- Details
- Category: Agriculture News AB
- Written by Jessica Giles

Overland flooding down South has presented some challenges for farmers planting sugar beets.
Executive Director for the Alberta Sugar Beet Growers, Melody Garner-Skiba, said farmers have just started planting sugar beets down in the Taber area.
She adds, usually in the first week of May, 70 to 80 per cent of their sugar beets are already in the ground.
"Because our guys plan four years in advance, they've got their four year crop rotation, they typically know, okay my next year my beets are going on this field, but with a lot of the flooding affecting some of those fields, they're having to change some of their rotations and move this around. It's definitely been challenging."
Sugar beet farmers may take a bit of a hit on their yields since farmers in the area are later getting their crops in the ground this year, said Garner-Skiba.
"It's really going to depend on when we have access to irrigation water. That's a challenge right now because we know some of the irrigation districts have had some damage to their canals, so water may not be coming until later on."
She said, they'll know better by the beginning of July how their yields are looking.
Garner-Skiba adds, they hope to get more beets in the ground this next week.
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