along with above-average temperatures from May through August. Because of advanced crop size, preharvest was under way by August 14. Weather was not a factor in scheduling station deliveries during preharvest. From early August through the main harvest period, little to no rainfall was recorded in nearly all areas. Main harvest started on October 3. It was a dry harvest with little-to-no moisture recorded in all Minn-Dak areas but the most northern. There was one heat shutdown and three freeze shutdowns during the main harvest period. Receiving stations had several record-breaking delivery days. Harvest was completed on October 18, with a total of 3,058,045 tons harvested from 114,513 acres. The crop averaged 26.67 tons per acre with a record 19.09% sugar content, an 88.3% purity and 1.53 percent tare. — Christopher DeVries
Sidney Sugars, Inc. Sidney Sugars agriculture staff began contracting sugarbeet acres in March of 2012. The winter preceeding this spring was very warm and dry. We had only a few small snowstorms. Spring temperatures remained warm with very little rain. Growers started planting a week or two ahead of normal into mostly dry seedbeds. Some fields had just enough moisture to germinate the seeds. Many of our fields had to be irrigated for good emergence. The ones that didn’t get irrigated often had thinner stands or had to be replanted. We went into summer with not the best of plant populations. The young sugarbeet fields struggled until they were irrigated. Our summer was hot and again dry, and growers had a constant schedule of irrigations. There was no let-up with the frequent watering of fields. If growers kept adequate moisture in the fields, with the constant heat the beets showed rapid growth. Harvest started the last few days of September. After building inventory for the factory, harvest was stopped because of warm temperatures. The warm spell was broken by a storm system that deposited our most significant rain event of the year. Along with the storm, we had a couple nights of freezing temperatures that definitely locked in the sugar percent. Our growers harvested a total of 32,918 acres. The crop broke a Sidney record with an average yield of 27.8 tons per acre. The average sugar percent was 17.99%, which was a little
THE SUGARBEET GROWER January 2013
disappointing. However, beet purities were very good. The factory is having a good campaign and should slice out the middle of February. — Russ Fullmer
Southern Minnesota Beet Sugar Cooperative The 2012 season began with concerns about having adequate moisture to get the crop started, as the winter and early spring provided limited precipitation. Fortunately, the middle of April experienced reasonable rainfall, and by the end of the month nearly the entire crop was planted and had adequate moisture to start growing. Nearly ideal rainfall amounts and timing continued through May and June. Temperatures remained warm throughout the spring, and the crop was off to a great start. A few fields experienced crusting and had to be replanted, but this was less than 2% of the planted acres. The well-timed June rains had allowed the crop to grow rapidly with minimal root disease. By the end of June, the crop was closing its rows and looking good enough that many fields had already received their first Cercospora leafspot fungicide application. However, at this time the rains became more sporadic; and by the middle of July most of the growing area would have welcomed a significant rainfall event. Unfortunately, the rainfall remained sporadic, and only a few areas were lucky enough to catch meaningful precipitation. This dry period continued until after harvest was completed in mid- to late October. Despite the dry conditions, the crop continued to grow rapidly. This rapid growth, coupled with a planting tolerance of up to 110% of stock acres, facilitated the decision to begin our prepile harvest on August 14 — the earliest ever for SMBSC. With virtually no rainfall during August and September, prepile harvest went quite smoothly. By the third week in September, it started to become apparent that the
dry conditions were limiting the continued growth of the beets and driving sugar content upward. With the slowed growth of the beets, it was decided to utilize the cool temperatures during the night and early morning hours at the end of September to begin piling in earnest. This practice continued for several days until the daytime highs allowed for round-the-clock harvesting. There were a few mornings with frost shutdowns, but by then 85% of the beets had been harvested. The remaining tons were piled in a few days, and the harvest was completed October 22 with a final yield of 26.40 tons per acre and SMBSC record 17.69% sugar. Beet storage has been good through the end of November despite some lessthan-desirable temperatures. We are expecting to finish slicing beets sometime during the first half of April. — Todd Geselius
Spreckels Sugar Co. Planting began for the 2012 Imperial Valley crop the first week of September 2011, with temperatures above 110 degrees. Some of the growers held off planting, hoping the weather would cool down. But by mid-September the temperatures had not cooled, and most growers began planting the crop. We received some heavy rains in the southern part of the growing area that delayed planting and caused some replanting, due to crusting, before the crop came up. October was hotter than normal with temperatures in the 105-degree range and planting in full swing. Late October brought cooler weather with temperature in the mid 90s. Insect pressure was high, and growers had to control white flies, flea beetles and armyworms. November finally brought some cooler temps, in the mid 80s and low
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