 Sugar beets from 1906 Larimer County Democrat, Illustrated Edition |
Beet Sugar Industry
Mintz, Sidney (1985). Sweetness and Power.In the first century, Pliny the Elder wrote: "Next to grain and beans, there is no more serviceable plant than the white beet; the root of which is used for human and animal food, the young sprouts as a vegetable, and the leaves as an accessory fodder. . ."(Coen, 1926, p. 16).
Before the sugar beet, sugar availability was found only in honey and sugar cane. As early as 3,000 B.C, evidence of sugar beet agriculture and consumption was found in Southeast Asia, the Mideast and Egypt.
Until the 17th century, honey and cane sugar were luxury food items, their price prohibitive for universal usage. In 1747, R. Margarat, a German chemist discovered the presence of sugar in beet juice and around the same time, in Italy, the art of refining sugar was invented. These discoveries motivated the beet sugar industry.
By 1801, Archard, a Prussian chemist invented a method of extracting sugar from beet roots. Frederick William III, King of Prussia funded money for the world's first beet sugar factory in Cunem, Silesia (Germany) in 1802. Thereafter, the beet sugar industry experienced a lag until the Napoleonic Wars.
By World War I, sugar beet agriculture had increased all over Europe, producing over 9,000,000 tons of refined sugar per year in 1,200 factories spread across the European continent. At this time, Europe supplied 50 percent of the world's sugar supply (Austin, 1928, p. 12). The industry was stabilized and sugar beets were processed at a low cost and available to a universal market (13).
In 1836, the United States received the first imported beet seed from France. In 1838, the first beet sugar factory was built in Northampton, Massachusetts, followed in 1852 by a factory built by the Mormon's in Utah. Between 1852 and 1879, thirteen factories had been erected across the United States, all of which failed except for one plant in Alvarado, California, built in 1879 (17). The first beet sugar factories failed for numerous reasons in the United States. The industry lacked theoretical or practical knowledge on growing beets or manufacturing sugar and heavy machinery was expensive and had to be imported from Europe, as well as machinery staff Machinery was heavy and expensive to transport. American farmers were unfamiliar with sugar beet agriculture and sugar beet farming and manufacturing required intensive hand labor (Austin, 1928, p. 18).
Encouraged by an editorial in the Rocky Mountain News in 1866, the idea of growing sugar beets in Colorado was set in motion. Peter Magnes, a Swedish immigrant who resided in Littleton, Colorado had grown the first sugar beets in Colorado in 1859 (Shwrayder, 1987, p.1). Beets, however, require more water than the Valley could naturally provide. Annual rainfall in northeastern Colorado varies between twelve and fifteen inches per year and beet fields would require irrigation on an average of three times from July 1 to September 30. In addition to irrigation, beets require long hours of daylight, moist soil, even heat distribution and thrive best at a mean temperature of 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Successful sugar beet growing requires high soil fertility and rotation with alfalfa, grains, potatoes, corn and pea crops. In turn, sugar beet cultivation will greatly increase the yield of other crops, probably as a result of better tillage and fertility methods (Coen, 1926, pp. 16-17).
Arthur Walker, in an article for the Fort Collin's Forum stated, "Not long after 1870, the community of Fort Collins began to see the promise of two complimentary industries: lamb feeding and sugar beets (p. 22)". In 1872, members of the Union Colony in Greeley began to try their hands at growing beets with seeds they had imported from Germany. There were no sugar processing factories at this time and so beets were used as sheep and cattle feed (Shwrayder, 1987, pp. 2-3). In the 1880s, Colorado Agriculture College in Fort Collins experimented with sugar beet agriculture on various farms in Larimer County. It was evident from these experiments that the climatic and soil conditions, along with the irrigation networks in the South Platte River Valley were excellent for high yields, approximately 15% sugar, in beet sugar production (2). Steinel stated, "The past seasons have demonstrated that the soil of Colorado has no superior in the world for producing this beet " (282).
Increased demand for sugar coupled with a stagnant sugar cane industry stimulated innovations in methods and processes in the sugar industry, and inspired financial support for scientific research. The Dingley Tariff of 1897 which put a duty of $1.95 per pound of refined sugar and the Spanish American War in 1899 encouraged rapid development of the beet sugar industry (May, 1989, p. 232) in order to meet the demand for domestic sugar needs. By 1903, new factories were being built in 16 states across the United States.
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The first beet sugar manufacturing plant in Colorado was established in Grand Junction, on the western slope in 1899. This factory was owned by the Colorado Sugar Manufacturing Company. One of the financial supporters and directors of this plant was Charles Boettcher from England who had brought an interest in the beet sugar industry to Colorado with him from Europe. Boettcher also supported and managed the Loveland plant, built in 1901, the first factory east of the Rocky Mountains, in the South Platte River Valley. Between 1902 and 1906, factories were built in Eaton, Greeley, Windsor, Sterling, Fort Morgan and Brush. By 1909, Colorado became the leading beet sugar producing state in the nation. As a result, more factories were built in Brighton, Fort Lupton, Ovid and Johnstown. By 1910, sugar beet production in the South Platte River Valley averaged 806,000 tons (Watrous, 1911, p. 21). As a result of this increased production, the beet sugar industry was offering enhanced opportunities in the area including more job opportunities as well as increased income to workers. Railroads, suppliers and communities prospered and grew throughout the South Platte River Valley.