Grower Profiles

In 1928, Robert Green's grandfather planted his first beet. Every year since then, the Green farm has planted and harvested sugarbeets.

Robert, his father Manuel, and his son Nathan, grow about 750 acres of sugarbeets on the same farm that his great-grandfather settled in 1883. Things have changed over the years. But, one of the constants has been a strong U.S. sugar policy.

U.S. sugar policy is simple and it works because it's based on Economics 101—supply should equal demand.

Each year, the government estimates domestic sugar consumption and subtracts from that the amount of foreign sugar the U.S. is forced to import. U.S. farmers like Green supply the remainder.

By avoiding oversupplies, sugar prices stay stable. And, fair market prices eliminate the need for government subsidy checks to sugar farmers. That's why U.S. sugar policy operates at little to no cost to U.S taxpayers. In fact, it operated at no cost in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 2006, 2007, 2008 and it’s estimated to operate at no cost again in 2009.

Without an effective sugar policy, Robert's not sure if he could continue to grow beets. Then again, Robert is not sure why anyone would want to get rid of U.S. sugar policy. As he puts it: "It works, farmers are happy, it’s a great deal for taxpayers, and prices are affordable."