Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 35, Number 270, Decatur, Adams County, 15 November 1937 — Page 12

PAGE FOUR

No Pollution In River From Sugar Plant

Massive Machinery In Motion i' it SmMPSb 4fe.4L * Wral' f JSI Bmt <4 . / V/V/jWl®! 1 F Ssr l@Kfc,*Br «** This picture does not show intricate details of the eight crystalizerS in constant operation at the Central Sugar Company plant but it does give an Impression of the vast and massive machinery used in the refining process. Each of these evaporators has 1.000 cubic feet capacity

Feed Mills Formed In Spring of 1935 For Concentrates

Mr. McMillen Saw Need to Aid Farmers In Use of Their Home Grains Having been actively engaged in the manufacture of livestock feeds for over twenty years it was only natural for Mr. D. W. McMillen to think of his Decatur activities as an incomplete picture without a feed industry. With the growing success of the Central Sugar Company and the Central Soya Company and their output of products of immense value to the feed industry. Mr. McMillen in the spring of 1935 organized McMillen Feed Mills. Inc. to manufacture Master Mix Feeds. In doing so he had ail the available facilities and man power that first inspired the establishment of the Central Soya Company. In addition he linked the sugar company with the soya company in a new industry providing an added market for their by-products, namely beet pulp, molasses and soybean oil meal. Using these as a base fie introduced his latest idea to the feed industry: high protein concentrates to be used with farm grains and other available feed materials. This combination gave the consumer a large latitude in the ultimate ration he selected for his livestock and poultry. Mr. McMillen's activities during the past two decades created for him a host of acquaintances in the retail feed trade and an unestimatable amount of good will. With this background Master Mix Concentrates attained popularity with such rapidity that it became necessary to increase the plant capacity several times. When McMillen Feed Mills was organized, feed was first mixed at the soya company processing plant. These facilities soon proved far in adequate and a separate feed mixing building was erected. This too was soon unequal to meeting the need for Master Mix Feeds and this year the feed plant was doubled in size with totally new equipment capable of meeting increased requirements. Today there are two feed lines

— Excess Water Is Evaporated From Sugar Syrup Solution Bi lIW i I I E i ' ' *** i I 11 Contained in these multiple evapotators are 6,Don feet of-?« brass tubes with a total of 2«,000 sq. ft. of heating surafee. The solution containing sugar soaked from sugai beets is boiled successively in decreasing ah' pressure as it moves from one evaporator to the next.

20 Tons Os Coal Used Daily To Make Power Coal consumed to provide steam and electric power for the coinbind plants totals to an amazmg figure. The Central Soya Co. to date has. on a yearly average basis, required twenty tons of coal daily This is 134 freight car loads per" anum when reduced to a yearly itasis. The Central Sugar Company during the period it has operated under Mr. McMillen's leadership has used approximately 62.700 tons of coal. This figure is equivalent to 1.140 freight car loads of coal. —tarv l ♦ Freight Car Shipping Hit High Total Here The Traffic Department might well be called the transportation de-1 partment. as the duties and prob- i lems which are handled in the Traffic Department are mainly transportation problems. Sinae the beginning of the Soybean industry here in Decatur. Indiana, which was ' tile fall ot 1934. the company received aud shipped an approximate j total of 15.000 cars. About 13,000 of these cars have been handled under a transit arrangement. Takes 200 Tons Os Coal Daily For Steam Power More than 200 tons of coal are consumed in 24 hours to provide power and steam heating for the Central Sugar Co. operations. To do this, five million pounds of steam are generated by seven huge boilers five of which turn out 465 horse , power each, while the remaining two develop 300 horse power each One of the turbines used for con-1 verting steam Into electricity gen- , erates 500 kilowatts hourly. capable of mixing and sacking 15 one hundred bags of feed each minute. Salesmen for McMillen Feed Mills carry the name of Master; Mix Feeds and the city of Decatur to the states of Indiana, Michigan, Kentucky. Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland and Virginia.

Receiving Yards For Sugar Beets Is Ultra-Modern

Storage Space Now Can Accommodate 12,000 Tons of Beets at Decatur Plant. Let's take a trip through the beet dump and storage yards of the Central Sugar company which are the "last word" in beet receiving equipment and stand out foremost in the eastern sugar area. First of all the farmer's problem of waiting and waiting for his turn to unload has been solved. No longer need he delay for an hour or so during the rush season, while his dinner get cold at home. Now he drives on the scales. The front end of his truck is lashed down with chains, then a hoist 1 raises the truck in jig time, and. the beets are dropped into large' hoppers below. All this after the trucks havel been weighed in on the newest i type of double-dial, 40-ton scales j which have 30-foot platforms to accomodate the modern semi-trailer ’ type trucks. Two trucks can be unloaded at a time, and in a 10-hour day, the receiving equipment has been known to handle 800 truckloads of beets. ' or a truck a minute. A normal day s ■ run. however, is about 400 truck- j loads of beets. After the beets are dropped into the large hoppers, they are conveyed by belts to the shakers where excess dirt and trash is separated from the beets. The beets are then carried by an endless rub-. ber belt, 300 feet long, and weighing more than six tons, to the overhead crane. They are transferr-' ed here to another belt and unloadI ed in any part oj the huge storage yards made from reinforced concrete. The storage yard with a capacity of 10.000 to 12.000 tons, is unique in itself. It has a system of belt conveyors arranged so that i beets can be removed from any ' part of the storage yards in a few hours. In the event there is danger of beets spoiling from heat in one j part of the yard, these can be tak-; en out in short order, and the beets saved- v As they are stored, the beets are floated out of the yards by means of a network of flumes filled with warm water, pumped from the sugar mill. No beets are left in storage for more than six to eight days, and the belts, together with the flumes, practically eliminate all storage loss. The warm water in the flumes which floats the beets to the washing vats, gives them a preliminary cleansing as they go along. However before they enter the plant, they must pass over weed catchers and stone catchers to finally remove anything foreign clinging to them. o — Railroad Sidings Make Handling Os Feed Easy Many visitors at the Central Soya ; Co. have remarked on the vast rail- i road trackage about the plants There are nine sidings capable of | handling scores of cars loading and unloading daily. The total I length of these sidings is over four miles.

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT MONDAY, NOVEMBER 15,1937.

Tops i Birds-eye view of one of the I Central Soya processing plants. FEED MIXING QUITE A JOB Complex Operations Required To Produce Master Mix Feeds Here i The operations of a feed plant are many and complex Raw mater-' ials for McMillen Feed Mills are received from three railroads and by truck. They are inspected, unloaded and stored in readily available com-1 partments for instant use. In mixing feeds the raw materials are emptied into hoppers which in turn deliver their contents to percentage mixing' lines In this man- j tier definite percentages of each individual ingredient may be fed to conveyors which carry the properly proportioned ingredients to the ' mixing machine. At the Master Mix plant the percentage feeders are in the basement from which elevator "legs" convey the ingredients to the fourth floor of the building where the mixers arc located Different equipment is used for mixing different feed* When the mixture is thoroughly homogenized it is sent through revolving reels which eliminate forteign materials and from there it is carried through a magnetic separator which removes nails and other metallic objects, if by chance any t of these should have found their way into the ingredients. The next step passes the feed into automatic scales which are set to deliver precisely 100 lbs at each dumping per bag The bags are carried by a conveyor where they are sewed and tagged and become ready for immediate delivery. STORAGE BINS OF VAST SIZE Bean Silos Increased Now To Hold Total Os Million And Half Bushels When the Central Soya Co. plant was constructed in the Fall of 1934. storage bins for approximately 500.- , 000 bushels of beans were built, i Since that time the demands on storage capacity have been so ’ great, that in 1936 another half million bushel storage was added. , At this time huge silos 110 feet j high, with a work house towering 130 feet above the ground, were erected Again the demand increased and this season the capacity of these silos was doubled, bringing the total storage available to one and a half million bushels When the beans are inspected, weighed and dumped, they are ele- ' vated to the top of the work house, I cleaned, dried and put into storage. ' Trucks bring 15,000 bushels daily, i during the harvest season, and bei tween 30,000 and 45,000 bushels ari ive by freight car. These car deliveries average 30 freight cars per ■ day. No beaus are stored with a highj er moisture than 11% because if ■ their moisture were higher there would be danger of spoilage. Be- ' tween 700 and 1300 bushels can be I dried houily. The elevator is also equipped with hammer mills for the grindinn >f oats, barley. etc. o The Central Sugar Co. processes sugar from sugar beets but to raise utjar beets the essential factor is beet seed. In five years the makers of Sparkling Crystal White Sugar I have supplied 1320 tons of beet seed to growers in the Decatur area. If thia quantity were hauled into . Decatur in a freight train it would I be 40 cars long.

PLAN NEEDED FDR SUCCESS WITH POULTRY ' Definite Program Should Be Decided Upon And Used For Best Results I Success in poultry raising like! success in most other lines of business Is decidedly largely by correct planning. Good chicks and correct feed are Important factors in determining the ultimate results. Feed costs usually represent | more than half the expense of producing eggs and poultry meat. To reduce this cost to a minimum consistent with profitable results Mc-i Millen Feed Mills is manufacturing: Master Mix complete poultry feeds ‘ which have met with the unqualified approval of poultrymen everyI where. Master Mix nutritional experts' have proven that a complete program for poultry feeding is necess- | ary to accomplish maximum results. Beginning with selection of. 1 good, clean chicks, the poultryman should plan his program in advance | I to include Master Mix Chick Start-1 er. Grower and Egg Mash, all of I which are of high nutritional value , and are potent sources of Vitamins A. B. C, D, E. and O. Vse of Master Mix Chick Starter will give baby chicks a healthy, rap-I id start but in six weeks they. should be changed to Master Mix i Growing Mash. Even though weathI er permits putting the birds on the range, chick grains alone are not sufficient If the birds are to be developed Into strong, healthy pullets capable of real production. It is, highly important, at this time, to feed Master Mix Growing Mash along with chick grains and green feeds that the birds get on the range. By following this program until the birds are ready for housing, the thoughtful poultryman will find he has a flock of healthy, well- developed pullets going into sound production and maintaining a high average at a time when egg prices are favorable. Feeding Master Mix Egg Mash will maintain the Improved appearance, sturdy health and uniform productiveness which are the benefits of following this complete program. Flock owners furnishing eggs to ' a hatchery will find that by continuing with Master Mix Egg Mash high production will result with excellent fertility and hatchahility. By following the complete Master Mix program profits will be , correspondingly higher, the ration of costs to production will be low- ; er. flock health will be benefited and the poultry feeder well repaid for hts time, care and investment. — o Limestone In Big Lots Used In Sugar Making Limestone is an important chemical factor in the production of Sparkling Crystal White sugar. It is one of the ingredients used to remove objectionable foreign matter from the sugar beet syrup before it is refined Into sugar. During the sugar campaign last season 6076 tons of limestone, in the form of limerock were delivered to the Central Sugar refinery for this purpose. Approximately the same amount will be utilized this year. Over the past five years. 30,613 . tons of limestone have been consumed On a freight car basis this means 557 car loads of limestone. Beet pulp, an important ingredient in good dairy feed, is a by-pro-duct of the manufacture of Sparkling Crystal White Sugar. During the past five years the Central Sugar Co. has had a output of over 19,170 tons of beet pulp, equivalent i tn freight car loads. Beets MBhf < £ w. If 1 Before being alteed so their sugar cau be withdrawn, beets are ’ thoroughly washed. Here is a view 1 of cleaned beets coming from the j washing machinery.

Filtering Operation Is Important nS> TTI This photo taken in the Central Sugar Co. plant shows a Work er cleaning one segment of the pressure filters. Careful filtration of [he sugar syrup is In step of Importance before sugar is crystallized from I the solution. Raisers Os Beets Can Now Qualify To Receive Cash

Notices Received From State Committee Regarding Payment Procedure. — Beet growers In the Decatur dis- i trict have recently received notice from their State Agricultural Con-, servation Committee that 1937 growers may qualify for the pay ments provided in the recently ap- : proved Sugar Act of 1937. i 1 I These payments are separate I from the benefit payments provid- ‘, ed for under the Soil Conservation ( Program and the grower will re- , ceive both benefit payments if ho qualifies for them. The following , provisions for qualifying for the . payments under the recent Act | are outlined: No child under 14 years of age shall have been permitted tn work I on the farm after September 1 in the harvest of the 1937 sugar beet crop, and no child between 14 arid 16 years of age shall have been permitted to do such work for i more than 8 hours per day. These: ( provisions, however, do not apply to the children of a person who is ' the legal owner of 40% or more of I the sugar beet crop. All persons employed on the farm in the production, eultivn- | tion, or harvesting of the 1937 sug- , ar beet crop must be paid in full i 1 for all such work, and if the Secre-I, tary of Agriculture determines i minimum labor rates for the 1937 , harvest in the area in which the ■ farm is located, then laborers must be paid at rates not less than i ■ those determined. 1, Certain farming practices must 11 I have been carried out on the farm | as one qualification for a payment. • To meet the requirement for the ' 1937 crop the Secretary has deter- , mined that any farm on which i there has been carried out such j ■ farming practices as would have I qualified that farm for at least - one half of the maximum sugar pay- , ment under the 1937 Agricultural • Conservation Program will be con- i sidered as having met this require- i ment. , In addition to the payments on , the sugar beets produced, provi- L sion is also made for payments up- ■ on a portion of the normal production in case the actual production from the acres harvested is less than 80% of normal, or if there | has been bona fide abandonment of planted acres. However, to qualify for such I payments the subnormal production; or the abandonment must have been caused hy drought, flood, storm, freese. disease, or insects, and such cause must have affected the sugar beet crop in a substantial part of the area in which the i farm is located. Any grower having abandoned sugar beet acreage be- | cause of one or tnore of the above mentioned causes should report j such abandonment at the office of the county Agricultural Conservai tion Committee. After the completion of the 1937 harvest, sugar beet producers will be given an opportunity to make formal application for the payments. t Complete explanation of the sug-! ar program with reference to the I requirements for 1938 will be Off- ; cred to sugar beet producers in I 'time to complete their plans for' the 1938 season, probably before i January 1. It is not anticipated that any j growers in the Decatur area will | i fail to qualify for this sugar pay-: ment of $0.60 per cwt-, raw value i J ($1.75 to $1.85 per ton of beets) on |, the 1937 crop. i;

Experts From Germany Help Build New Plant In the construction of the new extraction plant at the Central Soya Co. officials of that concern have been fortunate in obtaining the services of two experts from Germany where the equipment was made. Dr. Alfred Schmid and Herr Franz Werbenecke have been in Decatur since June, lending their advice and assistance in the installation of the new equipment. Dr. Schmid is a chemical engineer representing the Hansa-Muhle company which lends its name to the new machinery while Herr Werbenecke represents the manufacturers of the equipment and is a mechanical engineer. DDIL SUGAR IN DIG TANK Great Care Used To Get Proper Size Os Crystals In Local Product Making of sugar into the choice product. Sparkling Crystal White, much relished by Indiana housewives, involves many different operations. Among the most spectacular of these is the boiling of the sugar solution in what are termed “sugar pans." These are huge tanks with 900 square feet of heating surface. Ap proximately 600 cubic feet of solu tion is allowed to enter the tanks when the boiling process is started. The amount which enters the "pans” as the boiling process begins determines to a great extent the size of the granulated crystals when the process is completed Gradually mwre and more of the syrup is added until about 1200 cubic feet of solution are in the "pans". The boiling then proceeds for about an hour and twenty minutes when the crystalized sugar and molasses is sent to centrifical machines to have the molasses separated from it. ’ '

No Shovelling Os Coal i ii It is Steam cranes load coal into this huge at the C* 0 ’ 1 uiatically fed into the boilers tot making stea Sugar Co. plant.

WASTE water l IS IN REM f »w t-nl«inn4|l Construction O s . . 1,,. ' settling basin tor *■ ! <>ntrsl Sugar eliminated any " f St. Mary', rlver OHM lhe The new rMervo|r W Central Stock far.,,. 'jg Plant through th. of dikes along the river . Us highest point is is and along high ground J*!’ high. The new reservoir with an older but much basin. All the waste water frousH j sugai plant p our , into th ervoir at the rate of a 11111110,1 and a half sa:i UI1!i 2B | for the entire sugar beet saJW 60 to 90 days. Sim e the construction of , I dikes, and the creation d( the er basin, the reservoir is enough to holdall th. was., ZB , that leaves the plant dwiufcß season. ■ t The waste water contain* I tween 100 and 150 complex q»B . i ie compounds, all of which I ygell eons im j n? . a|1(1 whlch , to (I- pl.-te :oxygen supplygqß ’ I sary to marine life. It r j fact that caused :he death , in the river, and not the pg|)*B j shreds clogging the gj||, . tish. as many persons hare , ed, it was pointed out by chemists AH pulp and shredsjß taken out -u the water by before it flows int > the resentgH ( I and sold for dairy feed. S Water Soak, In 1. The purchase of the sW ul stm k fai m was partly pmuiptd|H the need tor such a reservoir, the land is wasted because ot'JiH i water poured on it JM As the water is held by ths-iiiH during the late fall and winter gM . waste hits settle to the hoitM««« decompose. The water is alKittH I . by the earth, and the laud illkW ed and used for crops in th. E the decomposed matter ii*rr,D| I served a.- excellent fertilizer, t 0 — Fish Meal Is Valuable I Ingredient For Fedsl ( | The many ingredients used tl , i the manufacture of Master Nil ■ I Feeds originate in varied para fl - this country. I ■ One of the most mterestigbl > dustries supplying Master Mil>■ I i gredients is the Sardine fieliigbl dustry. Each year beginningo* 1 II the middle of August the ■ fleets set out from the Pacift ■ ■I Coast ports for the sardine fitWl I grounds. | Upon the completion ot a mtm ■ II fishing the purse-seigners retnl •| to the mother ship, uul<»i*| t catch, ami anchor to booms j 11 ed from the mother ship until Ito embark for another nights »| 1 1 * n S- I I The fish meal produced « I . west coast is highly nutritive Wl I contains between «0% awn I - protein. Each year McMHlen MI • i Mills, Inc- uses approxHMW/J II carloads of this fish m«l'»l -1 is about 2% of the entire of the Pacific Coast I