Tom Knudsen has been named vice president-agriculture and Richard Richter vice president-operations for Minn-Dak Farmers Cooperative, Wahpeton, N.D., according to President Gerald Shannon.

Knudsen, a graduate of North Dakota State University, joined Minn-Dak as an agriculturist in 1977. He was named agricultural manager in 1986. He is a member of the Sugarbeet Research and Education Board of Minnesota and North Dakota, the International Sugarbeet Institute committee, the committee of the Minnesota/North Dakota Grower Idea Contest and also is active in the Beet Sugar Development Foundation.

Richter joined Minn-Dak as assistant factory manager in 1976 and was named factory manager in 1986. His sugar industry career began in 1958 as a campaign employee at the Great Western plant in Fremont, Ohio. Subsequent moves took him to Findlay, Ohio, to Lovell, Wyo., and then back to Fremont, where he was named assistant factory manager in 1973. Richter has completed technical schooling at the Beet Sugar Development Foundation, Fort Collins, Colo.

Acreage Allotments Removed for 1967

Production of beet sugar in 1965 and again in 1966, years in which government acreage controls were in effect, failed by a considerable margin to reach statutory quota levels of 3,025,000 tons. 

Removal of proportionate shares for the 1967 crop by the Department of Agriculture are intended to make possible certain shifts in production and, hopefully, to enable to industry to produce beet sugar in such volume that inventory levels by January 1, 1968 will be restored to 82 to 90% range recommended by congress in 1965. ​

‘They’ve Been Pretty Good to Us’ / By Phil Mills, Jr. — “Derek Cantrell has lived near Buhl, Idaho, for 49 years.  And for 30 of those years, he’s been raising sugar-beets and competing with his neighbors for top yields and high sugar levels.
 
“ ‘They’ve been good to us,’ he points out.  ‘Sugarbeets are a pretty stable crop in this area.’

“The decision to raise sugarbeets was based on market stability.  It also gave Cantrell, who farms in partnership with his son, Rick, a chance to ‘specialize in sugarbeet production.’  Cantrell grows about 250 acres of sugarbeets each year, in addition to 70 acres of malt barley, commercial pinto beans for seed and winter and spring wheat. 
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“Although sugarbeets have been good to Cantrell, he knows his success didn’t happen by accident.  ‘It takes tender, loving care,’ he explains.  ‘You have to get involved with each crop you raise.’ . . .

“Cantrell’s sugar level ranges from 15.5 to 17 percent. His average is about 16.4 percent.  Yields vary by field. He has an annual goal of between 22 and 25 tons per acre. ‘You’ll lose tonnage going for high sugar.  But, I figure you can give up two tons of yield for the sugar,’ he adds.”

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Minnesotan Larry McNamara Takes Over as President of American Sugarbeet Growers / By Jim Jones — “Today’s farmers — and certainly sugarbeet growers — cannot afford to be isolated from the rest of the legislative or economic world as far as Larry McNamara, recently elected president of the American Sugarbeet Growers Association, is concerned.

“ ‘Our business today is not totally on the farm,’ he be-lieves.  ‘We also need to know there are people directing our future, and rather than allowing someone to dic-tate to you, you should have some
input to that.’

“The association’s new president has been operating a farm south of Bird Island, Minn., since 1954 when we returned home from army service in Korea.  He’s been growing beets since 1968 and now plants 500 acres for Southern Minnesota Sugar Cooperative as part of an extensive farming operation that produces corn, soybeans, wheat and certified seed. 

​Ron Hayes Named President, CEO at American Crystal
“Ron Hayes has been elected president and chief executive officer at American Crystal Sugar Company, following the resignation of Charles Shamel.

“Hayes joined Crystal in 1982 as vice president of operations and was promoted to senior vice president of agriculture and operations in 1985. During his four years at Crystal, Hayes has worked with the cooperative’s factories to improve overall efficiency so that Crystal produces more sugar per day and at a lower cost. . . .
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“Before he joined Crystal, Hayes worked for the General Foods Corporation for 22 years. He spent seven years in research, held management positions in manufacturing for 12 years, and spent three years at the company’s corporate office.”
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Read our entire issue and back issues. Click here.

Editor’s Note: One of our regular offerings in The Sugarbeet Grower is the “30 Years Ago” page, featuring highlights from the issue that was published 30 years prior to the current issue of this magazine.
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As the schedule in 1985 did not include a November or December issue, we opted to reach back even further into our archives this month — back a half century, in fact, to 1965. The short article excerpts on this page come from The Sugarbeet Grower’s Winter 1965 issue.