Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1912-12-26
g|GAR BETS MEAN GREATER
FARM WEALTH FOR IOWA

Experts Ci1e Example OF
Michigan as Illustrating
Opportunity For Iowa---Beet
Culture Is a Big Aid to Other
Crops.
than $15.OOO,OOO worth of sugar yearly.
1t is grown OH Michigan farms by
Michigan farmers 1t is manufactured
in plants scattered through the farm
ing districts of the state. owned for
the most part by citizens, and partly by
the farmers themselves. Michigan not
only produces enough sugar to supply
her own people, but has a handsome
surplus to sell in other states.
| OF the $15,OOO,O00 year that is thus
saved to the people Of the state the
farmers get more than half, plump
| S, OOO, 900 year of real money. Thus
the rapid growth Of the sugar produc-
ing industry, which is recognized as
|
of the state in recent times. has shift
ed the balance of trade $3O,OO0,0OO in
Michigan's favor Its full effect has
been much greater than this, for it has
| led to the building up of important
subsidiary industries and to a great in
crease in the agricultural and manu-
| featuring wealth of the state. Thirty
| thousand Michigan farmers are now
raising beets on their land. sixteen sug-
ar factories are in operation and plans
for four more plants have been pre-
pared.
While the whole state. Of course, is
better off for the development Of the
new industry. the farmers apparently
have benefited more than any other
class. Figures collected from all parts
| of the state show that the average in
come from an acre of sugar beets runs
from $50 to $65, while the cost Of max
| ing the crop. if all the work is done by
hired labor, is about $35 an acre, leav-
| ing a net profit to the farmer Of $25 to
$50 an acre, which is far better return
than he can obtain from any Of the
staple cereal crops such as corn. wheat
or oats. In many instances much high
err returns are secured. Reports from
forty FIVE representative farmers rails
ing beets for one factory showed that
they realized an average Of sos an
acre from their crop last year.
| Many of the farms in the regions
kha va
duced were heavily mortgaged ten
years ago. The mortgages have been
paid off so rapidly that today almost
the only farms that are not debt free
are those that have been bought with
in the last few years by newcomers
who want to share in the prosperity
Of Michigan's tillers Of the soil. Bank
deposits have gone up. The sellers OF
agricultural implements. dry goods
men and dealers in all other lines tell
Of improved sales and report that COL
lections of bills are made with much
greater promptness wherever the sug-
ar industry has been introduced.
That similar results may be expect
ed in Iowa is borne out by the testi-
mony Of farmers who, having already
tried the sugar beet, have found it not
only highly protita BILE crop in itself
but a most important agency in in
creasing the yield Of other crops grown
in rotation with 1t. Indeed If the pol
icy of encouraging the growing within
the United States Of sugar to feed the
American people continues to receive
the encouragement Of the federal gov
eminent in the future as it has for
the past fifteen years there seems to
be little doubt that Iowa will rank
high among the leaders Of the indus
try and will add millions of dollars
year to the returns from her beet
fields and factories. This state has
much at stake in the development of
sugar production. That this is impor
tant to the consumers as we'll as to the
producers of sugar was shown plainly
enough year ago, when sugar. which
had gone skyrocketing up to 10 cents
a pound and was being sold at whole
sale by the trust and other refners at
from $G.75 to $3.50 per 100 pounds.
came tumbling down to its normal
level as soon as the beet sugar crop
reached the market
Mr.. Moore, the secretary of the Iowa
Sugar company, has great faith in the
future Of the sugar beet in Iowa. I'VE
have the soil. we have the climate, and
we are producing the beets. The crop
is making money for the farmers. and
If it Is properly developed within the
next ten years will do more than any
other thing to cause an increase in
population in the state. The present
factory produces only about per cent
of the sugar used in Iowa. If we had I
sixteen factories like it we could pro-
duce the sugar required by the people
Of Iowa. and the farmers would be de-
voting $4,000 acres of Iowa land to
beets. If the beet industry grows to
these proportions it would mean the
employment of 5000 men in factories
and of about 10000 people in the beet
fields. The railroads would get about
$1.OOO.OOO for freight each year, the
farmers would receive about S5.0O0.00
for beets, and the factories would get