“The growers asked Amalgamated Sugar Company if they would contract additional acres with the stipulation that these beets would be delivered earlier than normal.  The company agreed and growers planted and harvested 4,500 acres.  These acres produced a total of 88,244 tons of beets — an average of 19.39 tons per acre.  Sugar content was 14.07%.  (Regular harvest beets averaged 22.19 tons per acre with a sugar content of 15.16%.)
      “The initial payment of $26.63 per ton totaled $2,023,676.  Growers compared these results:
      “Had this same 4,500 acres been planted to: Barley @ 110 bu. per acre x $2.25 = $247.50, totaling $1,113,750; Wheat @ 85 bu. per acre x $3.50 = $297.50, totaling $1,338,750; Beans @ 20 bags per acre x $11.00 = $220.00, totaling $990,000.
      “Needless to say, early delivery is a part of the 1983 program for Minidoka growers.”

    Clarksburg Now Grower Owned — “California growers who grow beets for the Clarksburg plant of American Crystal Sugar Company have taken the bull by the horns and are now the owners — and still growers — of the Clarksburg beet sugar factory.
    “The story started some months ago.  American Crystal served notice that (1) American Crystal would operate the factory in 1983 only if the beet purchase agreement was rewritten as a ‘nonloss’ contract to Crystal, or (2) that a new operator or buyer could be found for the plant, or (3) that the Clarksburg growers would form a cooperative and purchase the plant.
    “A buying group emerged — consisting of foreign interests and the present growers — and a company was formed, Delta Sugar Company.  An offer was made to Crystal, accepted by Crystal and it appeared everything was in order.  But, the foreign interests withdrew at the last second.
    “Growers in the Clarksburg area, still wanting to grow beets, and Crystal started negotiations all over.  The negotiations were successful and a new deal was made.
    “The new group, Clarksburg-Dixon, Inc., signed a contract to purchase, with Crystal continuing managing operations for one year.  After that, Clarksburg-Dixon will be owned and managed by growers, but not as a cooperative.”

    “The transplanted sugarbeets, developed by David Allen, a progressive Nampa-area beet grower, are being tested this year at the UI’s College of Agriculture Research and Extension Center at Kimberly against a direct-seeded crop planted alongside them.
    “ ‘I believe this is the way of the future, and if you’re going to do this, the university has to have the data,’ said Allen.
    “Last year, Allen transplanted about 200 acres of sugarbeets and compared them with 60 acres of beets he planted in the standard way.  He figured that the transplants would pay for their additional $75-an-acre cost if they yielded an extra 4 tons per acre.  What he got was twice that much — 36 tons per acre for the transplants compared with 28.8 tons for the direct-seeded beets.
    “Allen said the Japanese, who pioneered transplanted sugarbeets 20 years ago, have more than doubled their yields with the technique and that 95 percent of that country’s sugarbeets are now being transplanted.  UI College of Agriculture staff transplanted beets in Canyon County test plots for three years during the late 1960s, but the technique, ahead of its time, was not adopted.
    “According to John Gallian, UI College of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service sugarbeet specialist at Twin Falls, growers have shown considerable interest in transplanted sugarbeets since Allen first demonstrated the process last year . . .
    “The beets Allen and Gallian transplanted onto the Kimberly R&D Center April 23 were sown in Allen’s Nampa greenhouse February 28 and March 15.  The seed was planted into soil-filled paper tubes about ½-inch wide and 5-½ inches long.  After the beets emerged, they were ‘hardened’ by canvas dragged across them  The temperature in the greenhouse was gradually lowered, increasing the beets’ resistance to frost damage.”

    Breeders Study Plant Chemicals — “Examining the amount of chemicals that individual plants produce to defend themselves against fungus diseases might provide plant breeders with a mechanism to increase disease resistance.
    “An interdisciplinary team of scientists has been closely following the nature of Cercospora leaf spot disease in sugarbeets.  The team has observed two toxins that the Cercospora fungus produces when it infects beets.  In addition, the team has observed the phytoalexins that beets produce to protect themselves against infections. . . .
    “ ‘Perhaps one way to increase disease resistance would be to measure the number and amount of these phytoalexins, or “warding off” compounds, and incorporate them into commercially valuable varieties,’ says Susan S. Martin, plant physiologist with USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, Fort Collins, Colo.
    “In previous research, Martin discovered that the Cercospora leaf spot fungus remains in intercellular areas of beet leaves rather than actually entering individual cells.  For many years before Martin examined the fungus with an electron microscope, scientists had believed that the Cercospora fungus, like most other fungi, actually entered individual cells to create the characteristic leaf spots.”
    
     Outlook for World Sugar Market Called ‘thoroughly depressing’ — “The outlook for the world sugar market is ‘thoroughly depressing’ and will remain so until the large stocks overhanging the market are reduced, according to London sugar analyst Simon Harris.
      “Speaking at the second European Agricultural Outlook Conference in London, Harris said the stocks overhang will exist for several years if a new International Sugar Agreement cannot be successfully negotiated.  He said attainment of a new agreement is still some distance away.
     “He said the current market situation, with world prices considered below production costs, has to be improved before a new agreement can be launched.  The main hindrance is the current high level of world stocks.  The latest estimate for 1982-83 world stocks is 38 million tons or 41 percent of consumption, against an optimum level of 25 percent.”

    Doney Theory Holds Promise — “Progress in the development of new, superior sugarbeet varieties could be dramatically accelerated if a new theory now being tested by U.S. Department of Agriculture researchers holds true.
    “The new theory proposes that genetic differences can be magnified for swifter, easier selection if stress, related to vigor not resistance, is imposed on an organism.  Devon L. Doney, a plant geneticist with USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, Logan, (Utah) conceived this theory. . . .
    “If  his theory holds up, Doney believes that past progress made over a period of 10 to 15 years could, in the future, be realized in only 5 to 7 years.  He emphasizes that the theory applies only to plant vigor.”   

    “Gerald W. Shannon, general manager and chief executive officer of the Minn-Dak Farmers Cooperative at Wahpeton, N.D., warned the sugar user groups that attempts to remove sugar from the current four-year farm program could backfire and leave American consumers vulnerable to the up-and-down world market.
    “ ‘There are perhaps a handful of individual sugar users that are currently able to deal satisfactorily on the world market,’ he said, but noted that most are removed from seaport refineries and could suffer shortages if the U.S. sugar industry were to collapse.
    “Shannon pointed out that the sugar program enacted by Congress in 1981 was made effective in 1982; President Reagan later ordered country-by-country import quotas to strengthen the program.  As a result, he said: ‘U.S. sugar buyers paid less per pound for sugar in the first six months of 1982 than they did in the first half of 1981 — and they paid less in 1981 than they did in 1980.’ ”

    Block Says More Support ‘Not in Cards’ — “Hawaii sugar growers should expect no further help from Washington this year since last year’s price support measures  have ‘provided enormous stability in the sugar market,’ Agriculture Secretary John Block told reporters in Honolulu. 
    “Block, in Honolulu to address the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, said that although he realizes sugar farmers here would like to see even more generous price supports, ‘that’s not in the cards.’ 
    “A year ago, Congress vetoed an amendment that would have reduced federal loan prices on sugar from 17 to 14 cents a pound.  But sugar refiners and food and beverage manufacturers would love to see such supports reduced.  Block said the U.S. sugar industry is in ‘relatively better shape than in other countries’ and he didn’t anticipate ‘the administration making problems greater for the sugar industry.’ ”

    Plants Produce Chemicals Against Fungus Diseases — “Examining the amount of chemicals that individual plants produce to defend themselves against fungus diseases might provide plant breeders with a mechanism to increase disease resistance.
    “An interdisciplinary team of scientists has been closely following the nature of [C]ercospora leaf spot disease in sugarbeets.  The team has observed two toxins that the [C]Cercospora fungus produces when it infects beets.  In addition, the team has observed the phytoalexins that beets produce to protect themselves against infections. . . .
    “ ‘Perhaps one way to increase disease resistance would be to measure the number and amount of these phytoalexins, or ‘warding-off’ compounds, and incorporate them into commercially valuable varieties,’ says Susan S. Martin, plant physiologist with USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, Fort Collins, Colo.”

    Colorado Grower Finds Way to Control Cyst Nematodes — “Barnard Geisick of Greeley, Colo., no longer debates whether to fumigate his sugarbeets in the spring or fall.  He’s found another way to control cyst nematodes.
    “Using a granular systemic pesticide, he spends less application time, faces fewer overall risks and combats a wider range of pests.
        “Attacking the taproot, cyst nematodes can hurt sugarbeet yields.  Soil fumigation is an effective way to combat nematodes, but several factors have made fumigation less desirable to some growers.  For Geisick, fumigation was additional work in an already time-consuming operation. . . .
     “Geisick looks at farming like any other type of business.   ‘If you don’t keep up with progress, you can get behind the times — not only with technology, but equipment and practices too,’ he asserts. . . .
      “Geisick’s move to Temik aldicarb pesticide is an example.  He had been using Dow’s Telone and Shell’s DD for some time, and had looked at test data and listened to various growers who were using Temik.  After comparing it to what he was getting from fumigation, he switched to Temik on all his sugarbeet acres.”

    Puerto Rico Imports Sugar for First Time in 100 Years — “Puerto Rico has definitely ceased to be a sugar exporting island.  For the first time in the last 100  years, it had to import sugar to meet its local demand.
    “Once, the island had a raw sugar output of around 1,360,000 short tons (1952), which was shipped to the U.S. mainland for refining.  In those days, sugar producing experts estimated Puerto Rico could very well increase its output to about 1,600,000 tons a year by 1980.  But, instead, the 1982 crop was roughly [114,000] short tons or about 40,000 tons less than the previous harvest year.
    “Of the 48 sugar mills operating in 1949, only five were milling this year, plus one refinery.  A total of 34,000 short tons of refined sugar had to be imported from the U.S. mainland . . . .”             

    “His fellow producers and association board members can testify to Towater’s long-lived dedication to securing a healthy, viable sugarbeet industry which will live long into the future.  That dedication is mirrored in his 30-plus years of work on behalf of beet growers and processors.
    “The proudest, most exciting moment in his life was walking up to accept the presidency of the American association, he says.  It was a long climb for the Panhandle beet grower — a seed that started with a need to back the industry that had been good to his family and ended in a strong tree acting as a mainstay in the industry.
    “He and his wife Audrey started farming in 1946 after Towater was released from a stint in the military.  ‘That’s what I wanted to do,’ Towater remembers with a grin and a shrug. . . .  Beets were a part of Towater’s operation from the beginning, and the crop so often dubbed the ‘mortgage lifter’ continued to be so successful; it became a mainstay for many communities, Towater says.”

    November Harvest Start-up Produces Maximum Tonnage — “Texas growers starting sugarbeet harvest about November 1 will produce maximum tonnage and sugar.  Growers that harvest earlier will reduce yield and returns.  Delaying harvest after November 1 is not likely to increase yield much, but greatly increases the possibility of bad weather and harvest problems.
    “Dr. Steve Winter, Texas Agricultural Experiment Station sugarbeet researcher from the Texas A&M Center at Amarillo, came to this conclusion after four years of research.  Each year Mono-Hy D2 sugarbeets were planted in March in Pullman clay loam soil at the USDA Conservation and Production Research Laboratory at Bushland.  The sugarbeets were managed for high yields.
    “Each year the researcher harvested the sugarbeets at two-week intervals from September 1 to November 9. . . . On the average, by September 1, beet yield was 24 tons per acre.  By November 9, tonnage increased to 31 tons per acre.  During the same time, sugar percentage increased from 13.5 to 16.0.”

    Michigan Growers Form Association — “One thousand sugarbeet growers in Michigan’s Saginaw Valley and Thumb Region have established a new growers’ organization.  The Great Lakes Sugar Beet Growers Association (GLSBGA) consists of growers producing sugarbeets for Michigan Sugar Company.
    “The purpose of GLSBGA is to: (1) promote the state’s sugar industry; (2) educate Michigan consumers and taxpayers about the importance of the industry; (3) support and review research projects; (4) work with legislators in Michigan and Washington, D.C., in order to maintain a strong domestic industry; (5) improve members’ knowledge of recent improvements and advancement of the sugarbeet industry.
    “The new officers are as follows: President, Stanley G. Gettel of the Sebewaing Beet Growers Assoc., Inc.; Vice President, Roy J. Hickey of the Caro Sugar Beet Growers, Inc., and Secretary-Treasurer, Garnet Hoard of the Alma Beet Growers Assn., Inc. . . .  The Great Lakes Sugar Beet Growers Association was established as a reorganizational move after the Farmers and Manufacturers Beet Sugar Association was dissolved.”

       Domestic Industry Promotes New Educational Program of ‘The Facts’ — “The domestic sugar industry, under attack by what spokesmen called ‘greedy special-interest groups deliberating distorting the facts,’ has announced a new program to disseminate information about United States sugar production.
     “Five industry groups have organized the Sugar Information Bureau, based in Washington and staffed by professional information specialists, to meet what was termed ‘an obvious and growing need for the factual story of domestic sugar.’  The groups are the American Sugarbeet Growers Association, representing farmers in 16 states; the Florida Sugar Cane League, Hawaiian Sugar Planters’ Association, the Rio Grande Valley Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative and the United States Beet Sugar Association, a group of processing companies. . . .  Together the groups represent virtually all of the domestic sugar industry, which has long been viewed by government as essential to United States consumer and commercial interests.”

    Researchers Study [Role] of Herbicides in Control of Weeds — “Herbicides usually effective in controlling weeds can sometimes cause more harm than good to the crop.  To prevent this problem, researchers are trying to develop herbicide-resistant crops.  ‘Such crops would lead to more complete weed control, increased yields, and lower consumer prices for food,’ says Garry A. Smith, USDA-ARS plant geneticist at Fort Collins, Colo. . . .
    “In a two-year study, the plant geneticist found 15 lines of sugarbeets which offered varying degrees of susceptibility to  herbicides.”     

    “Markwart leaves his position as Executive Vice President of the Farmers and Manufacturers Beet Sugar Association based in Saginaw, Michigan, to accept the national position in Washington, D.C.  He replaces Richard W. Blake, who has retired after 33 years of service to the sugar industry.
    “As a 1977 Michigan State University graduate in business administration, Markwart has a background in sales, public relations and photography.  He is also an instructor of public speaking and human relations for the Dale Carnegie Courses in Saginaw.”

    Beet Tops: A Good Source of Nitrogen — “Have you ever wondered what those beet tops you leave in the field might do for the next crop?  An experiment at Davis (California) [has] given an answer concerning the contribution of the tops to the nitrogen fertilization of a following wheat crop.
    “A beet crop (US H11) was planted April 22, 1980, received 140 pounds fertilizer nitrogen (N) per acre, and was harvested October 9.  The harvest was by hand with the tops being cut off just below the oldest living leaf.  The crop produced 42 tons of roots (12.7% sucrose) and 16 tons of tops per acre.  Tops were removed from some plots; but in others they were rototilled into the top 4 inches of soil on November 10.  On November 11 the area was fertilized for Anza wheat, which was planted on November 12.  The mature wheat was harvested June 22, 1981. . . .
    “Where tops were incorporated, they furnished the equivalent of 40 pounds of fertilizer N for wheat production; an additional 80 pounds of fertilizer N were needed to maximize economic return.  When tops were not incorporated and were removed from the field, 120 pounds of fertilizer N were necessary for maximum economic yield.”

    Nor-Am Introduces New Herbicide, Betamix® — “Nor-Am Agricultural Products, Inc., is introducing Betamix®, a new broad-spectrum sugarbeet herbicide, according to H. Broughton Smith, Product Manager, Herbicides, for the company.
    “Betamix, a selective post-emergence herbicide, controls a wide range of weeds such as wild mustard, lambsquarters, redroot pigweed and kochia that infest sugarbeet plants.  The product is a ready-to-use 50:50 mix of Nor-Am’s Betanal® (phenmedipham) and Betanex® (desmedipham), the two largest selling sugarbeet herbicides throughout the world, including Russia . . . .
    “ ‘Betamix was developed as a convenience for growers,’ explained Smith.  ‘Approximately 50 percent to 60 percent of the sugarbeet growers were mixing [Betanal and Betanex] to control a large number of weeds more effectively.  Between the two, these products control 18 different types of weeds.  The application of Betamix achieves the same results, with the added advantage of a premixed herbicide.’ ”

    News in the Sugar Industry — “Sugar, once king of Hawaii’s economy and the catalyst that resulted in the multiracial mix on these tropical isles, is in serious trouble, industry and union officials say.
    “The industry is looking to state and federal governments for help in surviving the erratic swings in sugar prices of recent years, which saw the industry earn $200 million in 1980 and then lose $83 million in 1981.  A similar loss is expected this year by the industry, which is now the state’s third largest behind tourism and defense.
     “ ‘The sugar industry in this state is presently in a precarious financial position,’ says Robert H. Hughes, president of the 100-year-old Hawaii Sugar Planters Association.  ‘As a consequence, the state is facing a significant change in its economy both now and in the future.’
     “The sugar industry employs 30,000 people, pays 10 percent of the state’s revenues and provides the tourist industry with scenic expanses of lush cane fields, Hughes recently told the state Senate Committee on Agriculture.
    “For 40 years, from 1934 to 1974, prices for American sugar were stabilized under the U.S. Sugar Act, which used import fees to protect domestic producers from low-cost competition by foreign producers.  Congress allowed the Sugar Act to die in 1974, and the price for raw sugar in the American market has been on a pogo stick ever since.
    “The immediate impact was a surge in the price to 65 cents a pound in 1974.  It then plunged to 9 cents in 1976, rebounded to 44 cents in 1980 and now is back down to about 16 cents.  The Hawaiian companies say it costs them 19.2 cents a pound to produce sugar.”

    Great Western Announces Cease of Operations for 3 Beet Plants — “The Great Western Sugar Company has announced that beet processing plants at Ovid, Colorado; Bayard, Nebraska, and Fremont, Ohio, will not operate in 1982.  The company also announced that acreage in Colorado, Kansas, Wyoming and Nebraska will be cut by 37%.”           

    “Smith found in a 2-year study that 15 lines of sugarbeets were not equally injured by herbicides.  There appears to be a genetic difference in some varieties that gives them more protection from the harmful effects of herbicides.  Other researchers have reported similar responses in corn, sorghum, flax, barley, wheat, sugarcane, cabbage, soybeans, and potatoes.
    “ ‘We might be able to identify the nature of this resistance present in some beets and cross these plants with commercially valuable varieties so that the resulting offspring will be more resistant,’ says Smith, with USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, Fort Collins, Colo.
    “Smith checked 15 sugarbeet populations: five inbred lines, five first generation hybrids, and five commercial varieties.  Both pre- and postemergence herbicides affected the population groups, with inbreds being the most affected and commercial varieties the least.”

    Ag News / Study on Irrigation Volume — “It’s been suspected for quite a while now that many crops are over-irrigated, a costly luxury at a time when water for irrigation is becoming limited and expensive.  An ARS soil scientist has proven that sugarbeets are routinely over-irrigated, and his findings hold bright implications for a beleaguered U.S. sugarbeet industry.
    “John N. Carter at ARS’s Snake River Conservation Research Center, Kimberly, Idaho, working with Del J. Traveller, an agronomist with the Amalgamated Sugar Co., Twin Falls, Idaho, has demonstrated that very little if any sucrose yield is lost when sugarbeet irrigations are discontinued after August 1 — about 3 months early — providing that the soil profile is filled with water when irrigation is cut off. . . .
    “In their 2-year study to learn the effects of mid- to late-season water stress on sugarbeet growth and yield, Carter and Traveller grew sugarbeets under normal irrigation until August 1, and then limited water on some of their test plots.  Periodically during each growing season, they measured sucrose concentration, sucrose yield, plant nitrogen uptake, and leaf growth.  After harvest at the end of October, the researchers measured total sucrose production.
    “ ‘Sucrose production was scarcely affected, even when we used only 70 percent of the total irrigation water normally applied [during] a growing season’ says Carter.
    “ ‘Before discontinuing irrigation,’ he says, ‘the soil profile should be filled with water to a depth of 64 inches, and the available soil water should be equivalent to at least 8 inches.  During dry years, it may be advantageous to apply a light irrigation about 1 month after the water cutoff,’ he adds.  ‘Also, the soil should be wet enough at harvest to prevent roots from breaking.’ ”

    Subsoil Nitrogen — A Curse or a Blessing? / Crystal Ag Notes — “Does it pay to test for subsoil N?  Yes, it does!  Nearly 60 percent of the total harvested acres in the [Red River] Valley are high-nitrate-low-quality beets.  If we’re going to put high-nitrate beets in REVERSE, we’re going to have to look DEEPER to find  the solution to the quality problem.  If you are not presently soil testing to 4 feet, consider it if:
    “1. Your sugar content is consistently below the Red River Valley average.
    “2. Your sugar loss to molasses is 2.20 percent or more.
      “3. Your nitrate grade of beets at harvest (shown on the beet delivery statement) is consistently 5.0 or more.
      “These are the telltale signs!  The nitrate grade is a reliable indicator because the nitrates in the beet had to come from the nitrates in the soil.”

     Severe Outbreak of Cercospora Disease Likely for 1982 in the Red River Valley — “Red River Valley beet growers attending three area seminars on 1982 plans got a sobering warning from Allan Cattanach, extension sugarbeet specialist.
     “A severe outbreak of Cercospora, a fungus disease, is likely in the Red River Valley this year.  The disease, which attacks the foliage of the beet, hit hard in the Renville, Minnesota, district in 1981.  ‘Cercospora cost growers with the Southern Minnesota Sugar Cooperative from $100 to $110 an acre last year,’ Cattanach said.  ‘In our own area, some growers suffered a $50 an acre loss.’
    “He said the disease, which thrives in warm, wet weather, cost from two to three tons per acre in southern Minnesota fields, with a 1 to 1.5 percent sugar loss and up to 3 percent in some fields.  No grower escaped. . . .
    “About one-half of the seed used in the industry is not resistant to the disease . . .
    “ ‘Practice variety rotation and extend the rotations over a time period,’ Cattanach advised.  ‘Don’t plant fields adjacent to infected fields.  Return tare dirt to infected fields only.  Deeper primary tillage can remove or bury the inoculum.’
    “He said resistant varieties have less yield potential, so he suggested that growers plant a moderately resistant variety with a good spray plan, striking a balance between high yield and cost of production.  ‘A July 1-10 date is one to consider for your spray plan,’ he added.”