| Torringtons Holly Sugar Plant received official word from
corporate headquarters on Wednesday morning that the local
facility will remain open for the 2001 growing season.
Its an official green light, Agricultural Manager
Rick Griffith said. We are ready to roll. We got the word
this morning.
The local sugar processing plant had faced the possibility
of closing down this year because of a lack of committed
acreage; however, the facility exceeded their 20,000 acre
minimum on Wednesday and got the corporate OK a short time
later.
Weve gone over 20,000 acres, Griffith said. Were
still contracting, and we still have commitments for more.
Its a great day for the Torrington factory, for its
employees, for the beet growers, said Kelvin Thompsen,
Hollys director of agriculture in Torrington. Its all
made possible because of the joint effort made by the people
throughout the community It just shows what can happen if
everyone gets together to work for a common goal.
The official word came just hours after the city of
Torrington and local businesses rallied together to provide
support for Holly Sugar.
The Goshen County Economic Development Corp. has received
$90,000 in funds from Pinnacle Bank, Platte Valley Bank, First
National Bank, Food Pride and Wyrulec to create a revolving
loan fund for growers to increase their acreage.
In addition, the city of Torrington agreed at its Tuesday
meeting to add $10,000 to the fund, and the County
Commissioners will be looking to contribute money to the fund
during its meeting today as well.
Griffith said this is a great gesture by everyone involved,
and the support shows how dedicated the community is to
keeping Holly operational.
While Holly has received its corporate approval to remain
open, Griffith said the no-interest loans would still help
growers secure additional acreage. The more acreage that is
committed, the stronger the plants viability will be in the
future.
I think everybody knows this has been a tough year for
sugar growers, Mayor Mike Varney said. The City of
Torrington feels very strongly to do something to preserve
that factory. Everybody knows the sugar industry east of us
has been going through the same problems.
Varney said he feels the Holly plant is an important part
of the economy in this area, and anything the city can do to
help its stability will be a benefit to all.
Its provided a lot of jobs and brought a lot of
families to Goshen County, Varney said. I feel very
strongly that the city of Torrington, along with other
businesses, needs to take the lead to do everything we can to
show we appreciate the fact that they raise beets for Goshen
County.
Griffith said its been a long, hard-fought winter, and
hes thankful for all those who have rallied to support
Holly during this time.
The beet growers association pulled hard for us. Scott
Sutherland and economic development, as well as the county,
the city and various businesses have been very supportive,
he said.
Griffith said with the corporate approval, Holly will
process beets just like they did last year. We have been
given the OK to operate, and were looking forward to a good
season, he said.
Thompsen said Holly will be holding its annual seed day on
Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the plants seed house.
Growers need to pick up their seed during this time.
In addition, Thomp-sen said the first additional beet
payment for the 2000 crop will come out on Friday while the
final payment will come out on Oct. 31.
The average payment for Fridays payment will amount to
$3 per ton of sugar beets, Thompsen said.
An initial, rough estimate for the final payment indicates
that growers will receive between $3 and $4 per ton.
If those numbers hold true, the total payment for the 2000
sugar beet crop will end up somewhere between $32 and $33. |