Early beet crop shows promise

As early harvest season for area beets commences, all signs are looking up for a successful campaign season.

It’s been about as good beet weather as Wyoming can provide, according to local Western Sugar Agriculturalist Mark Bjornestad. After heavy rainfall in June kicked off crops to a fast start, the crop found a not too-harsh July and August, and September has been ideal. 

“80 degrees is ideal growing weather for beets, and we’ve been in that area consistently in the late summer,” Bjornestad said. “The growing conditions are good. The rain last weekend will more than likely be beneficial and will help the crops grow. Rain in September is welcomed by the crop. It starts drying out this time of year. Some rain helps the crop improve.”

Bjornestad said the conditions have led to a crop that looks like it will yield plenty of sugar. Preliminary numbers show beets with a 17 percent sugar content average.  

“That’s really, really good for September,” Bjornestad said. 

The previous year’s crop had a final average sugar content of 17.52 percent. Bjornestad said the rule of thumb is that the beets will continue to grow in sugar content by a tenth of a point throughout October, meaning the crop will likely land somewhere around 18.50 percent by harvest’s end. 

Bjornestad said he has still to gain a firm understanding on what tonnage looks like this year, but stated that preliminary sampling suggests that the area is looking at above a 28-ton crop on average. 

“It’s all over the board so far. We have some excellent fields and some that are sub-28,” Bjornestad said. “The crop itself looks really good.”

Early harvest began on September 11, and factory operations started up on September 13. Harvest will fully resume on October 6.

Factory operations are also starting on a high note, Bjornestad said. 

“We’re already up to our standard slicing levels at or above 3,000 tons per day,” Bjornestad said. 

Beet harvest also means a lot of beet trucks on the road. Bjornestad said it’s important that residents remain cognizant of them.

“Just be patient and careful,” Bjornestad said.