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Peter Lynch

Maine Sugar
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1967-1969
Industry: Sugar Beet Refinery Plant
Category: Whisper Stock

Context
When Lynch was in the army in 1967 to 1969, he was assigned to Korea.
The Maine Sugar people had gone around to all the Maine potato farmers to convince them to grow sugar beets in the off-season.
This is the perfect companion crop for potatoes, the farmer could make extra money and revitalize the soil.
Maine Sugar would be footing the bill for planting the beets and processing them.

Result
The problem was that Maine farmers are conservative.
Instead of planting hundreds of acres, the first year they tried a quarter acre, the next year a half acre...
By the time they got to a full acre, the refinery went bankrupt.