The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1917-12-14
AUSTRALIANDEET
INDUSTRY GROWING.
Rapid Progress Is Now Being
Made Following Years of Dis
oouragement In Past
By AMBROSE PRATT
(In Facts About Sugar.

L ~
The first attempt to establish the
beet sugar industry in Australia dates
back TO 1890, when the Government of
Victoria was induced at the instance
Of press campaign, to endeavor TO
make that state independent of import.
ed supplies of cane sugar. Victorian
| farmers, however, proved very 10th to
undertake cultivation of beets, and it
was not until 1897 that the movement
made any headway. In that year a
number of farmers in the Maffra dis
trict formed cooperative company
and, having been subsidized by the
government to the extent Of two
| pounds sterling for every one pound
subscribed by shareholders, erected
| factory for making sugar from beets at
a cost Of seyenty thousand pounds.
First Attempt Failure
| The company carried on operations
for two years, but owing TO variety of
adverse conditions it was closed down
! and the government entered into pos
session of the factory and plant as
+, mortgages. From 1900 to 1909 the fac
| tory remained closed, the government
of Victoria combining its efforts in the
meanwhile to purely experimental agri-
cultural work At the end of the period
named the farmers of the Maffra dis
| trict were sufficiently educated as to
the advantages of beet growing 70 jus
tify the reopening Of the factory. The
government thereupon caused the whole
plant to be overhauled and modernized
and procured the services as factory
manager Of most capable American
beet sugar man, @. s. Dyer, whose fam.
| ily has been honorably connected with
the industry in America ever since its
4 inception. ..1.. o.. H.t..t
The first campaign was started under
| Mr.. Dyer's management in April, 1911,
and II successfully demonstrated that
beets can be grown commercially and
profitably by Victorian farmers and
that a standard marketable sugar of
4 high quality could be manufactured at
profit at the government rate. Most
of the growers realized handsome pro-
fits, after paying all expenses. The
sugar produced commanded a higher
price than any cane sugar placed on the
| Victorian market The area under crop
| in 1911 was only 45S acres. 49,. ..
Awakening Takes Place g.. g.. j.. .
! IN tho following year 1852 acres were
| planted end since that year the area
! planted hos increased annually by
| about 100 acres. The hardness with
which the industry has developed is at
tributed to the extremely conservative
| tcmpcramcrt of the Victorian farmer,
which fcrbids him engaging in any en-
| terprise with which he is not perfectly
| familiar and makes him stubbornly re-
| luctGnt to receive instructions. Dur
, ing the last couple of years, however,
there has been a noticeable awakening,
and not merely in the Maffra district
but in all parts of Victoria the farmers
are showing themselves anxious to un-
dertake the cultivation of beets. Their
increased interest is due to the success
of the two last Maffra crops.
In 1915 there were produced in Maj
fra IA, 400 tons from 1900 acres sown,
and most of the farmers made very
! handsome profits. In 1916, more than
| 1880 tons of beets were put through
the factory from the same acreage,
from which about 1889 tons of refined
sugar were manufactured. The sugar
J content of the beets exceeded 1876 per
cent The gross factory profit on the
years working was $4,000; and there
was a net profit Of $4,000, after paying
interest on all capital charges and
working and manufacturing costs. The
price paid for the beets to farmers was
500, 1886. Manufacturing charges alb
sorbed $4,000 and factory repairs and
discounts accounted for $4,000.
Favorable Prospects
| Prospects for the coming season are
highly favorable, but unfortunately the
area planted will not exceed that of last
year, owing to governmental lack of
foresight in procuring seed. Had suf'
fcient seed been available, the plant
ing for the next season probably would
have exceeded 5000 acres, The Vic
torian Government obtains its seed sup.
plies chiefly from Europe and acts as
sole supplier to the producers. With
/ lamentable shortsightedness it failed
last year to order reasonably increased
quantities in advance. The consequence
was it was obliged to disappoint the
expectations of numerous new and old
customers, and by the time ii was
able to announce that seed was on the
way and already outside of the sub
marine danger zone, scores of farmers
had already devoted their land to other
purposes. ...a -ss. go
sucn u setback is unlikely to occur
again. The sugar beet industry has
taken an incOnceivable time to 'catch
on" in Australia, but il may be conf
IDENTIFY said that its future is now Sc
cure. 1t is rapidly growing in pOpu-
larity and it is no longer novelty.
Moreover the primary producers of VIC.
toria have at length become convinced
that they can secure better all round
returns from beet growing than from
any other crop, despite the extra cost
and care demanded by the cultivation
of the beets. ~