The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, September 6, 1920, Page 7

Beet Growers Plan to - Compete With Sugar Trust About Sugar Factories Is Co-Operatlon or Public ' Ownership the Better Plan? OME three years ago the Leader called attention to the enormous: profits then turers. At that time we showed that with the sugar company paying $6.50 per ton for beets and selling sugar at 9 cents per pound, the sugar company paid $2,210 for the beets produced from the average 40-acre tract and got from these beets products (sugar, . syrup and pulp) worth $6,782.40, giving $4,572.40 for operating costs and profits. Since these articles were published in the Leader, analyzing the profits of the sugar trust, these profits have become much greater. Since 1917 iie price paid for sugar beets and the cost of labor, the two big costs of the manufacturers, have approximately doubled,; while the price of sugar has trebled. «In League states in which sugar beet growing is a considerable industry the state platforms of the League call for state-owned sugar factories when the farmers come into power. In the meantime, de- spairing of getting fair treatment from the sugar trust, many farmers are discussing the possibility of co-operative sugar factories. The United States department of agriculture has .made the following report, in response to inquiries from a number of prominent beet growers: - .. “There are several fundamental features to be taken into consideration in the establishment and operation of sugar mills. In the first place, no sim- ple or inexpensive method of making sugar from beets on a home or small scale has been devised. Therefore a fully equipped sugar mill is necessary in producing sugar from beets. “The smallest beet sugar mill to be successful should slice not less than 500 tons cf beets a day for a period of 100 days each year. Since the average yield of beets in the United States is 10 .tons per acre, not less than 5,000 acres of beets- must be grown annually for each mill of this size. A smaller acreage would probably cause the mill to operate at a loss under normal conditions. There is almost al- ways a larger or smaller loss of beet acreage during the season in every community where beets are grown, hence in order to brmg 5,000 acres of beets - to maturity it would be wise to plant about 5,500 acres. SHORT HAUL TO FACTORY IS IMPORTANT CONSIDERATION “In order to insure the production of from 5,000 to 6,000 acres of beets annually in a given beet area there should be available in that area at least from 15,000 to 20,000 acres of good beet land, so that proper rotation can.be practiced. This acreage should be so located that from 25 per cent to-50 per cent of the beets grown can be delivered at the sugar mill by wagons, and the remainder of the beets should have a freight haul of less than 100 miles, in order to avoid heavy freight charges. “The construction and equipment of a mill of 500 tons slicing capacity would cost under present con- ditions approximately $750,000. This is about 50 per cent above pre-war costs owing to the increased * price of materials and the higher scale of wages. In - addition to the initial cost of the mill approximately $500,000 of working capital would be required in cash for overhead charges and operating expenses unt:l returns can be expected from the sale of su “Probably the most mportant of the other items to be taken into account in the operation of a beet sugar mill is that of & supply of sugar beet seed. A 500-ton mill would require about 100,000 pounds of ‘seed annually to insure the production of suffi- cient beets for a 100-day ‘run. = Sugar beet seed of -good quality has been:produced in the United States each year for several years, and those who are con- = -sidering the erection of beet sugar mills should look * _into the possibilities of producing thelr own seed. . - “This minimum-sized mill would require in addition -to its permanent employes about 300 workmen' for the operating period and a good supply of ‘pure water; high-grade lime rock, and plenty of coal for fuel, besides numerous other supplies.” This means that co-operators who 'can raise’ $1,250,000 to start operations, get a good location and make suitakle arrangements with raxlroa.dsr‘or . being made by beet sugar manufac-. - shipping of the low carload " with margins consequently ; respondmgly greater sav- other carriers have a good opportunity ahead of them. The initial investment, however, is so large that in most cases it is probable that the sugar beet growers will continue to place their dependence upon political action, through the Nonpartisan .league, in behalf of state-owned factories. Finds Discrimination The United States department of agriculture re- ports that following an investigation of practices of the Chicago Livestock exchange it finds members of this organization have been guilty of making excessive charges against: co-operative shipments of livestock. ~ The purpose of these excessive - charges, the department finds, has been to discour- age co-operative marketing of livestock by farm organizations. By agreement all commission men belongmg to the Chicago exchange have been charging $7 addi- tional commission for handling a ¢ar of cattle or calves belonging to more than one owner, $6 in the case of sheep and $5 in the case of hogs. Under the federal food control act, which is still in effect, the department of agriculture has author- ity to cancel licenses of commission men or others guilty of profiteering or discriminatory practices. No punishment was inflicted upon the. commission men but they were directed to lower their excess .. charges to $2 per car when there were from 2 to 10 owners, to:$3 per car for from 11 to 20 owners and to $3.50 per car for more than 20 owners. CO-OPERATIVE POTATO MARKETING Under the leadership of W. R. Porter, agent in marketing of the North Dakota Agricultural col- lege, North Dakota potato growers are organizing local potato associations and a state exchange for the co-operative marketing of their potatoes. - Fifteen associations are now in process of organ- ization and from 40 to 50 are expected to be formed. Individual farmers who join the local association agree to allow the association to handle all their potatoes and the local asso- ciations make the same agreement with the state exchange at Fargo. By this method the growers not only will get the advantage in rates, but will be able to sell on the best possible market and in many cases will ‘deal directly with con- sumers. The North Dakota plan is modeled after the Michigan plan. . Last year Michigan growers = gained $280 per carload by their co-operative marketing of potatoes. As North Dakota potatoes are shipped - longer distances, greater, Mr. Porter believes there is opportunity for cor- l d ; . ~—Drawn expressly for the Leader by W. C. Morris. ~N owhere is the field for co-operators more promising than in North Dakota. Uncle Sam _has no need to guard that state against unfair competition and 2 illegal monopoly; ; the farmers already have tnken steps to protect themselves. PAGE SEVEN * AS CO-OPERATIVE PLANS Why Not Co-Operate in Man- . ufacture and Sale of Lumber? Opportunity in Lumber Co-Operative Effort Has Big Field Here, “Says Government Eg(pert N THE northern parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan are millions of acres of woodlands, belonging to owners of small farms. Similar con- ditions prevail in Montana, northern Idaho and Washington: Perhaps half of this land when cleared, can be farmed; the other half is suxtable only for growing another crop of timber. On the other hand, throughout the prairie states of the Mississippi valley are thousands of farmers who need new farm buildings and who are delaying making these improvements because lumber is high and hard to get at any price. Other thousands need fenceposts, fruit boxes and barrels, butter contain- ers and the like. Why shouldn’t these two groups of farmers— those who have timber and those who need lumber— get together in co-operative associations and sup- ply each other’s needs without depending upon mid- dlemen ? : This question is suggested by a reading of a re- cent bulletin of the United States forestry service, . “Co-Operative Marketing of Woodland Products,” ‘operatively by employes. few districts, farmers work together in disposing by A. F. Hawes, extension specialist in forestry. This bulletin is issued free of charge by the United States department of agriculture, bureau of pub- lications, and will be sent to any one asking for Farmers’ Bulletin 1100, . A start already has been made along co-opera- {ive lines in the lumber trade on the Pacific coast, where a number of shingle mills are operated co- In Minnesota, also, in a of wood cut from their lands for fuel. But nothing has yet been done to bring producing farmers and consuming farmers together in the general lumber business. ) Mr. Hawes’ suggestions of what might be done along this line will prove of interest to any farmer who has timber on his farm and is situated in a generally wooded district. In brief his plan is this: Owners of woodland totaling : 25,000,000 feet, board measure, should be interested. Organization should proceed on the strict co-operative principle of “one member—one vote.” Members ‘should sign agreements to market all their timber through the . association, except what they’ re- serve for their own use or what the association rejects. man should be employed to manage the association, with competent account— ants. After a thorough survey * of the timber available, de- cision should be reached a% to whether 'a permanent sawmill should be estab- lished or whether a port- able mill w111 handle. the work, - Members should bind themselves to cut timber in accordance with fores- try principles so as Lo re- tain as nearly as possible a permanent supply. Mr. Hawes confines him- self to the 'discussion of the methods of organiza- tion from the standpoint of the farmer or small landowner in the forest country. '« But once these farmers and landowners have formed their co-oper- ative associations it would be an easy matter to get in’ touch with farmers’ co- operative companies. in prairie states which pro- Y large supplies, o An experienced lumber- ° duce no lumber but need . T L