Sugarbeet Harvest Ends

Although growers experienced a tough growing season this year, Mother Nature rewarded their perseverance by providing good weather for sugarbeet harvest. Growers had to wait an extra week before starting harvest due to warm temperatures, but once they began bringing in the crop, they had uninterrupted digging.

“We finished on the 24th of October, with Savage the last station to complete harvest,” says Russ Fullmer, Sidney Sugars agricultural manager. “We had beautiful weather, the beets came in clean and dry and went into the piles well, and the beets are in good shape. The weather held, so we just kept going day after day with no breaks, so people were tired by the end of harvest.”

He adds, “Growers harvested 20,069 acres of beets, brought in 36,565 loads, and we have 760,000 screened tons of beets.”

This year’s crop averaged 25.3 tons per acre, a few tons higher than originally expected, and averaged 17.57% sugar. “Slightly higher than 17% is about average for Roundup Ready beets,” Fullmer says. “Roundup Ready beets don’t seem to sugar up as high, although the sugar content did start improving as harvest progressed.”

He adds, “Growers had a tough year, as fields were planted late. However, everyone saw a lot of growth in September and October that added tonnage.”

All stations with the exception of Savage produced higher yields than originally estimated. “Everyone was above average except Savage, but that area was really hit hard by hail this summer,” Fullmer comments. “They weren’t just hit once, but had a series of devastating storms.”

Growers and their help worked carefully and cautiously so no major accidents occurred. Fullmer credits courteous drivers for this relatively accident-free year. “There were a few beet truck accidents and tip-overs, but no biggies,” he remarks. “Traffic is so very heavy, so we were fortunate. Roads to the north were very bad, but even Savage isn’t a sleepy little road any longer. It is crazy with the traffic, so thankfully everyone was courteous and drove safely. I didn’t hear any complaints about beet truck drivers, so the drivers did well.”

Rehaul trucks have been running smoothly, and Fullmer expects the factory to finish this year’s campaign by the end of January.