The Sidney herald., 1959-12-02
Sugar Beets Have
Threefold Value

The value of the sugar beet to
the Montana farmer is threefold:
first it SUPPLIES him with a cash
crop, second, through the promo
6on of a soil fertility plan and a
program of crop rotation. it assures
the economic stability of his farm
ever a sustained period of time,
and third, sugar beet by-products
supply feed for sheep and cattle,
giving the farmer additional rev.
enue and manure for fertilizer.
It's this third value that's of
particular interest TO western live
stock men.
After the pulp has been extract
ed, the entire residue-pulp, tops
and molasses-is available for
feeding purposes. This accounts for
the important third contribution
of sugar beets: feed for large herds
of livestock. supplying a second
cash crop of meat and milk, and in
addition, manure which restores
fertility to the soil. Sugar beet by
products and the hay and grain
grown in sequence with beetS form
a perfect ration. The by-products
of an acre of sugar beets often
equal in feed value the entire crop
of a comparable ere of corr or
barley.
Beet-top silage consists of the
laves and a part of the crown of |
the beet containing useful nutri-
ents. The tops usually weigh about
sne-half to two-thirds of the total
weight of the sugar beet. Beet tops
are a protein feed comparing
~favorably, pound to pound, with
corn silage in feed value. When
used with grain and alfalfa, the
tops of a ton of beets will replace
As pounds of II plus $50 pounds
Of alfalfa.
Beet pulp, consisting of the Sic
Is of beets after the sugar has been
removed, is a carbohydrate feed.
There are various ways of hand
ling pulp. At some factories it is
put into large pits, known as wet
pulp silos which are often as large !;
as a football field. Trucks haul it /;
70 the farm. !
Wet pulp is sometimes pressed J
10 remove much of the moisture, :
making it less bulky to haul. More !
and more factories, such as Holly 7
Sugar factories. are now deny :
the pulp By running it !
through large heated drums to .
the moisture, leaving !.
wrinkled particles somewhat :
larger than a coarse breakfast .
food. Beet molasses is often COM :
bined with the pulp. Dry pulp is 1
llso prepared in pellets. The l
finished products can be shipped '
economically long distances. g
Dairy farmers, as well as those a
lattening livestock for market, re- S
rognize that a mixture of corn and o
pulp is superior to an all-corn s
The pulp adds succulence |
and roughage, and many milk-pro- :
1uction records have been made .
where beet pulp was included in :,
he feed. In his Antartic expedi- !.
ion Admiral Byrd fed his cattle q
m beet pulp, in order to get the =.
fleet of keeping them in green q.
,asture. =
The other by-product, beet mol p
asses, is often added to silage and =,
Their cattle feed, to increase pala- II
ability; to stimulate the appetite =
f the animal, and to heighten the Il
pod value Of what it eats. ~
Holly Sugar has conducted ra- -
her extensive cattle feeding oper- e.
tons at their Hardin and Sidney "a
1ontana sugar factories all -,
trough the years. Sugar beet by ~
roducts from these two factories :.
yere used in the rations with ex- nc
client results. Molasses Dried "a
DC