The experiences of the men, women, and children who labored in the beet fields of the North Platte Valley changed significantly as the sugar beet industry went through a period of rapid expansion prior to 1920 and then reached a relatively stable plateau. During the period of expansion, laborers were attracted by promises of reasonable wages, good living conditions, and opportunities to move up to the position of tenant or farmer if they worked hard and saved carefully. When the expansion reached its limits, however, those opportunities quickly disappeared. Beet field workers were always hired as part of a temporary labor supply, but during the 1920s they were increasingly treated by farmers, townspeople, and sugar company representatives as only that and not as potential new beet growers.