President Miguel Diaz-Canel said at the end of April that the state-run industry had produced 71% of the 412,000 metric tons planned, or just shy of 300,000 metric tons, and would mill into May.
Candy companies and other sugar users have alleged there is a sugar shortage in the U.S., and they want to be able to import more sugar. Sugarbeet grower Laura Rutherford counters that narrative.
American Sugarbeet Growers Association executive vice president Luther Markwart discusses the work being done on sugar policy and the urgency of getting a farm bill done this year.
Besides the 27 shares brokered at a record price of $6,000, the next highest was $5,975 per share. Eighty-one shares were brokered at the latter price.
Desugaring all of the molasses will allow the company to produce as much as an additional 80 million pounds of pure, all-natural sugar annually without planting another acre of sugarbeets.
The lawsuits claim that sugarbeet and sugar cane companies have joined together to raise the price of sugar to end-users such as bakeries and restaurants.
Though there have been many advances in sugarbeet production, production challenges remain that Mark Anfinrud, an industry veteran, hopes future research will mitigate.
Aigen had a weed-eliminating robot demonstration at the International Sugar Beet Institute's first day. The director of Grand Farm talked about those kinds of real-world solutions for ag problems.
In November 2023, Eric Branch accepted a position as University of Minnesota Extension and North Dakota State University Extension sugarbeet specialist.
