Campaign sees record-breaking season

Sugar factory run that began Sept. 3 expected to wrap up after nearly six months

After a record-setting growing season and nearly six months of round-the-clock work, the Western Sugar Cooperative factory in Lovell is preparing to wrap up one of its most successful campaigns in recent memory.

Lovell Factory Manager Shannon Ellis took a few minutes this week to reflect on a season that began September 3 and is scheduled to end around March 3, a continuous six-month run.

“It’s been a very good year,” Ellis said. “It wasn’t a record for sugar content, but it certainly was up there with one of the best.”

Growers across the region produced exceptional numbers. Yields averaged about 32 tons per acre, a record, with sugar content hovering around 18 percent. The Lovell factory processed roughly 450,000 tons of Wyoming beets along with another 100,000 tons from Montana growers, who also reported strong production.

The longer campaign compared to recent years comes down to one simple factor: tonnage.

“We would have been done by now last year,” Ellis said. “This year we’re going about three weeks longer. And that’s because of tonnage.”

A six-month campaign

Once slicing begins, the factory runs continuously, weekends, holidays and all.

“That’s continuous, Saturday, Sunday, Christmas Day, Thanksgiving Day, every single day,” Ellis said.

By the time the final beets are processed, the plant will have operated non-stop for 181 days.

Despite the long stretch, Ellis said major breakdowns have been minimal.

“There have been a few issues,” he said, noting occasional problems with equipment like the diffuser and pulp presses. “But nothing major. Probably the longest shutdown we had was maybe 12 hours.”

Power outages caused some of the bigger headaches. Even brief outages can take hours to recover from due to the complexity of restarting a large industrial process.

“If it’s just a few minutes, it can still take four to six hours to get everything back where it was,” Ellis said.

Workforce shifts as campaign ends

At peak season, the Lovell factory employs about 110 to 115 workers. Once slicing ends, staffing drops sharply.

“We’ll go down to about 40,” Ellis said. “We’ll finish slicing around the 3rd, then it’ll be about three days of cleanup -- a favorite time for employees,” Ellis joked.

That seasonal rhythm is part of the cooperative’s long-standing pattern, with campaign length varying year to year, depending on crop size.

Nothing goes to waste

Ellis explained one of the most interesting parts of the sugar process is what happens after the sugar is extracted.

The fibrous material left behind, known as pulp, becomes livestock feed and a valuable byproduct for local agriculture.

“That’s actually after we’ve taken the sugar out of the beet,” Ellis said. “It’s cattle feed. You’ll see truck after truck getting filled up with it.”

Some pulp is dried into pellets for storage and shipping, while wetter pulp is sold directly to producers. Even tailings and remaining organic material are reused.

“Pretty much everything is used from that beet,” Ellis said.

Looking ahead to spring

With the campaign nearly complete, attention will soon turn back to the fields. Growers will begin planting again in late April and May, depending on weather and soil conditions.

And then it all starts over again. The goal is to begin slicing in early September, with premiums offered for early harvest to ensure factories have enough beets to start each campaign.

For now, Ellis said the focus is on finishing strong.

“We do have a good staff,” he said. “We’re young and we’re learning, but they’re energetic and trying real hard.”

After nearly half a year of continuous operation, the Lovell campaign is once again a reminder of how deeply the sugar industry remains tied to the town’s identity, from the fields to the factory floor.