Government will sweeten beet growers’ buyout offer

DENVER — State and county governments are sweetening a financial package that sugar beet growers are putting together to buy out Western Sugar Co. and convert its processing facilities to a cooperative-run operation.

The Western Sugar facilities include processing plants in Greeley and Fort Morgan, where a total of 200 full-time jobs could be lost if Western Sugar cannot find a buyer before shutting down its operations in Colorado, Nebraska, Wyoming and Montana.

The Colorado Economic Development Commission last week agreed to kick in $400,000 to help growers raise one-third of the $78 million asking price sought by Tate and Lyle PLC,…