The Department of History is proud to present: Dr. Jim Norris, author of North for the Harvest: Mexican Workers, Growers, and the Sugar Beet Industry (2008)

Throughout most of the twentieth century, thousands of Mexicans traveled north to work the sugar beet fields of the Red River Valley. North for the Harvest examines the evolving relationships between American Crystal Sugar Company, the sugar beet growers, and the migrant workers. Though popular convention holds that migrant workers were invariably exploited, Norris reveals that these relationships were more complex. The company often clashed with growers, sometimes while advocating for workers. And many growers developed personal ties with their workers, while workers themselves often found ways to leverage better pay and working conditions from the company. Ultimately, the lot of workers improved as the years went by. As one worker explained, something historic occurred for his family while working in the Red River Valley: “We broke the chain there.”