The Churchill county standard. (Fallon, Nev.) 1908-1920, 1918-02-20
SUGAR BEET OUTLOOK IS
DECIDEDLY DISCOURAC|NC
Only About One-FOurth of Acreage
Necessary to Insure Operation of
Factory Signed Up

A largely attended meeting to
consider the sugar beet question and
the future operation of the factory
was held at the courthouse last Sat
urday afternoon.
Mark Austin, Chief Agriculturist
of the Sugar Co., and President
Merrill A. Nibley we're the chief
speakers on the occasion and both
gentlemen made it perfectly plain
that up to the present their company
had not received sufficient encour-
agement from the beet growers to
warrant them in promising that the
factory would run during the pres
ent year. In fact, it developed that
only about thousand acres of beet
ian dhad been signed up in this and
land had been signed up in this and
was augmented by at least three
thousand acres more any idea of op-
earting was out of the question.
In his talk to the farmers Mr..
Austin called spade a spade" and
frankly stated that it was purely a
question of whether, in the opinion
of the growers, they could produce
the beets profitably at the pricesof
nine dollars per ton offered. He ad-
mitted that the experiences of the
past season, when the crop in many
instances was a rank failure, was not
such as to encourage the farmers to
engage in the business again, but he
wished to impress upon his hearers
that this was an exceptional year
and should not be used as a criter-
ion upon which to base probabilities
for the forthcoming year.
II developed that the main diff
eulties facing the company and the
farmers were the questions of labor
and of transportation. With respect
TO the former, Mr., Austin stated
that he firmly believed that the lab
or could be supplied in sufficient
quantity and at the proper time to
handle the crop, especially in view
of the fact that machinery had now
been devised that would successful
| ly handle the beets at the harvest
time more expeditiously and cheap
lily than by hand labor.
He recognized the difficulties and
the expense involved In the long
haul, but stated that the company
could not absorb the heavy hauling
charges in view of the present price
of sugar. Hence, there was no hope
that they could modify their con-
tracts In this respect,
The net results OF the meeting
we're distinctly diseouraging and un-
less there is a remarkable change
| in sentiment within the next few
days, 1t may be safely stated that
there is no probability that the fac
tory will operate this year. That
this is little short of calamity very
few will deny, but divested of all
sentiment and community pride, it
resolves itself into question of dol
lars and cents. 1t is all we'll enough
to call upon the farmers to sacrifice
their personal choice in the interest
of National necessity, but experience
has proven that under present con-
ditions it is losing game and that
there is more money in wheat and
alfalfa than in sugar beets, and in
the final analysis no one can blame
the farmer regrettable as the condi-
ton is.
Nor is this to be taken that the
soil and climatic conditions of this
section are not adapted to the cul-
ture of sugar beets-quite the con-
trary. But there are variety of
reasons why il has been a failure in
the past, reasons that are known to
everyone here and upon which it is
needless to dwell. However, not
withstanding the discouraging out
look for the season of 1918, insofar
as the sugar situation is concerned,
there is every reason to believe that
the industry has only received a
temporary setback and that under
different conditions will be later re-
vived and firmly established.
The company officials requested
that a committee of farmers take up
the question of signing up acreage
and give an answer not later than