Crystal planting starts as 2011 slice finale comes
April 25, 2012 at 1:45 am in Grand Forks Herald
Sugar beet processing season is coming to a close in the Red River Valley, even as the planting season is revving up. Jeff Schweitzer, spokesman for American Crystal Sugar Co. in Moorhead, Minn., said most of the factories are down to processing beets in cold storage sheds. In some cases, the remaining beet storages are equipped with chilling mat covers, with large refrigeration units that can be employed if necessary. Continue Reading
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I expect that the “many” you refer to are union members or supporters. From most that I have read and heard about this, the majority of public sentiment is on the side of ACS. Sorry Jeff!
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Actually I have a new found respect for farmers. Not only to do they have to worry about their every day job of trying to feed America and the rest of the world, they have to put up with Unions. For that they have become my new American hero.
BTW It is amazing that out of one side of your mouth you bad mouth farmers and on the other side you stuff that substantial gut of yours with the products they produce. When are you going to start growing everything you eat since you seem to hate them so much Jeff?
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Hey Jeff H your the laughing stock of this topic everytime! I love your stupidity and delusions. They brighten my day…..Humor is good for the soul; and sugar sweetens my coffee still.
Have a nice day squatting outside the fence for an hour or two….
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Its weird that Jeff H thinks people have a new perception on farmers….seems if the growers were behind the union they would have helped you get what you call a “fair contract”. And I would think the growers could do that easily since their the beginning product supplier to the factory where you used to work….right?
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Minn Dak is a much smaller company than ACSC is and they also had a very poor year last year. A ton of water damage from summer storms. So, yes they have finished thier processing but your not comparing apples to apples either……
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yes, they had 2/3 the crop crystal had, also they also have more slice capacity at their one plant as compared to 5 in crystal. if all 5 here were of same capacity, as the one in min-dak , crystal would have been done in march.
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Per factory, they are bigger. Crystal’s total capacity of all 5 factories is 38,500tpd (6200, 6300 for Crookston, Moorhead, 7500 Drayton, 9500, 9000 for EGF, Hillsboro). If all crystal’s were of same size as Minn-Dak’s one factory they could do 50,000tpd, which would cut their slice time by about 50 to 60 days. MInn-Dak also has more acres going through their one factory than each one Crystal has, but they also had a small crop. If they had a similar crop as Crystal’s, they would have finished in mid April instead of February.
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No, what is funny Jeff & Sayno, is that while you are both still here reiterating your same nonsense, ACS is winding up one season getting ready for the next. EVERY SINGLE ONE of your prognostications concerning this mess have proved false: the company was able to function, the did not come crawling back to their benighted workers to salvage their mistake. The plants did not burn down & there was not a groundswell of national support resulting in mass civil disobedience & protests in the street. In fact, if you listen very closely you can hear the Valley’s response to your plight: nothing.
The people of the RRV read the proffered contract, listened to your rhetoric, recognized greed and averice for what it is,& moved on.
See you next year when it starts all over again
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Jeff, I didn’t make that prediction: you did. Same with the flood of enraged unionites from other states who were going to flood the Red River Valley and fill our jails to overflowing with their civil disobedience.
I remember that conversation well because you and your side kept trying to equate your struggle with the Civil Rights Movement. I kept having mental pictures of fire hoses and polic dogs; then I woke up and remembered that people stopped caring after the second vote
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I remember when I was inflicted with the disease Jeff is carrying around with him. I toke a dose of reality and it cured me.
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I will have a toke of what tj is having. ;c)
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Oh my god…that was a spelling error…I read that three times and never caught it…there goes my squeaky clean image.
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Good luck this season, stay safe, and enjoy life while you have it.
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Congradulations ACS to another wonderful profitable year! This years success proves that a union is not needed for a business to succeed. The company did it with less workers and a motivated temporary staff. I wish good luck to those union members who have not found other employement. Look in the mirror and ask yourself if you are better off today than when you were employeed? There are many jobs out there it should not be too hard to find one. Oh yea, it will probably be difficult for an employer to higher a ACS union worker that still is not gainfully employeed. The prosptective employer may deem this union worker as a “rascal or troublemaker”, who wants that in thier business?
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Really…it cost over 300 million just for the lock out alone…I am quite sure you can post factual data to support that statement…What has this cost the union..100 dollars a week for all union employees, most of which never show up on the picket line…same people there, Monday Tuesday and Wednesday; screaming obsenities at us…I think they feel this actually bothers us…it doesn’t!! Again I will say to you…if Crystal was as bad off as you claim; would they not be begging you to come back?
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Really???? The second highest payment in the last 8 years and they didn’t make any profit?? You can’t be serious. 20% higher payment than any year between 2009 and 2004. There was certainly profit made this year. Could have been more if there wasn’t a lockout. No question.
Please try to limit the wild exaggerations.
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I heard it will be around $63.
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Where are these beets going and coming from on highway 75?
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Ron: if ACS goes belly up, you will be vindicated. If they don’t, you will be another disgruntled talking head looking for a reason to be relevent. Which will it be?
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that was Fembroke, he hasn’t taken a shower in a while
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I am not talking about the lockout! I asked 1 valid question and made 1 valid point! Why are beets moving down the road and why does egf smell so rotten I would rather drive by a garbage dump in 90 degree weather?
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Maybe the smell is not the sugar beets but the smell of the union?
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Ron, your question and point are valid. I don’t know where the Hwy. 75 beets are coming from or going to but most every year there is some discarded beets and some foul odor coming from the factory grounds. The warm weather is making both situations worse. It always does. I think ACS is working hard to minimize both but the warm winter and mild spring is probably more than any reasonable system can handle. MinnDak picked a good year to have low tonnage and an early finish. ACS will have better days so I hope the community will stick with them.
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Try driving past a rendering plant sometime.. Rotten beets smell like a fine wine compared to that.
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True, Sioux City Iowa is horrible to drive through. though at times simplot french fry plant also has it’s breath blasting days.
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Ron, who lied? What was the lie? The only lie I know of that was referenced today would have been an arraignment in Trail Co. court. How did it go for Scott Ripplinger?
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Maverik, central bi-products baby! I have driven past a rendering plant many times in my life, the only thing worse is driving behind a fully loaded rendering truck with the last cows legs sticking above the gate a couple inches. That is one of the most unnatural and fowl smess in the world! Todays smell at the egf plant comes close to that smell.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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Beet seed is not the only thing going in the ground, rest in peace BCTGM.
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They could look at the bright side. If Crystal goes belly up they’ll no longer be locked out, they’ll just be plain un-employed and the last 9 months will have been completely wasted. Not that it hasn’t been a waste of time already.
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Ron: Econ 101: if keeping the workers locked out costs more than its worth,the workers get their job back. If keeping the workers locked out meets the strategic needs of the company and comes at an acceptable price (the Board of Directors aka the growers decides what that is) then the lockout continues.
It is not people, it is not morals or ethics or community values, it is numbers. When you are talking about one half a billion dollars, soft subjects like right and wrong take a back seat to economic reality.
To me, that is what is wrong with capitalism. Unfortunately, the alternatives each have more things wrong with them than capitalism so we are stuck with the lesser of two evils.
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Ron,
The smell in the spring of the year (every other year) is not the result of rotten beets. Beets come in very dirty. Sugar comes out very clean. It takes a lot of water to make this happen. Do a Google Maps view of the EGF beet plant and you will see several large lagoons or settling ponds. When it is cold, they don’t smell. In the spring when they initially warm up, the stink (as do road ditches and anywhere else there is standing water).
I’d bet the 200 acres of open water are the cause of the smell, not the beets, becuase it has smelled every year, even when they didn’t haul out any rotting beets. I’d say that your assumption that what you smell is rotting beets is very likely false.
BTW: I have spent enough of my life within 3 miles of one of ACSC factories, I know how bad they can smell in the spring……. in a spring with no rotting beets.
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what most smell is the hydrogen sulfide odors. Much the same a few people give off after that breakfast burrito
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Sorry Ron, confused you with Jeff. My humble apologies. I just crack up with the union guys fixation withvACS profits. Like I said, if they lose their shirts, the union can feel vindicated. If they don’t, the union has lost any hope of reaching a settlement on anything other than ACS terms.
As for rotting beets? I have no direct knowledge, but I would guess there is more this year than in the past. ACS had a 100% green crew. To expect them to perform like veterans is unrealistic.
The question is not whether they processed as many beets as the union workers, it is whether or not they processed enough beets to make the lockout viable. From all indications the answer is yes.
Unless Jeff knows about some secret negotiations going on in the background, it looks like ACS is gearing up for another year of the same.
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Yawn. Jeff you really are a one trick pony aren’t you? From day one you have been arguing that they got theirs so you want yours. No matter how many times people try to explain to you that you do not deserve a raise or free healthcare simply because the company is doing well, you don’t get it. You continue to think that there needs to be a mandated relationship between the two to insure fairness.
I would refer you to the Harold’s editorial on how to determine an equitable wage for tenured professors. While the piece left much to be desired, it’s basic economic premise is correct.
It does not say anything I have not told you 10 times before. Maybe you will believe it from another source.
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Jeff: when we were discussing allowing locked out union members to collect unemployment benefits, you were all for “them” getting “theirs” from “your” taxes. What you are telling me is the truth is defined by which side you are on regarding any particular subject?
For the record, I have said many many times I am against farm subsidies and the sugar program. I am a free market type of guy. I do not like supporting other people’s profits with my tax dollars.
For the same reason I agree with those in MN who are unwilling to plop down $1 billion dollars so the NFL can continue to roll in the dough and the Governor can insure a steady stream of new and old taxes.
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Don’t forget, if the sugar program ends, the price of sugar will go up by 20 to 30% or more and near 50,000 jobs lost in the sugar industry in the U.S. The sugar program is the only no cost program, keeps employment in the U.S. The U.S. has the lowest sugar prices of any developed country, even Mexico has higher sugar prices than here. Russia, Europe are much higher at over 60 cents a pound as compared to 35 to 38 here.
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I’m not near EGF, so I’ll have to believe your nose. $200,000 worth of beets is about 150 semi loads full and 0.15% of the EGF crop. I doubt you’ve personally witnessed this many truck loads, but again, I’m not near EGF so maybe that is true.
I haven’t found a farmer yet who is ready to turn on management, but maybe that will change. Time will tell.
I do expect that a second year with the replacement workers will be much smoother than the first year, if it comes to that.
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Agreed. Time will tell. As much as Jeff and the pro union guys hate it, this is and was a purely economic decision. The growers learned their lesson from the last time, took steps to prevent being held over a barrel again, and set out to achieve some very strategic (long term) goals: the biggest of which was breaking seniority and the closed shop rules.
The fact that they were willing to guarantee no one would lose their jobs and no existing jobs would be reclassified showed management was willing to meet the union half way. It also showed they were not willing to give up on this point.
I have said all along the union leadership miscalculated. I still believe that. They act as if this was the last contract they would ever negotiate.
Part of the reason ACS was able to pull this off is the economy. There were lots of unemployed people with marginal skills desperate to feed their families. So desperate that they were willing to travel half way across the country, stay in a flea bag hotel where the guys next door are cooking meth (yes, I am referring to the Westward Ho), and put up with being a gypsy for a paycheck.
If the union had waited till the economy turned around I am not sure ACS would have been able to pull it off. There would not have been the ready supply of labor.
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My sources tell me that beet slice is complete in Moorhead. Congrats on another completed campaign!!!
And to think they actually could slice beets and make sugar without Brad Knapper, who would’ve thought that was possible?
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No need sayno. The facts speak for themselves. Like we have been discussing above, if ACS processed enough beets to make the lockout viable, you lose. It is just a waiting game now, and since no new talks are scheduled, I am not thinking things are as dire as you make them out to be.
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Jeff: I can’t believe we are having the same conversation: AGAIN. I did not predict the replacements would burn the house down, your side did. I was simply pointing out that the union was wrong on that, & every other prognostication your side made.
One thing you & I agree on is the value of work. I do not support not working. Ask any of my kids.
What we disagree on is how wages are determined. You think as long as the company is making a profit you should get a raise. I think supply, demand, & the market should decide.
My first job as an RN was for $10.50 an hour. It is considerably more than that now. Why? At $10.50 an hour nurses were leaving the profession in droves & hospitals were having to close entire floors because they couldn’t staff them. Wages, benefits, & working conditions improved (no union, all on its own) & people entered nursing. The system works.
My son is an ACS replacement worker. $15 an hour plus bennies is the best gig going in the RRV for a high school graduate with no specialized skills. He likes ACS & has been told they are going to keep him on over the summer getting ready for next year.
He likes ACS but does not want to be doing this when he is 40. I completely support that. I want him in school learning a trade that will support my grandsons at a level I believe they deserve, & that will take more than $15 an hour.
There has been scuttlebutt (and we all know how reliable that is) that there may be some apprenticeships for welders & electricians. Now you are talking. They earn as much as I do
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Jeff, I will pay for your visa if you move out of country.
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Dude, what planet are you on? If they’re hauling beets out just the past couple of weeks and they’ve been slicing since Sept how can you actually believe that they’re hauling out more beets than were sliced?
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Where are they dumping? I might drive up to look at it this weekend. BTW: Your weight is a little high ( 6.8M lbs) and your price is a little low (about $0.03 per pound), but generally right.
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Ron,
Oops. I was wrong. Forgot to multiply by the % sugar content. $200k is about 25 million pounds * $0.008/lb. That is about 700 semi loads.
Seriously Ron, can you let me know about where they were dumping. I’d like to go check it out. I have to head north this weekend anyway.
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Big deal 3400 ton of slice, what is that 8 hours of running out of 270+ days. That’s a drop in the ocean, if BCTGM thinks that those numbers will turn the tide in their favor they are fools. Of course after seeing the youtube videos of comrade fromke’s prank calls???
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It is interesting how the tenor of an article can change just because of its title. The same article appears in the Grand Forks Herald and the Fargo Forum today. In the Herald the article is entitled Crystal: Union’s Cost Estimate of the Lock out Too High. In the Forum the same article is entitled American Crystal says Replacement Workers might be ‘Permanent Workforce’. Both topics appear in the article but it is interesting how a reader’s thought about the article can be changed simply by changing the title. It startles me that their are people who don’t think that the media can influence how a topic is perceived.
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Agree 100%. Good catch.
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Ron,
You keep saying you have followed them for 35 miles on 75. Which way? North or South? Why won’t you answer?
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Apparently they are hauling the beets out to where all the mystery totes full of remelt sugar are being kept. You know the ones. Those totes that they have pictures of but can’t sure anyone becuase everyone who hasn’t seen them has already made up there mind that they dont’ exist, so it doesn’t matter if we show them to you or not so we aren’t going to show them to you and the fact that we aren’t showing them to you becuase you wouldn’t believe them if we showed them to you is proof that they really do exist. Yep….. the hundreds of thousands of dollars worth are stinky beets must be right next to the totes.
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Mike I travel ne nd and nw mn on a regular basis on my sales routes. In a slow day I put on 180 miles I see a lot of what goes on in the country side. I hear as much as I see and I can tell you there’s a lot o bs stories out there. I love reading herald reports because they are either behind the eightball or incredibly inaccurate.
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Well this is my last comment on this topic. Its over. Unions out for good. They will finish processing and be on track next year. I didnt expect a banner year and neither did any of the growers. But we did it without the union and we will move on without the union.
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Amen.
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I hear that slice is complete in Crookston as of this morning. The other factories shouldn’t be too far behind.
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Thanks for the response. Do you have any pictures to share?
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saynotoascs did at comment #22: “Yea Milton the slice may be done, But more beets will be rotting in the fields than they even sliced. Ha Ha Ha” It was so obviously false I didn’t think it was worth a reply.
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BCTGM 167 Facebook site would be easiest. Then we all could see. That site seems dedicated to the lockout and there are plenty of other picture (picketing, etc).
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Here’s a link to some of the pictures.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=193265574127392&set=a.193265544127395.41266.100003318529772&type=1&theater
The first ones are of dumping rotten beets in the field south and east of Ardoch.
Next is the remelt sugar sitting in totes in the EGF yard. Also have pictures of this getting loaded and hauled south on I29.
The totes with the pink wrapping on it were sitting at the Sydney Sugars plant in Montana. Note the EGF marking on the tote.
Let me know if you need more.
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Paul,
Thanks for the attempt. I don’t have access to that location, likely because I’m not “facebook friends” with whoever is hosting the pictures. I checked at the BCTGM 167 Facebook site (where I can see pics without being friends) and they weren’t there either.
You have an e-mail address if you want to use that. I created a new e-mail account just for that purpose. I am somewhat protective of my limited anonyminity (sp??) and understand if you also want to limit your exposure. I can read and comment on here when I want. I really don’t want my normal e-mail filled with messages like what appear on this blog.
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Nice try Paul, this is what you get if you go to the link you posted: This content is currently unavailable
No pictures of rotten beets or remelt sugar, nothing.
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I have heard so much talk about the totes of sugar in the yards of the factories for some months now. What I would like to know is the count. If someone is taking the time to stand there and take the pictures I would believe they would get a close estimate of how many totes there are. Are we talking about 1000 totes? 2000 totes? Would one of you who has seen them give us a number to deal with?
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