Sugarbeet Feature Stories

     These pages contain our 25th annual sugarbeet crop summary.  All current North American sugarbeet production regions are represented in the reports included here.
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     The Sugarbeet Grower wishes to extend our sincere thanks to those individuals listed who submitted the report for their company.

Amalgamated Sugar Company

    Crop year 2011 started with a cool, wet spring.  Many growers were unable to get into their fields until late April.  There were some late frosts and severe weather conditions; but there were fewer replants, with 13,285 acres beets having to be replanted as compared with almost 53,000 acres of replants in 2010.  Even with a late- planted crop, stands were excellent. 

Three years of research into growing sugarbeets without irrigation in western Nebraska yielded some intriguing results.  But University of Nebraska researchers are not ready to recommend beets as a dryland crop for their region.

     Four years ago, Steve Maier and Ben Bergen set out on the strip-till route for reasons similar to those of a number of other Idaho sugarbeet producers doing so at that time.  Their objectives were to (1) minimize wind erosion (and replants) on lighter soils, (2) reduce field passes prior to planting (saving time and fuel), and (3) bolster overall crop productivity.  Some of the initial interest among the state’s beet producers has softened during the past year or two — often because of management issues with heavy trash in 22-inch rows.  But for Maier and his employee Bergen, the interest in — and benefits of — strip-tilled beets still runs strong on the Maier farm near Rupert.