Caro's 1899 sugarbeet factory is still setting records

Every fall, Caro fires up a factory with serious bragging rights. Michigan Sugar says its Caro plant is the oldest operating sugarbeet factory in the United States. The plant on the edge of town has sliced Thumb-grown beets since 1899. And it is anything but a relic. In the 2023-24 “campaign” — the industry’s word for the fall processing run — Caro’s crew set six production records. That included a single-day slice of more than 4,800 tons. The crew was also named Michigan Sugar’s Campaign Champion factory.

That makes Caro the working heart of an industry that defines the Thumb. The flat, dark farmland around town grows sugarbeets the size of footballs. Farmer-owners deliver them by the truckload from October into winter. The sweet steam over the factory is the county seat’s seasonal weather. Between the beet campaign, the county fair, and its role as Tuscola’s courthouse town, Caro still makes and grows real things. It has the 125-year streak to prove it.