On 11-Feb-2005, "Tinkerntom" wrote:

My in-laws have a sugar beet farm in Mn, and the
price they get for their sugar is determined by world markets.

You'd better check your facts, TnT - in the US, sugar prices
are _not_ tied to world prices. That's why US sugar producers
can stay in business and those in, say, Africa, cannot sell
sugar in the US. In fact, many agricultural products in the
US are out of whack with world markets. World markets are also
out of whack with reality, since agriculture is the most heavily
protected and subsidized industry in the west.

Mike