As the tonnage graph on page 6 clearly shows, the years since 1997- 98 have brought a dramatic upward trend in Michigan sugarbeet yields. In 1995 the state’s beet crop averaged just 15.5 tons per acre; by the mid-2000s, it was in the 22- to 24-ton range. In 2014 Michigan’s sugarbeet growers set a record at 29.63 tons — and this past harvest, they raced right past that mark with an average yield of 31.6 tons per acre and 17.9% sugar.

Life is often about timing — and Steve Poindexter jokingly point outs that his arrival on the beet scene “just happened” to coincide with the beginning of this turnaround in Michigan sugarbeet productivity. Still, despite the tongue-in-cheek nature of that quip, there’s no doubt Poindexter has played an important role in the big strides made by the Michigan sugarbeet sector over the past two decades. In his position as senior extension educator for Michigan State University and coordinator of the Michigan Sugarbeet Advancement initiative, he has been intimately involved in the research and extension efforts that have constituted an integral part of the recent decades’ success story for the state’s sugarbeet industry.

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The 47th annual survey of weed control and production practices among sugarbeet growers in Minnesota and eastern North Dakota received electronically submitted responses from 90 growers — down substantially from the 188 who responded to the prior year’s survey questionnaire. Growers in the region planted just under 639,000 acres of beets in 2015, with the respondents representing 58,776 acres, or 9% of the total acres (compared to 16% for the 2014 survey).

Of the acres reported upon, 100% were planted to Roundup Ready® sugarbeet varieties (compared to 99% the previous year). Total beet acreage treated with herbicides (taking into account multiple applications) was 260% — compared to 2014’s 236%. (By comparison, the corresponding numbers for 2006 and 2007 — the two years just prior to the introduction of Roundup Ready (RR) beets — were 386% and 383%, respectively.)

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