SUGAR BEETS FOR
WESTERN OREGON
Advantages and Obstacles
Considered by Expert
Agronomist
MADE - IN - OREGON
SUGAR
S u g a r B eets Good Money Crop, F it
in Rotation, Im prove soil Conditions
and Keep Money a t Home.
Some of the principal advantages,
difficulties and conditions of sugar-
beet grow ing in W estern Oregon are
explained fo r the benefit of Oregon
a g ric u ltu ra l and consum ing in te rests,
by G. R. Hyslop, associate professor
of soils and crops a t the A gricultural
College, som ew hat as follow s:
One of the chief advantages of es
tablishing a successful su g a r beet in
d u stry in Oregon is th a t the use of
a n o th er m ade - in - O regon product
would be achieved. S u g a r is an a r
ticle th a t is used by everyone and
not produced in the sta te . On the
basis of the per c ap ita consum ption
of 82 pounds annually by O regonians
the to ta l yearly consum ption is
55,166,750 pounds, fo r which money is
sent out of Oregon.
K eeping th is
money a t home would be a big a d
v an tag e to the e n tire s ta te as well as
to the locality in which fa cto rie s w ere
located. This fund would be re d is
trib u te d am ong fa rm e rs and o ther
producers and again used in the
various in d u stries and professions.
A nother a d v an tag e of su g a r beet
production would be the addition of
a n o th er cultivated crop fo r W estern
O regon fa rm s, which need an in te r
tillag e crop w hen long farm ed to
g ra in , as m any have been. Success
ful su g a r beet cu ltu re m eans tillag e
and th a t th e crops m u st be ro ta te d
because su g a r beets grow n alone
rapidly decline in yield, while on the
o th er hand, various crops grow n in
ro tatio n w ith su g a r beets, a re usually
g re a tly benefited by th e careful cul
tu re w hich m u st be given a p aying
crop of beets. The fa c t th a t the land
is carefully hoed and cultivated
th ro u g h o u t the sum m er, th a t it is
occupied by a very deep rooted plant,
and th a t the soil is deeply stirre d in
the fall in h a rv estin g the beets m akes
th e crop a p a rtic u la rly desirable one
to include in a rotation.
S u g a r beets fit into ro tatio n s very
well. S ystem s m ay be used, usually
consisting of su g a r b eets one year,
followed by a fall-sow n cereal, such
a s w heat, oats, or barley on which
clover is seeded in F e b ru a ry . The
clover m ay be le ft one or, in some
cases, tw o years and then plowed up
and the field again p u t into su g a r
beets. We need, in the W illam ette
Valley, cultivated crops fo r our ro
tatio n s; y et th ere are b u t few c u lti
vated crops th a t can be grow n on an
extensive basis th a t will yield cash
and give desirable results. We have
a few crops which are ord in arily cul
tivated and these include corn, kale,
m angels and potatoes. T here is only
a lim iteil use fo r each o f these pro
ducts, w ith the possible exception of
the potatos. It is, therefo re, desirable
to introduce some deep root crop ca
pable of im proving the physical con
dition of the soil and a t the sam e tim e
giving a valuable cash re tu rn . A bout
the best crop th a t p resen ts itself u n
der these circum stances is the su g a r
beet.
As a plant, it is adapted to ra th e r
w arm , sunny sections th a t a re well
supplied w ith m oisture. It h a s long
been known th a t the success of su g a r
beet culture depends to a considerable
extent upon the sunlight of the local
ity and it is th ere fo re usually a good
plan to grow su g a r beets in sections
w here th ere is a la rg e am ount of
sum m er sunshine.
It is tru e th a t considerable am ounts
of nitrogen and potash a re tak en aw ay
by su g a r beets, but w ith the su g a r
beet pulp b rought back from the fa c
to ry and fed to the stock th ere is p ra c
tically none of th is fe rtility lost. If
su g a r beets a re grow n in a good ro ta
tion w ith clover, it is very likely th a t
the fe rtility conditions of the soil will
im prove ra th e r th an run down a s a
re su lt of the cu ltu re of this crop.
The o th er and m ost desirable fe a
tu re of the su g a r beet crop, aside
from its being a cultivated one, is
th a t it m eans a considerable cash r e
tu rn fo r each ncre in beets if th a t
acre is properly handled. The yield
of beets v aries from ten tons p e r acre
up to, in some cases, as much a s 16
to 20 or m ore tons, when grow n under
very favorable
conditions
and if
yields of 12 tons or b e tte r a re secured
th ere is money in th e cu ltu re of su g a r
beets.
On th e o th er hand, th e re a re cer
ta in obstacles to overcom e and cer
tain fa c to rs which m ay a p p e a r to be
d isadvantageous to th is industry. In
the first place, it requires a consider
able am ount of capital to build and
to operate th e fa cto ry and to provide
w orking capital fo r grow ers of the
su g a r beets. T his larg e am ount of
cap ital is in active /u se only fo r a
relativ ely sh o rt season a s the su g a r
m aking cam paign does not norm ally
extend over from ninety to one h u n
dred and tw en ty days. However, n u
m erous fa cto rie s a t places w here beets
a re produced successfully, have am ply
d em onstrated th a t th e investm ent is
a p aying one so the principal obstacle
to be overcom e is th a t of securing a
sufficient acreage of beets fo r a long
enough period of tim e th a t the p lan t
m ay be assu red of ra w m ate ria l on
which to w ork. The difficulty is to
secure enough fa rm e rs in terested in
the cu ltu re of beets on a sm all scale
who will bring up th e to ta l acreage
to about five thousand or m ore acres
fo r the facto ry . It is n o t advisable to
have a few w ith ex trem ely larg e a c re
ag es fo r the reason th a t the crop is
one w ith which m ost fa rm e rs a re not
fa m ilia r and one who has had no e x
perience w ith the crop is in g re a t
d a n g er of fa ilu re if a larg e acreage
is u ndertaken. Five to ten a cres the
first y e a r is enough while one is g a in
ing experience. A fte r having learned
the ins and out of su g a r beet culture
the la rg e r acreag es m ay be safely
tried.
The crop is an intensive one re q u ir
ing a considerable am ount o f careful
hand labor and th is is a type o f w ork
v/hich m any g rain and hay grow ers
a re not accustom ed to. It will m ean
the securing of a considerable am ount
of tra n s ie n t labor for such periods as
the thinning and hoeing and the d ig
M a n g e ls g iv e n 6 5 i n c h e s o f w a te r a n d y ie ld e d 16.648 t o n s p e r a c re .
ging and topping of th e beets. In
ord er to grow the crop successfully
and w ithout frictio n
and labor
troubles, it is necessary to have a
considerable am ount of w orking cap
ita l so th a t help m ay be paid off
prom ptly. It costs usually from $35
up to, in some cases, $45 per acre to
produce the beets and about $6 to $12
of th is m ust be paid out fo r thinning
and hoeing some tim e before the h a r
vest tim e fo r the crop.
O ur clim atic conditions in general
a re very favorable fo r th e cu ltu re of
su g a r beets in th a t we m ay g et them
seeded ra th e r e arly and we have ex-
i client grow ing conditions fo r them
du rin g the sum m er. I t is tru e th a t
our long, dry periods on the u n irri
gated soils will lim it to some e x ten t
the yield of beets unless very good
c u ltu ral m ethods a re practiced. How
ever, in the fall, it will be necessary
to g e t the beets dug m oderately early
in order to avoid serious second
grow th. The fa ll ra in s which come on
EVERYONE BOOST FOR
NATIONAL APPLE DAY
OCTOBER
19
THE
DAY
Everybody m ay help boost fo r N a
tional A pple Day, O ctober 19, accord
ing to P ro fe sso r C. I. Lew is, chief of
the O regon A g ric u ltu ral College H o r
tic u ltu ra l d e p artm e n t, e ith e r by e a t
ing, serving or donatin g apples fo r
the occasion. N ot m erely individuals
but associations as well m ay tak e p a rt
profitably in prom oting apple in te r
e sts on th a t day, benefiting both the
in d u stry and th e ir own health. Public
schools, com m ercial clubs, tra n s p o r
tatio n com panies, hotels and m ercan
tile establishm ents, a s well as grow
e rs and m ark e t associations, m ay con
trib u te to the general purpose of
stim u la tin g the apple in d u stry by
m aking a fu lle r use of th a t king of
fru its.
“ H igh schools,” said P ro fesso r Lew
is, “m ay well devote assem bly hour
on th e m orning of apple day to a dis
cussion of the apple and its history,
propagation, production and use. S tu
dents having access to lib ra ry in fo r
m ation m ay p rep are historical and
scientific sketches of the apple, show
ing the leading fa c ts in connections
w ith its developm ent and use, while
oth ers living in apple-grow ing com
m unities m ay p re p a re lis ts o f v a rie
tie s grow n in th e ir localities and a r-
ange these v a rie tie s according to se a
son and p a rtic u la r uses. In th is con
nection th ey will find the O. A. C.
bulletin on the cooking q ualities of
apples, p rep ared by P ro fe sso r Milam,
of the Home Econom ics School, a very
convenient and reliable guide. They
can secure copies by w ritin g to th e
College. In o th er cases sp eak ers m ay
be secured fo r the occasion, and it
would be especially a p p ro p ria te to
have physicians give addresses on the
d ieta ry value of the apple as a re g u la
to r o f the system in th e control of
nervous disorders and sim ilar d if
ficulties.
“ Com m ercial clubs m ay join in the
activities of apple day by having a p
ples. cooked and uncooked, served d u r
ing the day. A supply of good e atin g
apples, well colored and grouped in-
a re likely to s ta r t the second grow th
of the b eets which will low er th e ir
su g a r content and if th is is carried
on to too g re a t an e x te n t it will m ake
them less valuable for m an u fa ctu rin g
purposes. How ever, it will be dis
tinctly to the a d v an tag e of the fa rm
er, as well a s th e m an u fa ctu re r, to
have the beets dug reasonably early.
O ur season by the middle of S eptem
ber is cool enough th a t the beets will
keep very sa tisfac to rily and if we
leave them in the ground until it g ets
muddy, it will add m ate ria lly to the
cost of h a rv est. U nder o rd in ary con
ditions, the beets should be harvested
by the first to the middle of October
not only from the standpoint of avoid
ing serious second grow th but also to
avoid the expensive d ig g in g in the
mud. As f a r as clim atic and soil con
ditions a re concerned. I believe v a r
ious p a rts of the W illam ette Valley
and the S outhern O regon section will
successfully produce them , provided
pro p er c u ltu ral m ethods a re used.
vitingly on tables in th e halls and
lobbies of th e ir club room s, will re
su lt in m any an apple being eaten.
The clubs can also have apples served
a ttra c tiv e ly a t th e ir luncheons. In
some instances they m u st see th a t
o th er socieites and individuals do not
neglect th e ir p a rts in the apple day
p rogram .
“ F a rm e rs and o th er grow ers m ay
well donate apples to schools, church
es and o th er in stitu tio n s w here some
children m ay not have the apple to
eat. T here a re m illions of children
in the U nited S ta te s th a t have never
taste d an apple and as f a r a s possible
they should be provided. E very school
child should have the op p o rtu n ity of
e atin g an apple on th a t day.
“H otels and re s ta u ra n ts m ay give
th e ir g u e sts a bountiful supply of
good apples, both fresh and cooked.
W hile th ere a re m any good recipes
th ere a re b u t few best, and one of
these should be secured and m ade use
of on apple day. I t will m ean the
sa tisfac tio n and p leasure of the guest,
valuable a sse ts in the ho stelry busi
ness.
“ M erchants can afford to be es
pecially active fo r apple day sales.
They m ay m ake a ttra c tiv e box offer
ings w ith a view to encouraging the
purchase o f apples by box ra th e r than
by broken package. A good deal is
said of dollar day barg ain s b u t apple
day b a rg ain s would
do b e tte r by
building up a dem and th a t would have
to be supplied th rough/ u t th e year.
If consum ers can be shown some of
the a d v an tag e s of buying by box or
barrel th ey will consum e m ore fru it
and purchase it in form m ost con
venient fo r the dealer.
“ And I can say to the general
apple e atin g public,” concluded P ro
fesso r Lewis, “th a t th ey m ay be do
ing them selves a g re a te r fav o r th an
they think by buying a box and e a t
ing an apple on apple day. The apple
crop is lig h t th is y e ar in O regon and
when the local supply has been used
up it is likely th a t p re tty stiff prices
will have to be paid fo r the im ported
article. It is quite certain th a t apples
will be m uch h ig h er before th ey are
low er again, and the consum ers m ay
well secure not m erely one box, but
several, provided th a t th ey have sa
tisfac to ry places fo r sto rin g them for
the w in ter.”