That's cool that you got into the Sterling factory. Did you encounter any resistance from workers? I believe the site is still used for storage and as a beet dump.
My dad actually worked for Great Western and then later Western Sugar in the 80's and 90's. He was a loader operator. I remember as a kid sitting on his lap and steering the loader around and around the beet pile in-between truck arrivals. And running around the off loading ramp outside the Morgan factory, a 6 foot deep pit with water in it carrying the beets inside. I guess safety wasn't as strictly enforced then.
Anyway there is also another sugar factory near the Nebraska border in the little town of Ovid. I've been by at work several times but always get eyeballed by the workers at the still active silo.
Here's a couple pics from outside the fence
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