FARGO, N.D. (AP) - American Crystal Sugar Co. is entering its 40th year as a farmer-owned cooperative, but there was little cause for celebration at the group's annual meeting.
Company CEO Dave Berg says total grower payments are down more than $300 million dollars from last year, when shareholders enjoyed the second-highest average beet payment in history.
Berg says he doesn't see an end in sight to what he calls a ''price crisis'' created by excessive supplies of Mexican sugar in the U.S. market. He says it's a ''pretty important time'' for the sugar industry and the company.
The American Crystal leader says although growers don't like losing money, most of them are long-term investors who have weathered tough times before.