News & Events - Archived News

Sugarbeets in the North Platte Valley

The 1900 United States Agricultural Census shows no sugarbeets grown in Goshen County, Wyoming or any of Wyoming and only one acre grown in Scotts Bluff County, Neb., producing a yield of two tons. In that census, eastern Nebraska growers produced a total of 8,662 acres yielding 62,470 tons. It is interesting to note that Dodge County, Neb., growers produced beets on 4,251 acres with a yield of 31,168 tons. The production in Dodge County was for the Standard Beet Sugar Company at Ames, Neb., owned by the "101" Standard Livestock Association of Moorcroft, Wyo. Built in 1899, the sugar factory supplied cattle feed for the cattle from the Wyoming ranges that were brought to Ames to be fattened with the by-products of sugarbeets, i.e. beet tops and beet pulp along with other grains. After the Ames factory closed down, it was moved and erected at Scottsbluff.

Sugar refineries built and operated in the North Platte Valley by Great Western Sugar are Scottsbluff from 1910-present, Gering from 1916-1984, Bayard from 1917-present, Mitchell from 1920-1996, Minatare from 1926-1948 and Lyman from 1927-1949. In Wyoming, Holly Sugar operated plants in Sheridan from 1915-1947, Worland from 1917-present and in Torrington from 1926-present. Great Western Sugar also operated a plant in Lovell, Wyo., from 1916-present and a plant in Wheatland, Wyo., from 1930-1940. Eastern Nebraska plants were operated in Grand Island from 1890-1964 by the Oxnard Beet Sugar Co., Norfolk from 1891-1905 by the Norfolk Beet Sugar Co. and Ames (Leavitt) from 1899-1906 by the Standard Beet Sugar Co. With the construction of the Torrington, Wyo., and Lyman, Neb. plants, Holly Sugar and Great Western Sugar entered into an unwritten agreement to not contract for beets across the state line into each other's "territory". Around 1983 this agreement was disregarded by both companies and they now both contract beets in both states.

The 1935 United States Agricultural Census shows Nebraska sugarbeet acres of 58,697 yielding 545,159 tons. The yield by counties is: Scotts Bluff County 37,903 acres yielding 379,127 tons; Morrill 9,568 acres yielding 88,513 tons; Dawes 408 acres, 2,758 tons; Deuel 654 acres, 5,940 tons; Garden 1,272 acres, 10,030 tons; Kimball 1,053 acres, 9,598 tons; Sioux 1,917 acres, 18,735 tons. The Nebraska sugarbeet farmers in the North Platte Valley produced 87.7 percent of the beets acres and 94.4 percent of the tons. Grand Island was the only plant operating in eastern Nebraska. The eastern Nebraska growing areas had trouble with disease and rains in the fall that caused harvesting and sugar content problems.

In Wyoming, Goshen County had 15,605 acres, 142,530 tons; Washakie 6,996 acres, 96,492 tons; Big Horn 5,788 acres, 74,796 tons; Platte 4,888 acres, 28,967 tons; Park 2,713 acres, 32,385 tons; Sheridan 2,228 acres, 24,420 tons; Fremont 1,798 acres, 22,177 tons; Converse 1,327 acres, 7,306 tons. The yield per acre in many of the Wyoming counties was better than Nebraska yields.

The Agricultural Census of 1997 illustrates some changes that took place in the next 60 years. For Wyoming the state total is 63,732 acres, 1,285,165 tons and the county totals are: Park 18,100 acres, 378,659 tons; Big Horn 15,740 acres, 331,383 tons; Washakie 9,932 acres, 211,752 tons; Goshen 9,034 acres, 147,706 tons; Platte 5,151 acres, 98,443 tons; and Fremont 3,836 acres, 85,837 tons. For Nebraska the state total is 60,429 acres, 1,032,584 tons and the county totals are: Box Butte 23,621 acres, 408,662 tons; Scotts Bluff 16,745 acres, 272,942 tons; Morrill 6,719 acres, 105,788 tons; Banner 3,065 acres, 50,320 tons; Cheyenne 3,031 acres, 55,815 tons; Kimball 1,749 acres, 37,526 tons; Sioux 1,319 acres, 23,631 tons; Keith 1,219 acres, 22,933 tons; and Perkins 1,063 acres, 18,400 tons.

Throughout the North Platte Valley the use of rail lines helped broaden the distance from the growers to the factories. When beets were first grown in Scotts Bluff County, they were railed to Ames, Neb. and then later to Sterling, Colo. for processing. After the factories were built in Scotts Bluff County, many short rail lines were added to deliver the beets.

Prior to Holly's Torrington plant being built, Goshen County beets were railed to Mitchell, Neb. Now because of better transportation methods the factories are contracting with beets further and further from the plant. The factories are also trying to broaden their grower base because of factors such as disease and nematodes. Continuous cropping of beets increases the problems. Potential economic benefit of sugarbeets is also a factor in grower interest in counties far from the factories. Presently, Wyoming is the only state that includes sugarbeets in its top four income producing crops with beets ranking third behind cattle and hay. Sugarbeet production was very labor intensive. Various ethnic workers including Japanese, German-Russian and Mexican came to the North Platte Valley to work "stoop" labor in the beet fields. Many of these workers stayed and became farmers or pursued other occupations in the valley. Present day growers use limited hand labor to weed and thin the crop. In the early 1900's, the factories needed approximately 400 seasonal workers for the processing campaign that lasted from early October to late January. At the present time fewer people are employed during the campaign, but are kept on a year round basis.

In 1974 Great Western Sugar was purchased by the Hunt Brothers of Texas after a failed attempt by a grower cooperative to buy it. In 1985 when the Hunt Brothers tried to corner the silver market, Hunt International declared bankruptcy. This sent a shock-wave through the North Platte Valley's sugar industry. Tate and Lyle, a 150 year old British sugar company, purchased most of the assets of the company in 1985 adding more stability to the regional sugarbeet industry. During these times, Holly has had tough financial conditions but has managed to pull through them. Both the Holly and Great Western Sugar companies were important nationally both in size and political clout which was important when dealing with government programs. Great Western was tied to the American Sugar Refining Company "Sugar Trust" in the beginning and this helped keep out competition. Holly Sugar was bought by Imperial Sugar which is now headquartered in Sugarland, Texas.

The sugar industry has been very important in both Wyoming and Nebraska in spite of its fluctuations in popularity. When the growers receive their advance contract payments, the local economies flourish, and when sugar prices are lower, the local economies also suffer. Sugarbeets have always been the major cash crop for the North Platte Valley and probably always will be.