The Red River Valley Sugarbeet Museum hosts its 12th annual Harvest Festival on Sunday, September 11. The museum is located along U.S. Highway 2 on the southeastern side of Crookston, Minn.

Doors open at 10:00 a.m. for view-ing of exhibits, including vintage sugarbeet equipment.  The traditional pulled pork and potato salad dinner begins at 11:30, with field demonstra-tions with historic beet harvesting equipment starting around 1:00 p.m. Trailers will take visitors to the field and then also drive alongside the ma-chines for easy viewing.
The Hasbargen family from Breck-enridge, Minn., is being honored dur-ing this year’s Red River Valley Sugarbeet Museum’s Harvest Festival.
For more details on the Sept. 11 event, contact Allan Dragseth at (218)

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SESVanderHave USA added two individuals this spring to the company’s agronomy group.

Shad Spike joined the seed production team in Oregon and Washington as U.S. seed production agronomist. He is assisting in increasing seed quality and yields for SESVanderHave.

Spike grew up on a family farm at Echo, Oreg.  After receiving his crop and soils degree from Oregon State University through the OSU program at Eastern Oregon University, he moved to the Willamette Valley in 2001 as a field representative with NORPAC Foods, Inc., in Stayton, Oreg. During the past 15 years, he worked with a large group of growers producing sweet corn, snap beans, broccoli, cauliflower, table beets, green peas, zucchini and strawberries.

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Paul Pfenninger is the new executive vice president of the Beet Sugar Development Foundation (BSDF) and the American Society of Sugar Beet Technologists (ASSBT), effective July 1. He replaces Thomas Schwartz, who has served in those capacities since 1988.  Schwartz retires effective July 31, but will remain in a consultancy capacity to facilitate the transition.

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Betaseed, Inc., has announced the addition of Thomas Koeps as plant breeder at the company’s Kimberly, Idaho, breeding station. During the coming months, Koeps will transition into the lead for Betaseed’s curly top breeding proThomas Koeps gram for North America, working closely with the Kimberly staff.  He reports directly to Jay Miller, Betaseed’s director of breeding and product management.

Koeps grew up on a small farm outside of Einbeck, Germany, and received a M.S. of Ag Science degree from the University of Goettingen.  He has relocated from Germany to Twin Falls, Idaho.

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In late February, Michigan Sugar Company announced that it had acquired the assets of AmCane Sugar LLC, a cane sugar refiner and specialty sugar manufacturer based at Taylor, Mich.  “The addition of AmCane will broaden Michigan Sugar’s product offerings and allow it to meet its customers’ requirements for a variety of specialty products and organic sugars,” MSC stated in a press release.  Am-Cane’s Taylor refinery and its packaging and blending operation in Toledo, Ohio, will increase Michigan Sugar’s revenues by more than $60 million and its sugar sales volume by nearly 15%, the company added.

AmCane employs 100 workers at its two facilities and refines a broadline of specialized cane sugar products, including liquid sucrose, VLC liquid sugar, evaporated cane juice, large/coarse grain sugar and boiled brown sugar.

“Acquiring AmCane allows us to expand our value-added offerings,” stated Mark Flegenheimer, president and CEO of Michigan Sugar.  “Adding cane sugar products to our product lineup will allow us to better serve our customers while maintaining a keen focus on value-enhanced products.”
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National Sugar Marketing LLC (NSM) announced on March 4 the addition of Southern Minnesota Beet Sugar Cooperative (SMBSC) as its newest member. 

Based in Renville, Minn., SMBSC is a grower cooperative with process-ing plants at Renville and Brawley, Calif., and produces about 600,000 tons of refined sugar annually.

“By joining NSM, Southern Minnesota will deliver their refined sugar to customers with the highest efficiency and the lowest cost to serve,” said Bill Smith, president and chief executive officer of NSM.  “Adding SMBSC as a member strengthens NSM’s ability to serve the nation’s sugar supply needs on a very competitive and cost-effective basis.  This addition enhances NSM’s position as a national supplier and greatly improves our ability to reach new markets.”

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Southern Minnesota Beet Sugar Cooperative (SMBSC) announced April 1 that it has elected Steven J. Domm to become the next president of the co-operative.

Nearly two years ago, Kelvin Thompsen, SMBSC’s current president and chief executive officer, announced his plan to transition out of those roles by fall of 2016.  Upon receiving that notice, SMBSC began an executive search for a successor. Domm will assume his position as Steve Domm president in June and that of CEO upon Thompsen’s departure later this summer. 

A native of Wahpeton, N.D., Domm grew up on a small grain and sugar-beet farm.  He earned a B.S. in agricultural economics from North Dakota State University. 

Domm will join SMBSC from Cooperative Producers Inc. (CPI), Hastings, Neb., where he served as president and CEO since the spring of 2015. CPI is a locally owned cooperative with more than 430 employees.  Prior to joining CPI, Domm was general man-ager for 14 years at Central Farmers Cooperative and FREMAR, LLC, in Marion, S.D. 

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The American Crystal Sugar Company Board of Directors elected Tom Astrup to be the company’s new president.  Astrup assumed his new responsibilities in early March.

Astrup had been American Crystal’s vice president-operations since January 2014. Previously, he had served as the company’s vice president-finance and chief financial officer (2007-14), vice president-agriculture (2004-07) and as vice president- Tom Astrup administration (2000-04).  Since 2007, he also has served as chief operating officer of Sidney Sugars, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of American Crystal.

Astrup also serves on the board of directors of ProGold, LLC and is a trustee of the United States Beet Sugar Association.

A 1991 accounting graduate of the University of North Dakota, Astrup joined American Crystal in 1994 after working in public accounting.

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