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By Peter Buzzanell*

About 10% of Nation’s Sugar Production Comes from Domestically Grown Beets; Remainder from Imported Raw Cane Sugar Refined in Canada

 Canada’s beet sugar production has evolved from several plants to one located in Alberta. The bulk of Canadian sugar supplies come from imported raw cane sugar processed at three refineries, located in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver, respectively. The resulting refined sugar is marketed to individual buyers in the retail market and mainly to large customers in the country’s beverage and food industry.
     Corn sweeteners are produced in eastern Canada and compete in sweetener markets with sugar. Canada is also a major producer of maple syrup and honey, with exports going mainly to the U.S. market. Canada has recently initiated an
ethanol program to mix ethanol with gasoline, using corn and wheat as the major feedstocks.
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Outline of size & structure of Mexico sugar sector

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2010 Focus Areas 03/07/2010
 
ASGA Executive Vice President Luther Markwart
Outlines Association Priorities for Coming Year
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In what areas will the American Sugarbeet Growers Association be focusing its efforts during the coming year? Luther Markwart, ASGA’s longtime executive vice president, updated members on several of the association’s top 2010 priorities during the group’s annual meeting in early February.
     • Crop Insurance — ASGA has worked for several years toward the removal of stages for sugarbeet crop insurance. That effort, which began with a pilot project in Minnesota, has now culminated in stage removal in all U.S. sugarbeet states except California (whose growers typically do not take out crop insurance on beets).
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Why the Beet Sugar Processing
Sector Is So Concerned
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This chart compares the levels of annual greenhouse gas emissions (as of 2007) that come from various industries, including sugarbeet processing. The beet sugar sector — at 4.3 million metric tons of CO2 — is very minor compared to the other noted industries, both “covered” and “not covered.”
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Results from Year One of Idaho Strip-Tillage Study
By Amber Moore, Don Morishita & Oliver Neher*
         The introduction of strip tillage to sugarbeet production in southern Idaho has brought challenges as well as opportunities to local beet growers.  One challenge is accounting for chaff (residue) trails left behind by combines.  These trails create uneven distribution of residue throughout the field, which can be a challenge for ensuing crop production with strip tillage.       

         Specifically, growers are concerned that the areas with little residue will be droughty and more susceptible to weed growth, while areas with heavy residue coverage may have more fertilizer and herbicide binding in the residue — and more soil-borne disease pressure under a cooler, more-moist and higher-carbon soil environment.
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ASA Economist Provides Analysis of Past Year for
U.S. & World Markets - And What May Lie Ahead

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     Editor’s Note: Jack Roney is having fun these days. After two decades as a sugar industry economist, “I finally get to defend a price recovery,” he radiates. “This is the moment I’ve been waiting for in my career!”

     The past year has been an exciting one in sugar markets, as world prices have risen to a three-decade high and U.S. sugar prices have also risen dramatically. What factors precipitated this price rise — and what is the prognosis for the remainder of the current marketing year and beyond?

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