The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1906-01-19
More Money for Sugar Beets.

The sugar beet growers are consider
ably encouraged over the sharp competi-
ton that has developed in the soliciting
of acreage for the coming crop. Rep
resentatives of three factories are now
in the field writing contracts for the 1906
crop and are Offering not only more
money for the beets but granting some
concessions that the growers have here
tofore been unable to secure. Farmers
seem to think they will be able to secure
SIS per ton fiat with an increase of sugar
percentages. Mr.. Hapke, who was re-
Gently in the county, in speaking of the
prospects of the coming year, said:
II am now interested in the new Mad
ison factory. We will have a six hun
dred. ton- day capacity to start with but
can very easily increase it to thousand
tons If need be. [ have agents at pres
ent working in Rock county and think it
will be good thin FOR the farmers to
have three factorlas sell to. There is
plenty of land in the county to supply
three factories and the farmers now
know the full value Of sugar beets, so it
is not an experiment. | expect we shall
pay little more for our beets than was
paid this year and this will help the
growers" When asked If it was the pre-.
| liminary of beet war, he said: "Oh,
no. this is not war between the Madi-
son and GAINESVILLE. They have sent
agents into Dane county so we have sent
our agents down here. There are plenty
of beets for us all and there is no need
of a conflict between the factories l
| think it is only matter of time before
GAINESVILLE has another factory at the
north end of town. Our factory at Mad
ison is nearing completion and we will
| be ready for the coming seasons crop
| long before it is ready"
In the matter of returning the pulp to
| the growers the Madison factory has
| made public the following statement:
"The farmers who contract to grow
beets for the q. S. Sugar Co. of Madison
| will harvest more than they sowed. The
company has recently decided on plan
which will profit beet growers at least ST.
per ton for every ton of beets delivered.
The plan is to press three tons of ordi-
nary wet pulp down to one ton. This
| will in the first place reduce the freight
expense to one-t third, besides make the
| pulp more convenient to handle by the
| farmer. Parties who have fed the ordi-
| nary wet pulp are emphatic in their
statement that it is profitable feed at a
freight OF 81 per ton. The farmer can
then easily figure what the pressed pulp
is worth when the water is pressed out
OF it so as to reduce its weight to one
third. The company will give one ton of
| pressed pulp for every two tons of beets
| delivered. This can only mean that the
pulp with the tops and leaves will more
than pay for all the labor expended in
growing the beet crop, so that all the
money the farmer gets from the factory
will be clear gain. At the Menomonee
Falls factory, we are credibly informed,
the farmers have bought more than
10000 tons of wet pulp at 81 per ton and
haul it many miles to their homes. No
farmer can estimate the value of pulp as
feed until he has tried it. Factories
which dry and sell the pulp or which are
so far away that the freight expenses re-
duces it's value to the farmer may try to
minimize it's feed value, but every farm
er who has tried it, and every reliable
authority in the state speak in highest
terms of it's value. Farmers who get in
the habit of feeding pulp will find dairy
ing and beet growing an indispensable
pair and the surest and most profitable
of all crops.