The Greeley tribune., 1906-08-16
A FEW THERE
SMALL ATTENDANCE AT THE
BEET GROWERS MEETING
Interesting Letter on the Matter
of SLIDING Beets Received
From Wm. Ebbert of
Rocky Eord

beet growers meeting to have been
held at the Unitarian church last
Saturday Iailed TO materialize, only
few persons being present. The
constitution and bylaws that were
adopted at a previous meeting We're
sent out for distribution, but because
! of the shOrtneSS of the time out few
| had been served with a copy and
notified of the Saturday meeting.
An interesting exhibit in connection
with the siloing proposition is the
letter of Mr.. Ebbert of Rocky Ford
who sent the following to MIR. Bliss
in answer to the latter's inquiry;
Mr.. Dear Mr.. Bliss In answer to
yours of 2lst, l beg leave to say that
we have been practicing the siloing
of beets for six years. Few, how
ever, were sliced in 1900, the first
year of our factory: and few in 1903,
the year OF the blight in this valley.
The first price made by the sugar
people was lOc a ton. This price.
although known to DE too low, was
accepted on the strength Of other
considerations. 1t was voluntarily
raised by the \. B. S. Co. to 20c a
ton at the end of one or two years
Last January, our beet growers, after
weeks of discussion of various griev
ances, met and formulated a pro-
gramme, to which, in the main. both
the sugar companies in this valley
gave effect.
Our contracts on the subject of
Siloing now read as follows: Said
first party shall have the right to
designate when said second party
harvesting and gathering of the beet
crop, which must be completed be-
fore freezing weather; and such por-
tion of the crop as has not been de-
livered must be sliced in proper time
and manner. For beets so sliced,
SOC per ton extra shall be paid, it
being distinctly understood how
ever, that none Of such sliced beets
shall be delivered until the party of
the first part sends printed orders
asking for deliveryrof sliced beets.'
The growers at their meeting de-
bated for some hours the question of
asking 81 for SLIDING, but finally set
| tied on SOC for reasons of policy: not
because it was believed that SOC
would cover the average shrinkage
and the cost Of labor.
1t is the practice of the sugar COM
pany's agriculturists here to inform
the individual growers early in No
vember as to the orders they may ex-
pect to receive during the remainder
of that month. The farmers will
then pile and cover with leaves,
sufficient beets to fill these orders,
and proceed to slo the rest. The
time of beginning the delivery of
sliced beets is December |.
What does siloing cost? SLIDING
consists of piling in large piles and
covering with earth. What does this
cost? We must start with the toppers.
They will charge a dollar an acre
more for throwing beets into ton
piles than they will for throwing
them into half ton or smaller piles.
A one ton silo is the rule here, al
though the A. B. S. Co. advocate
larger silos. Given Il good stand of
good sized beets say 20 tons to the
acre-and one ton pile can be gath
cred from a comparatively small
area. The weaker the patch the
higher the relative cost of siloing
The man who covers the piles-who
makes the silos-will first straighten
up tue piles to suit his work, then,
afterwards. begin to shovel. 1t vii!
keep him busy from 80 to 80 minutes
to cover a ton pile with SIX inches of
earth, taken from the most cOnven-
lent place. He will naturally dig a
circular trench. He must both dig
and cover. He will cover from II to
20 tons day-it depends OH the
ground and the man.
Uncovering is generally done with
an irrigating shovel, and if the dirt
is put back where = it belongs, as it
ought to be when the beetS are un-
covered, the whole operation will
consume little more than half the
time of covering.
Fields dotted with silos cannot be
plowed or irrigated until the silos
are removed. The tops cannot be
fed fresh unless they are hauled oil.
Cattle, or horses, or sheep, if they
can make their way into the prem
ises, will climb onto the silos and
ruin them.