Area sugar beet growers and workers at the Holly Sugar processing plant in Sidney are gaining a reputation in the sugar beet industry as one of the most consistent producers of high-content sugar in the nation.

Russ Fullmer attributed the growing reputation for the local plant to outstanding sugar beet farmers and an efficient workforce.

"Sugar beets are really one of the few stable cash crops in the Lower Yellowstone Valley. As a consequence of that we have professional sugar beet growers. They manage their operations at a little higher level than the average sugar beet farmer, and they are getting better every year." Sugar beet producers in the area have averaged 21.9 tons per acre over the years.

Holly Sugar's economic impact on Sidney, Richland County and all of eastern Montana between Miles City and Williston, N.D., is enormous.

Sugar beet growers in the

With about 400 employees, Holly Sugar in Sidney is the largest employer in Richland County.

Lower Yellowstone Valley are paid about $45 million to $55 million a year. The local company payroll, which consists of about 400 full- and part-time employees, was estimated at $5 million last year.

The local sugar plant processes more than 1,000,000 tons of sugar beets a year, with processing beginning in September and finishing in March.

Rocky Mountain Silo Co. invested $5.3 million for the construction of 10 new storage silos at the Holly Sugar Plant in Sidney. The effort was a joint venture between various sugar beet associations and Holly Sugar Corp.