Around The Industry: February 2013

Mich. Bean & Beet Symposium Set for Feb. 19 in Saginaw
    The 2013 edition of the Michigan Beet & Beet Symposium & Trade Show takes center stage on Tuesday, February 19, at the Horizons Conference Center in Saginaw.

    The morning program, which begins at 9:30, is comprised of bean-focused presentations.  Two sugarbeet-oriented talks take place following the lunch hour: “Cercospora Management Practices in the Red River Valley: Using Agronomic Data to Maximize Profits,” by Allan Cattanach, general agronomist with American Crystal Sugar Company; and “Reflections on the 2012 Growing Season: Extremes, Climate Trends and Implications to Agriculture,” by Jeffrey Andresen, associate professor and state climatologist, Michigan State University.
    About 100 commercial exhibitors will be in attendance at the 2013 event.  There is no charge to attend.
    For more information, contact Steve Poindexter, MSU extension sugarbeet educator, at (989) 758-2500.

30th International Sweetener Symposium Set for Aug. 2-7
    The 30th International Sweetener Symposium, hosted by the American Sugar Alliance, is scheduled for August 2-7 at the Silverado Resort and Spa in Napa, Calif.  Preliminary information is available on the ASA website — www.sugaralliance.org — with more details coming this spring.
    Traditionally, about 400 individuals from various segments of both the beet and cane sugar industries attend the International Sweetener Symposium to learn about timely issues of significance affecting the sweetener industry and to interact with industry colleagues.
  
Michigan Sugar Marks 10 Years As a Grower-Owned Cooperative
    It has been  10 years since farmers growing beets for Michigan Sugar Company (MSC) bought the company and transformed it into a cooperative.  In October 2004, growers from Monitor Sugar Company merged with the MSC growers to bring the state’s sugarbeet industry under one ownership group.
    As of 2006 — the year when the transition was fully completed, the MSC Carrollton factory was shuttered, efficiencies of the merger were in place, and job positions were fully consolidated — MSC employed 450 people year-round and 1,475 on a seasonal basis.  The current corresponding job numbers are 742 and 1,656.