American Crystal Sugar is a cooperative that owns about 3,000 shareholders who raise 500,000 acres of sugarbeets in the Red River Valley of Minnesota and North Dakota. According to researchers at North Dakota State University, the Red River Valley produces more than 50 percent of the nation’s sugarbeets.

The Industry

The BCTGM represents workers at almost all of the major sugarbeet producers in the United States, including Amalgamated Sugar Company, American Crystal Sugar, Michigan Sugar, Southern Minnesota Beet Sugar Co-op, Western Sugar Co-op, and Wyoming Sugar.

The importance of the sugarbeet industry has grown over the last two decades. In 1985, sugarbeet production comprised approximately 48 percent of total sugar production, compared to 52 percent for cane sugar. Today, sugarbeet production makes up almost 60 percent of total sugar production.

What is a Sugarbeet? Sugarbeets are harvested annually for their roots. The source of one third of the world's sugar, sugarbeets are grown commercially throughout the world in cooler, temperate climates. The main producers around the world are Canada, France, Germany, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, and the United States. Annually, more than 25 million tons of sugarbeets are produced on over 1.5 million acres, yielding approximately 20 tons of beets per acre and four million tons of refined sugar. There are 30 beet sugar processing factories in the U.S., all located in or near producing areas due to the deterioration of sugar content after the beets are harvested. When sugarbeets are processed into sugar, the entire beet is used. After sugar and molasses are extracted from the beet, the remaining pulp is processed into a nutritious cattle feed.