Sugarbeet Production in Nebraska

Irrigation was the major factor in the establishment of the sugarbeet industry in western Nebraska. Secondly, the railroads were likewise very influential as they provided transportation to move the beets from field to factory and then to market. Furthermore they allowed coal to be brought into the area to furnish fuel for operating the factories. In turn, sugarbeets were directly responsible for the immigration and settling of descendents for many of the county’s current residents. Thus sugarbeets were not only responsible for the ethnic makeup of western Nebraska, but also for the economic development and improvement of the area.

The cultivation of sugarbeets enabled the development of roads, expansion of railroads, improvement of schools, and growth and spatial arrangement of cities and farms in Scotts Bluff County. The number of farms increased from 421 in 1900 to 1,391 in 1920. The number of people per square mile in the county increased from 2.6 in 1880 to 28.8 in 1920. The increase in population between 1910 and 1920 was more than 147 percent, one of the highest percentages of population gains in the United States. Therefore the development of the sugarbeet industry could thus arguably be the single most important and influential factor in the county from the building of the sugar factory in 1910 to the present, and has defined Scotts Bluff County as it is known today.