GOLD STANDARDS

SUMMARY STATEMENTS
The "Gold Standards" can be referred to as a set of guidelines, goals, a scale or a benchmark that will influence two key areas important to the American Crystal Sugar Company's Agriculture Department: 1) the production of a high quality sugarbeet crop using "best management practices"; and 2) the profitability of our shareholders. These guidelines will carry growers through the growing season including pre-harvest in September, and will give all growers the ability to maximize their potential for success. We cannot control the weather but we can play a big part in the quality of the crop and the continued prosperity of our shareholders.

In pursuing these "standards", planning is paramount to success! It will entail managing crops in rotation prior to sugarbeets and will require day to day management, knowing your options and making the best choice. You'll learn to understand how your actions today can and will affect your profit potential in the future and how all six gold standards are closely tied to each other. For example, your fertilizer plan will affect the variety that you select, and the vigor of the crop, which in turn will affect the uniformity and health of your stand. Stand uniformity and health will dictate the seedlings reaction to a herbicide application, the plants susceptibility to insects and disease, and ultimately, your ability to rotobeat and harvest a quality crop!

Simply put, the purpose of the "Gold Standards" is to provide growers with the tools to succeed. With a strong commitment from the growers and with input from the agriculture staffs up and down the valley, we will develop a program to carry us into the 21st century.