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The Columbia Basin Project and Food Processing In the 1930s, economists predicted that sugar beets would be one of the region's most successful future crops. The Utah and Idaho Sugar Company built one of the nation's largest refineries at Moses Lake in October, 1953, providing over 1,000 jobs. On November 22, 1978, the U & I Co. announced its closure due to increased sugar prices and a switch to cheaper corn sweeteners. The next year 42,000 acres which once yielded sugar beets were planted with wheat, corn, and dry beans. Columbia Basin Project land around Moses Lake is dominated by grain crops for export, but diversified crops such as potatoes, beans, peas, corn and sugar beets also stimulate the local economy. Inspecting french fries at Country Gardens plant, 1964. Photo courtesy of Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce. Food processing plants provided seasonal and year-round employment and markets for crops. Potato processors, for example, found Basin potatoes particularly good for french fries. Because of the sandy soil, potatoes grow to a giant size, and more are grown per acre than anywhere else in the world.     forward Table of Contents <> Photo Archive Oral History Archive <> Documents Archive <> Bibliography To Top of Moses Lake Exhibit