Utah Beet Growers Association records, 1948-1980

For much of the twentieth century, sugar beets were Utah's most important cash crop. Farmers grew beets under contract with a sugar company. Two large Utah-based companies, Utah-Idaho Sugar and the Amalgamated Sugar Companies, dominated the industry, processing beets throughout the state.

Growers organized in the 1920s through the American Farm Bureau Federation in order to bargain collectively with the companies for the sale of their crop. Growers associations were organized on local, state, and national levels. The state association negotiated a contract with company representatives every year. Farmers pressed for higher prices through their association. But the association was not limited to bargaining over prices. Grower representatives were present in the scale house ensuring accurate weights and measures, and they checked the tare, they were also present in the laboratory double checking chemical tests. The association looked out for the farmers' interests.