through deep blowing,
thorough narrowing, and constant
wedding and cultivating finally makes
the land of superior quality for any
purpose. 1t will grow better corn and
wheat, and at less expense, on ac-
Of h. OH
grass. Finally, through rotation, 9TH
er fields are brought under this high
state of cultivation, until the whole
farm is at it's best condition of soil fer
tility and productiveness.
The method that has brought this
about serves as an object lesson to
the farmer and the farming meighbor-
hood. A better cultivation will pre-
vail, and the science of farming will
become several degrees higher on ac-
count of experience in Sugar-beet Gull
tivation.
Feeding Pulp.
After the beets are delivered to the
factory and the sugar has been ex-
tracted it is found that the pulp
| (Which will amount to so per cent in
| weight of the beets worked) is almost
as valuable for feeding purposes as the
| original beetS themselves. 1t is a very
cheap feed, and sells for 35 to SO cents
| per ton. 1t enters naturally and profit
| ably into the food rations of all kinds
| of stock. 1t is especially valuable for
! steers, lambs, brood Mares and brood
sows, but reaches its highest use as
animal food when fed to the dairy
COW. The farmers in the neighbor-
| hood of a beet-sugar factory feed large
quantities of it. They appreciate its
nutritive and sanitary value. Pulp
| feeding gives an impetus to animal
| industry of all kinds. 1t offers a slim
! illus to the establishment of butter
| and cheese factories, to the erection
of feeding pens and to the whole stock
| feeding industry. It's use is one of the
| strong reasons for establishing the
| industry.
| The beet-sugar industry opens up at
| once a large demand for labor, not only
| in the factory itself but on the farm.
| 1t is one of the things in which the
| farmer can invest with the assurance
| that he has sure market and fixed
! price for his crop to begin with.