THE STORY OF FARMERS AND MANUFACTURERS BEET ASSOCl~TION Sugar is the physical basis of all life. It is the first substance manufactured by all green-leafed plants, which in turn support all human and ani­ mal life. The sugarbeet manufactures sugar in its leaves as do all green-leafed plants, by the process of photosynthesis. Carbon dioxide ( CO2), a combina­ tion of hydrogen and oxygen, is taken in through the roots. Activated by the energy of the sun shin­ ing on the leaves, these three elements - carbon, hydrogen and oxygen - combine to form , which is stored in the silvery-white root. The sugarbeet, which is grown in twenty-two states from the Great Lakes to California and in virtually all countries which have a temperate cli­ mate, is the most efficient producer of this cap­ tured energy of the sun - SUGAR, or as it is called by the chemists, sucrose C12H22011, The sugarbeet provides approximately 40% of total world sugar production. Over 20 million tons of sugar are produced from the sugarbeets each year. Michigan and Ohio, the heart of one of the world's greatest industrial concentrations, are also recognized for their agriculture and comprise Amer­ ica's Eastern sugarbeet growing region. Since the tum of the century, the sugarbeet crop has played a major role in the agricultural complex in the Great Lakes area. Today, the Beet of the Eastern Area of the United States is recognized as one of the most progressive and profitable agricultural enterprises in the Great Lakes area. One of the finest examples anywhere of industry and agriculture joining hands in working together is the Farmers and Manufacturers Beet Sugar As­ sociation, which serves the four beet sugar proces­ sing companies and ten sugarbeet growers associa­ tions in the Eastern area. This combination of pro­ gressive farmers and efficient industrial food proc­ essors provides Midwest consumers with a product of which can truly be said "None finer in all the world." Growing and processing of sugarbeets first came to the Midwest in the late 1890's, when the cost of importing sugar to the United States and of trans­ planting it to sparsely-populated regions of the Midwest had risen to an alarmingly high level. At the same time, Michigan's lumbering era had dwindled to almost nothing and the possibility of growing sugarbeets offered a chance for farmers to bring the vast pine stump lands of the Saginaw Valley back to productivity while providing a new enterprise for businessmen. In 1897, to stimulate the growth of sugar produc­ tion within the state, the Michigan legislature passed a Sugar Bounty Bill offering to pay proc­ essors of Michigan-grown beets one cent per pound on beet sugar. This bill, along with the high finan­ cial returns from Michigan's first successful sugar factory erected at Bay City in 1898 spurred a gi­ gantic building program in Michigan that resulted in the construction of twenty-two more factories within the next six years. Many factories were built where sugarbeets were not a sound farming opera­ tion or in locations too far from an adequate supply of beets. As a result, some of the factories closed and others - counting on the sugar bounty to fi­ nance their operations - failed shortly ~fter the Michigan Supreme Court ruled the Sugar Bounty Bill unconstitutional in 1900. After the leavening period, sugar remained an unstable commodity - in supply, demand and price -throughout the 1920's. Sugar prices had sky­ rocketed to an all-time high at the start of the 1929 season, so the processor guaranteed growers a rec­ ord price per ton for beets. The Great Depression caused sugar prices to fall overnight, and many factories were forced into receivership when proc­ essors could not pay the price to which they were committed. Because farmers saw prices on other crops drop even more than sugarbeets and knew that beets had generally yielded a higher return per · acre than alternative crops, they sought in­ creasingly to pay their mortgages and support them­ selves by raising sugarbeets. Processors were not willing or able to sign additional contracts guaran­ teeing a fixed price, and both they and the growers soon realized that the only way to survive was by joining forces. By working together they could add needed stability to the faltering beet sugar industry, mutually conduct research to improve the efficiency of both farms and factories, keep in touch with legislation and Washington trends affecting the beet industry, and jointly promote the sale and con­ sumption of Michigan-made sugar. Accordingly, in July, 1932, the companies and growers united to form the Farmers and Manufac­ turers Beet Sugar Association, which has operated continuously since then. This organization is unique in that for forty years, it has functioned effectively for the betterment of both growers and processors by providing a common meeting ground where at­ tempts to solve problems affecting both can be made within a framework of friendly cooperation. This open and free discussion of problems has enabled compromise rather than disruption to be used for the betterment of the industry and the economic advantage of both. In the beginning there often were bickerings and distrust, but passage of years has proved them to be fruitless and damag­ ing. Just as the beet sugar industry has emerged from the period of trial and error development, so have the grower-processor ties strengthened with the knowledge that harmony and mutual under­ standing pay good dividends. As during the past forty years, the Farmers and Manufacturers Beet Sugar Association today provides the structure for friendly, productive attitudes, and the means for a cooperative attack on some of the industry's biggest problems. Today, all sugarbeet growers and processing com­ panies in the Eastern growing area belong to Farm­ ers and Manufacturers Beet Sugar Association. In Michigan, processing plants located in Caro, Car­ rollton, Croswell and Sebewaing are owned and operated by the Michigan Sugar Company and produce "Pioneer" sugar. Approximately 60,000 acres of sugarbeets are grown for these factories each year by members of beet growers' associations in the Alma, Caro, Croswell, Saginaw and Sebe­ waing growing areas. An additional 25,000 acres of sugarbeets are grown by farmers in the Monitor Sugar Company of Bay City, Michigan. Total gross revenue from the sale of these sugar brands and and beet pulp by-products contribute over $45 million to Michigan's economy each year. Approximately 30,000 acres of sugarbeets are grown each year in Lenawee and Monroe Counties of southeastern Michigan by Blissfield Growers Association and by the Fremont and Find­ lay Growers Associations for processing at sugar factories in Fremont and Findlay, Ohio. These plants are owned by Northern Ohio Sugar Com­ pany and manufacture "Great Western" sugar. Buckeye Sugar Company owns and operates the factory located at Ottawa, Ohio, which processes the 13,000 acres of beets grown annually in north­ western Ohio by Buckeye Beet Growers Association. Nowhere in agriculture are true democratic proc­ esses better exemplified than in the organization of the Farmers and Manufacturers Beet Sugar As­ sociation. Self-government and self-regulation of the Association have a real grass-roots origin in the ten local sugarbeet growers associations and the four beet processing companies. Each chooses its own directors and representa­ tives to Farmers and Manufacturers Beet Sugar As­ sociation. Each local growers association has from six to fifteen directors who in turn choose their own officers and select a representative to the F & M. The processors also appoint an equal num­ ber of members to F & M. Eight of the grower members of the Association are elected by the mem­ bership as grower directors and eight of the proc­ essors as processing directors. This sixteen mem­ ber board of directors of F & M in tum chooses its own officers.

Each August, grower and processor directors of F & M meet in annual session to conduct the association's business.

F & M plays on important legislative role by maintaining contacts be­ tween the beet sugar industry and elected officials. EFFECTIVE LFADERSHIP: Key to better unaerstanding between growers and processors Strong leadership combined with a spirit of co­ operation among the membership has molded the record of achievement amassed by the Farmers and Manufacturers Beet Sugar Association since its inception in 1932. Nowhere else in industry does a similar ideal type of organization exist where grower and processor representatives have such a long and unbroken record of working effectively together as a team. Pere A. Reeve, Executive Vice President - Pro­ cessors, and Loren S. Armbruster, Executive Vice President - Growers, currently provide the Associ­ ation's professional leadership. Much of this leader­ ship is directed toward the promotion of better sugarbeet legislation. Domestic sugar production is inevitably affected by legislation, especially as en­ acted through tl1e United States Sugar Program and Sugar Act. The presence in Washington of grower and processor representatives from time to time enables the industry to keep abreast of de­ velopments and to carry on work on the govern­ mental front. The Association's professional leaders convey the opinions and desires of the industry and have done their part to make present sugar laws the best that have been enacted in the seventy-plus year history of the Eastern beet sugar area. grower's professional representative Because the grower membership of the Associ­ ation represents ten grower associations scattered geographically throughout the Eastern beet grow­ ing area, a professional representative is employed by the sugarbeet growers to keep them in touch with one another and with various activities in the field, in the factory, and in the nation's capital. Loren S. Armbruster has been employed as the growers' representative since 1951 and directly serves his grower board, which consists of ten of­ ficers from the local grower associations. He also reports indirectly to the 101 grower directors in Michigan and Ohio, who represent some 4,000 growers. As Executive Vice President - Growers, Arm­ bruster is responsible for coordinating grower's in­ spection of delivery and unloading facilities and of tare sampling. He distributes information about per cent of extraction and yield of sugar to his grower directors and makes recommendations for future improvements. From his records, he compiles reports to show efficiency of factory operation. He is also responsi­ ble for checking each company's determination of net proceeds due growers, showing each item of expense deducted from the grower's account. In short, he is the growers' agent and their liaison with the processors. He also represents the Eastern area growers on legislative developments and keeps in close touch with other growers and beet processing companies throughout the United States, as a safe­ guard to grower interests. By clarifying matters of importance to growers via memoranda, letters and discussions with grower groups, grower representation has helped imm,~1')­ sely to create the grower-processor trust that pre­ vails today in the Eastern area of the Domestic Beet Sugar Industry.

Each white stake represents one of the numerous sugarbeet varieties under evaluation in test plots.

Growers and processors of Michigan's sugarbeet and bean industries share ownership of the 120-acre Saginaw Valley Bean and Sugarbeet Research Farm near Saginaw. Used entirely for research work in beets beans and related cash crops, the farm is leased to M.S.U. for manage'. ment and operation. AGRICULTUQ4L RESfARCH DEB41RTMENT: seeking increased sugar­ per-acre

The goal of Farmers and Manufacturers Beet Sugar Association's Agricultural Research Program is to continue increasing the amount of "sugar-per­ acre" recovered when sugarbeets are processed, so growers can obtain a maximum financial return per acre. Greater "sugar-per-acre" is attainable through a COMBINATION of ( 1) higher sugar content ( sucrose) in the beets, ( 2) increased purity, which is the ability to separate and extract more of the sugar content from non- in the beet, and ( 3) greater yield. Higher sugarbeet tonnage, beet purity, or even sugar content are not goals by them­ selves in the development of new beet seed varieties, but are important as they increase the amount of sugar produced per acre. A large tonnage without high purity and sugar content adds to the beet processing cost, as these costs are about 1/a less if 300 lbs. of sugar can be extracted per ton of beets processed, than if only 200 lbs. are obtained. A high sugar content brings greater financial return for a yield of 20 tons per acre than for 15 tons. Higher purity means increased profit for both growers and processors as increased quality assures that more "sugar-per-acre" will be extracted. F & M's Annual fieldmen and growers' tours sponsored by F & M focus atten· tion on new agronomic practices.

agricultural staff is engaged primarily in seed research and processing, and the Association Fel­ lowships and Grants Program supports other agro­ nomic research in areas such as weed control, en­ tomology, and fertilization practices. Your Association is Striving for Greater Sugar Per Acre. ,. A trend toward higher yields started in 1947. Certainly, your Association has spared no efforts in working for this yield increase. It, together with the sugar companies, has cooperated in a very com­ prehensive research program designed to increase the yield and quality of the sugarbeet crop. The services, facilities and personnel of Michigan State University, Ohio State University, United States Department of Agriculture, and other agencies have coritd.buted extensively to the success of this pro­ gram. Experiments with cropping systems, fertilizers, machinery, plant productions, labor reducing prac­ tices and seed varieties are aimed at increasing the return to farmers by increasing yield and quality while reducing production costs. The results of this program are evidenced by the fact that in recent years the Eastern sugarbeet area has showed a greater percentage increase in yield than any other area of North America. It should be noted that the prime factors in this increase are you farmers. It is a tribute to sugarbeet growers in the Eastern area that you have so quickly adopted the latest techniques of sugarbeet culture. Unfortunately, the sugar content has not kept pace with the yield increase but the emphasis in the research program is now being directed toward sugarbeet quality. Experience indicates that with the use of im­ proved seed, machinery, and cultural practices as they are developed, an average state yield of 25 tons per acre with a correspondingly high quality, is possible in the future. Such a figure was con­ sidered only a dream a few short years ago. Con­ tinued cooperation between the growers and pro­ cessors of the Farmers and Manufacturers and the various research agencies will bring about the realization of this goal. Here's service that has meant millions of dollars to growers Since the Agricultural Department of the Farmers and Manufacturers Beet Sugar As~ociation was formed in 1935, it has been directly responsible in the Eastern area for and has taken the initiative in these developments, among others: 1. Production of domestic seed. 2. Introduction of, and initial installation and current operation of processing machinery, for processed seed. 3. Introduction of mechanical harvesting, me­ chanical thinning, variety testing and mono­ germ seed. 4. Long-term sugarbeet rotation experiments at Ferden farm. Since 1942, practically all seed used in the East­ ern area has been grown in the United States and considerable quantities were produced in 1940, 1941, and 1942. Had there not been domestic pro- duction by the time World War II started, it is doubtful if there would have been any beet sugar industry, at least during the first few war years, since all foreign seed imports had been stopped when the war began. As it is, the value of seed produced for the Eastern area account since 1940, is approximately $4,500,000. The Farmers and Maufacturers Beet Sugar As­ sociation conducts an extensive variety testing pro­ gram each year. This program aims to insure high yielding disease resistant varieties of seed for commercial planting. The aim is being met but we are looking to further improvements in future varieties.

Special varieties of monogerm sugarbeet seed, made available to Michi­ gan and Ohio growers throuQh F & M, have inbred resistance to leofspot and seedling diseases.

The Farmers and Manufacturers Beet Sugar As­ sociation, assisted by the sugar companies, not only played an important role in introducing processed seed to Eastern area farmers, but originally installed and still operates the equipment and facilities to process it. The original equipment was for proces­ sing multi-germ but the introduction of monogerm seed for commercial use required different machin­ ery. Accordingly, in 1959 new equipment was in­ stalled in the seed processing plant to properly handle monogerm seed. This was the first instal­ lation in the United States and probably in the world, that was designed for processing monogerm seed exclusively. The present processing equipment has enabled Eastern area sugarbeet growers to plant the highest quality seed available anywhere. The reduction of production costs attributable to monogerm seed, and the attendant cultural prac­ tices, are becoming more evident each year. Mechanical harvesting was introduced to the Eastern area by the Farmers and Manufacturers Beet Sugar Association in 1944. It is difficult to place a monetary value on this practice because without mechanical harvesters the sugarbeet in­ dustry would likely have passed out of existence or been drastically reduced in size due to lack of manpower to hand harvest the crop. The sugarbeet rotation experiments that have been conducted at the Ferden farm since 1940, are the longest continuous experiments of this type in existence. They have provided much valuable in­ formation regarding the effects of other crops and farming practices upon sugarbeet production. Through the Farmers and Manufacturers, over $40,000 annually is spent locally on agricultural production research. The dollar value returned to growers is hard to measure but is multiplied many times more than the research expenditure. Organized research by the Beet Sugar Association is paying YOU dividends. Here's more service to growers in the making Projects of significance currently being conducted in the fields of research and demonstration include: I. Improved sugarbeet varieties U.S. Department of Agriculture, Michigan State University, Farmers & Manufacturers Beet Sugar Association. 2. Long term cropping sequence and fertilizer studies Farmers & Manufacturers Beet Sugar Associ­ ation, Michigan State University, Ohio State University, Sugar Companies. 3. Disease, insect and weed eradication Sugar Companies, Michigan State University, Ohio State University, Farmers & Manufacturers Beet Sugar Association. 4. "No Labor" programs Michigan State University, Ohio State Univer­ sity, Sugar Companies, Farmers & Manufactur­ ers Beet Sugar Association. 5. Plant nutrient studies Michigan State University, Ohio State Univer­ sity, Sugar Companies, Farmers & Manufactur­ ers Beet Sugar Association. 6. Seed Processing Farmers & Manufacturers Beet Sugar Associ­ ation, Sugar Companies. 7. Seed Production West Coast Beet Seed Company. 8. Sugarbeet Storage Michigan State University, Ohio State Univer­ sity, Farmers & Manufacturers Beet Sugar As­ sociation, Sugar Companies. This work is financed by direct, proportional as­ sessment on the beet sugar companies. Research, promotion and demonstrations by the Farmers & Manufacturers Beet Sugar Association are paying YOU dividends. The best conceived program of agricultural re­ search is without value unless the knowledge gained is passed on effectively to the pe~ple most con­ cerned - the growers themselves. The Farmers and Manufacturers Beet Sugar Association almost from the beginning has conducted a vigorous publica­ tions program to keep sugarbeet growers and the public informed of the very latest in sugarbeet technology. The mainstay of the publications program has been the SUGAR BEET JOURNAL, which began in 1935 and now has a circulation of 6,000. Grow­ ers throughout the Eastern sugarbeet area read it with interest and confidence. Every issue of the JOURNAL is carefully compiled and thoroughly edited by trained agriculturists before its tri-annual publication. In addition to individual mailings to growers, the publication also reaches representatives of every beet sugar company in the United States. It is also mailed to numerous colleges and universities, ex­ tension officers and agricultural instructors in Mich­ igan and Ohio and to subscribers in several foreign countries. The publications program of the Association ranks as one of the best ia the nation's beet sugar industry. All aspects of beet growing are thor­ oughly photographed throughout the year in black and white and in color, so that prints are readily available for the JOURNAL and for the numerous requests received for pictures, and slides are pre­ pared for use by anyone in the industry and school groups. Public relations brings the industry into contact with representatives of daily and weekly news­ papers and radio and television stations, with per­ sons seeking information about Michigan's beet sugar industry, and with youths in the industry's 4-H and FFA program. The Association conducts an extensive, year­ round program utilizing effective communications to maintain and increase public support and re­ spect, and to stress the quality of beet sugar and the indush·y's economic importance. Radio pro­ grams, Association publications, timely and fre­ quent news releases, and personal contact are the backbone of the industry's over-all public relations program. Michigan growers and processors band together through Farmers and Manufacturers Beet Sug8:­ Association to carry out a unified promotional and advertising program. This cooperative effort began in the early 1930's as an organized attempt by the Association to make friends with the public, and today the Michigan-Made Pure Sugar advertising program is second to none in the food field. The public relations director serves as the in­ dustry's liaison among the growers and processors who comprise the industry, and he is the industry spokesman to the mass media. News releases are regularly distributed to over 100 press sources for publication. Photographs, statistics and relevant facts are readily provided when requested to mass media representatives for articles they are prepar­ ing, in keeping with our desire to communicate accurate and complete facts concerning the indus­ try. An average of 50 news releases is sent out annually through Farmers and Manufacturers Beet Sugar Association, and help is also provided to farm editors and other news writers for approxi- mately 40 to 50 more pertaining to the beet industry. Each year several thousand educational booklets about the Story of Big Chief and Pioneer Sugars and numerous teaching kits are mailed to teachers, students and others interested in learning about the fascinating story of beet sugar growing and proces­ sing. In addition, numerous letters are answered and talks or speeches given on various questions, ranging from the economic impact of the sugarbeet industry to how many sugarbeet seeds are planted per acre. Letters and visitors to the Farmers and Manufacturers Beet Sugar Industry executive of­ fices also request items such as sugar packets for charitable organizations, beet sugar displays for fairs and schools, and contributions for fund drives and other purposes. Responsibility for the 4-H and FFA Sugarbeet Project State Banquet rests with the public rela­ tions director, who follows the recommendations of the State Sugarbeet Project Committee. This Committee selects the banquet location, menu, and entertainment, and prepares the program booklet, invitations, and news releases for this annual event. The public relations director sets up the itinerary followed by the Educational Tour and makes all transportation, accommodations and other arrange­ ments.

Annual educational tour for young 4-H and F. F. A. Premier Sugarbeet Growers.