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 particular
 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 developed
 and methods of handling may be perfected so that it may be
possible to expand sugar-beet acreage into the South. Short growing
 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 sugarbeet
 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.