Walking the Walk: Richmonds Produce Quality Crops

Mike and Ken Richmond don’t just “talk the talk” when it comes to producing and harvesting a strong beet crop; they “walk the walk,” too.

Yields often come in above the factory average across their 600 acres of Huron County dryland sugarbeets. But the Richmonds are even prouder of their crop quality. Last year, for instance, the sugar content of some of their fields was nearly 21%. With the Michigan Sugar Company average being just under 18%, “it was like getting paid for [the equivalent of nine] more tons than what we actually had," Ken remarks. “We had fields that were 33-35 tons with 20-21% sugar. So in effect, Mike and I were getting paid [as though] we were digging 43- or 44-ton beets.”

To what do the Richmond brothers attribute that level of productivity?

Improved emergence is a primary reason. Along with crediting the vigor of current seed varieties, Ken points to their transition to planting into a stale seedbed (no spring tillage), which helps ensure ample soil moisture. They’ve done so the past two years and have enjoyed the best plant stands ever achieved on their farm.

Tailoring specific varieties to specific fields is also important, Mike injects. “Ken is [adamant] about picking varieties to fit the field,” he says. “That’s huge. For example, if we have a rhizoctonia problem, we’ll address that with the variety we plant.”

Going to a 2x2 fertilizer placement program also has provided a huge boost to their beet crop, they stress.

Fungicides are another key component of the Richmond production program. They don’t skimp on fungicides, and they don’t delay application.

It starts with banding Quadris when the beets are in the four- to six-leaf stage. They believe this practice has really benefited sugar content and overall crop health.

Like many other Michigan growers, the Richmonds rely on the BEETCast disease warning model to make decisions on when to spray for Cercospora leafspot. “Being timely with our fungicides is a big deal!” Mike emphasizes. “We don’t worry about scouting and trying to find a speck [of Cercospora] here and there,” his brother adds. “When the BEETCast hits 55 (the disease severity value at which the initial treatment is advised), we’re out there spraying. We might even spray a little bit before [55] so that when we get to the end of our spraying, we’re not over 55.

“Then we just keep track of the BEETCast. [When it registers] around the 110 range, we just go out and spray again. We don’t [base the treatment decision] on whether we’re actually seeing leafspot.”

Along with digging their own 600 acres of sugarbeets, the Richmonds custom harvest an additional 500 to 600 acres each season. “We dig six other farms’ beets, and we do it as a group,” Mike explains. The Richmonds own the harvesters, defoliators, tractors and about half the trucks, with their client-growers supplying the other trucks used during the harvest. “Among us, we have enough equipment to pull it all together and do a pretty good job,” Mike affirms.

The bottom-line objectives in digging beets, his brother stresses, must be cleaning ability, throughput capacity and lifting every beet possible. Meet those objectives, and you’ll have a successful — and profitable — harvest.

“I always judge how we’re doing by the deer hunters,” Ken concludes with a smile. “If you have a lot of beets laying around your fields, you’ll see guys pull in with their pickups and trailers and ask if they can pick up beets (for deer bait). I get a kick out of it: ‘Yeah, knock yourself out, pick up all you can.’ And they’ll wander around for 15 minutes, not even getting out of the pickup. Then down the road they go.

“That’s what you want. You don’t want a guy filling his pickup with beets without moving it. If that has occurred, it means you’re leaving money on the table.”