ECONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS CONCERNING THE MAINTENANCE 
AND GROWTH OF THE INDUSTRY 
AGRICULTURAL LIMITATIONS 
In considering the tariff problem, an important inquiry concerns 
the physical possibilities of expansion of the sugar-beet industry—to 
what degree is its development limited by the crop requirements of 
climate, soil, irrigation, and drainage, and by the prevalence of par- 
ticular crop.diseases and pests? 
Successful growing of sugar beets in all countries has been confined 
almost entirely to temperate regions. This has been found true 
generally in the United States, although some exceptions have 
|.;CATION OF BEET SUGAR FACTORIES 
- “= DERATURES 
a- 
5 
OPERATING 1922-23 
IDLE 1922-23 
&) 
1G. 1.—Sugar beets thrive best in localities where the temperature during the summer, 
(average of June, July, and August) does not vary greatly from 70° F. Nearly all of the 
beet-sugar factories in the United States lie between the isotherms of 67° and 72° F., summer 
temperature. Owing to great variations in altitude in the Western States, the shaded area 
includes a wide range of climatic conditions in these States 
Source: Yearbook of U. 8. Department of Agriculture for 1923, p. 185. 
occurred in southern -California, Arizona, and New Mexico, where 
beets are grown during the winter months. Heavy yields may often 
be obtained in warmer regions, but the beets are usually low in sugar 
content. High temperatures also cause greater spoilage. In the 
future, varieties better adapted to warmer climates may be devel- 
oped and methods of handling may be perfected so that it may be 
possible to expand sugar-beet acreage into the South. Short grow- 
ing seasons are not a limiting factor in the United States, some of the 
most productive areas being in the Northern States. A number of 
factories are also located in Canada. The most successful sugar- 
beet regions in the United States are in a belt in which the mean 
summer temperature varies from 67° to 72° F. Figure 1 shows that 
this belt embraces a territory containing crop land many times as 
extensive as the present sugar-beet acreage.