The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1925-03-23
DEVINE URGES
SUGAR BETS
ACREAGE HERE
Declares Production Should
Attract Attention of
Farmers and Mechants

migration, delivered an address on
the sugar beet industry at the Lions
club luncheon today at the Grand
iacIlc hotel.
Beet sugar production should at
tract the attention Of the busine IS
men and farmers of this section"
Mr.. Devine said. 1T would bring new
and much needed industry, and be Il
source of dependable production and
new wealth
THE consumption is increasing
more rapidly than is the increase in
production. In 1910 we consumed
per capita so pounds; 1918. eighty
seven pounds; 1920 ninety one
pounds; 1925 one hundred and five
pounds. We are producing less than
We consume. 3 In 1923 we consumed
5,78l 900 tons, while we produced
but l,l43,00 tons. we, therefore inn
ported 4,638 900 tons.
Sugar beets can be grown success
fully on all our lower-level land
without irrigation or fertilization.
The lands tributary to Bismarck and
Mandan, and lying directly along the
Northern Pacific Railroad, are espe
cialy adapted, both as to tonnage
per acre production and high sugar
content.
"The average yield last year, per
acre sown, was tons, and the aver
age price per ton was 50. One field
at East Grand Forks last year pro-
duced IA tons per acre. | think it
would be safe to say that an aver
age crop sown in this section and on
land suitable would average any
where between $45 and $50 per acre.
"One of the special benefits in SUI
gar production is that it rests the
soil, cleans up all noxous weeds and
when followed by a crop of wheat,
rye or oats greatly increases the
bushel production of these crops, by
reason of the fact that it conserves
moisture and increases soil fertility.
THE method pursued by sugar re-
fineries in inducing localities to SUI
gar beet production is about as fol-
lows:
Farmers would be asked to sign
up to plant certain number OF
acres on the basis of Il ten to twenty
acre planting, or more if the farmer
or owner of the land desired. The
sugar refinery organization agrees
to furnish the labor for the cultiva-
ton and harvesting of the crop
Mexicans are generally employed to
do this work. The task of blocking
out. thinning the plants, wedding and
hoeing the crop is both tedious and
tiresome. one man, as rule, being
able to take care of about acres.
The farmer would furnish the
seed, plant the crop and haul it to
market. The cultvating, pulling and
topping the beets would be done by
the laborers furnished by the sugar
refiners. If enough signed up to
make ten thousand acres the refin-
ers would build sugar plant at the
point most easily accessible to the
sugar beet acreage.
1T looks to me like first class
business proposition from every
standpoint, and once under Roadway
would be very important addition
to the city, county and section.
"They are now building 900
ton capacity sugar beet factory at
East Grand Forks. which will be
completed in time to take care of
this years crop
Mr., Devine illustrated his talk
with photographs, showing beet
fields, from the stage of planting
to the final stage of sacked sugar,
also pictures Of grain fields sown
on the exhausted land, by years of
grain production, and the same
fields seeded to grain following n
year of beet production, in each case
the fields showing clean and a
much heaYier stand Of prain