The Sugarbeet Grower Magazine Jan 2012

‘Serving The Nation’s Sugarbeet Community Since 1963’ Volume 51 Number 1 January 2012

Sugar Publications 4601 16th Ave. N. Fargo, ND 58102 Phone: (701) 476-2111 Fax: (701) 476-2182 E-Mail: sugar@forumprinting.com Web Site: www.sugarpub.com Publisher: Sugar Publications General Manager & Editor: Don Lilleboe Advertising Manager: Heidi Wieland (701) 476-2003 Graphics: Forum Communications Printing

Page 14 Page 6

— Feature Articles — 2011 Crop Year Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 25th annual summary includes all growing areas

Dryland Beets in Nebraska? . . . . . . . . . . 12 Three-year university study looks at viability

Inexpensive Yet Effective . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Idaho producers modify cultivator The Sugarbeet Grower is published six times annually (January, February, March, April/May, July/August, November/December)

by Sugar Publications, a division of Forum Communications Printing.

North American sugarbeet producers receive the magazine on a complimentary basis.

Annual subscription rates are $12.00 domestic and $18.00 for foreign subscribers.

— Regular Pages — Advertising in The Sugarbeet Grower does not necessarily imply endorsement of a particular product or service by the publisher. Write Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Where has ‘Robert’ gone?

Dateline: Washington . . . . . . . . . . 10

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THE SUGARBEET GROWER January 2012

for strip-till use

— Front Cover — Joel Fjestad plants a 2011 Davison Farms beet field near Tintah, Minn.

Photo: Don Lilleboe

Roundup Ready, Crop Insurance, Farm Bill

Around the Industry . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Who, what & where it’s happening

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I know lots of Roberts And a couple guys called Bob. They’re mostly good guys, Thoughtful, kind — not a single slob.

Write Field

They wear that name with honor, Try not to bring it shame.

When they are done, anyone Could proudly wear the same.

Stop by a kindergarten, You’ll not find a single Bob. And asking for a Robert?

Well, that’s a hopeless job.

By David Kragnes

There are some names to call your child That wouldn’t be so kind.

When I think of names with baggage Well, Adolph comes to mind.

Judas never caught on For reasons understood.

Initials that make O.J. — That might not be so good.

Where Has Robert Gone? went to my grandson’s kindergarten Christmas concert. They handed out programs with all the names of his

I

classmates. My confusion was great. I must be older than I think. . . .

Where have all the Roberts gone?

There are lots of good ones A parent could employ.

And when a stranger heard it They’d know it’s a girl or boy.

I meet a parent with a child Dressed up in light green mint.

I ask its name; they tell me.

I still don’t have a hint.

Its gender should not matter.

Its parents are quite proud.

And what I think about their choice I do not say out loud.

But why must names appear to be A scrabble game gone bad?

With spelling that breaks all the rules That spelling ever had.

HXUR-Tiger

There are things you should consider Besides its ease to spell.

A parent really should test out How it sounds to yell.

When you’re at a ball game Third row from the top, Your child should have the kind of name That really has a pop.

Nancy, Roger, Jane or Jim — All choices that are wise.

And sprinkle in a David.

(They’re really special guys.)

HXUR-Maus

BIG-BEAR

FDOO ZZZ URSDQRUWKDPHULFD FRP H PDLO LQIR#URSDQRUWKDPHULFD FRP

4

David Kragnes farms near Felton, Minn.

He is a former chairman of American Crystal Sugar Co., and currently serves on the board of directors of CoBank.

THE SUGARBEET GROWER January 2012

Photo: Don Lilleboe

2011 Crop Year Review

Reports from All North American Sugarbeet Areas Amalgamated Sugar Company

American Crystal Sugar Co.

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 lateplanted crop, stands were excellent.

The water supply for irrigation was good. Summer growing conditions were such that the crop grew well.

A late, warm fall allowed the beets to add tonnage so that when the crop was harvested it ended up at a recordsetting 34.67-tons-per-acre average for the company. Sugar content was at 16.94%, which was lower than was expected since growers had put extra effort into the management of their nitrogen. However, even with lower sugars, brei nitrate levels were low, which allows the factories to extract the sugar more easily.

Storage conditions have been excellent to this point. More ventilated and covered piles have been constructed, allowing for more-efficient management of those piles that are not covered and ventilated. We expect to have all of the beets processed by the 20th of March. — John Schorr

The 2011 growing season was one of numerous weather extremes that made achieving an optimum yield and quality crop most challenging.

A very wet fall of 2010 was followed by an extremely wet spring in most of the Red River Valley, seriously delaying timely planting. Planting began on April 27 but was not completed until June 20. Less than 1,700 acres were replanted.

Seedling growth was slowed due to very wet field conditions and cool temperatures for several weeks in May and June. The Moorhead district in particular, as well as parts of other districts, experienced very high rainfall from April through most of July.

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Our 25th Crop Summary These pages contain our 25th annual sugarbeet crop summary. All current North American sugarbeet production regions are represented in the reports included here.

The Sugarbeet Grower wishes to extend our sincere thanks to those individuals listed who submitted the report for their company.

In contrast, the Crookston factory district experienced a growing season with rainfall that was 10 to 11 inches below normal. Roundup ReadyÂŽ beets were planted on about 85% of the acres in 2011.

The very wet growing season caused severe root rot, especially in the Moorhead district and parts of the East Grand Forks, Drayton and Hillsboro districts. Field abandonment totaled several thousand acres, with extremely low yields due to severe root rot and water damage rendering these fields unfit for long-term storage. Shareholders used liming and well-managed fungicide programs to minimize root rot crop losses.

Root maggot populations were high in traditional areas in northeastern North Dakota. Growers achieved very good control with proper pesticide applications.

August, September and October were remarkable for near-record low rainfall totals for nearly all of the Red River Valley. Several high-temperature records were established during September and early October.

Prepile started on September 6, with full stockpile harvest beginning October 1. Stockpiling ceased because of much-above-normal temperatures for nearly the entire first week of October. After record yields in 2010, the

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2011 yields were disappointing at an average of 20.7 tons per acre (down 22% from the prior year). Crop quality was a respectable 18.04% sugar, but sugar loss to molasses in 2011 was much above average at 1.27%. — Allan Cattanach

Lantic Inc. Alberta’s 2011 beet crop amazed most of us. Growers harvested 784,500 metric tons (864,500 short tons) from 33,450 acres for an average yield of 23.5 metric tons per acre (25.8 short tons). The crop averaged 19.35% sugar — a record for Alberta. The impact on processing has been very positive up to the date of this writing.

Planting (100% to Roundup Ready varieties) commenced on April 23 but was interrupted by wet conditions, with the bulk of planting falling two to three weeks behind normal. With repeated moisture events following planting, stands were excellent — but cool conditions were a concern for crop development.

Many growers applied a moderate top dressing of nitrogen to counter suspected losses due to leaching and denitrification. Sporadic cutworm treatment and some replanting was required, growers being caught offguard since glyphosate applications are now later than previous applications of conventional herbicide (which often contained preventative insecticide).

Hail affected about 1,400 acres with 25 to 75% defoliation in late

June. Early expectations were less than optimistic, with mid-July row closure predominating. But warm, dry conditions from July through harvest turned the crop around. Depletion of nitrogen became apparent, with earlier-than-normal yellowing of the canopy on a significant proportion of fields, many by early August.

The key to repeating this year’s excellent results could lie in more-conservative nitrogen applications, with a reliance on the soil’s capacity to release nutrients when warm conditions develop in conjunction with improving yield potential.

Controlled harvest commenced on September 12. It proceeded without interruption, as participation only kept pace with slice due to priority being given to other crops.

With only a four-day wet spell in early October, dry conditions prevailed until the harvest was completed on November 3. — Gerhard Wall

Michigan Sugar Company The 2011 crop year was in stark contrast to the previous couple years.

It all started with a wet spring and a late planting season. We did plant our first field on April 11, but only planted about 37,000 acres in April because of very wet conditions. Most of our beets were planted the week of May 9, with some of the last fields being planted in early June. (In 2010 we had 40,000 acres planted in March and our entire crop planted by mid-April.)

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did not survive the wet conditions, and 8.9% of our total acreage was replanted in mid- to late May. The late planting prompted our board of directors to allow over-plant up to 103% of base shares. When the planting season finally ended, a total of 163,698 acres were in the ground.

The growing season was uneventful, and harvest started on September 14. We harvested 21% of our crop during early delivery, which ended on October 21. Long-term storage began on October 22.

Harvest was interrupted by wet soil conditions (which did not happen in the previous year). We struggled with difficult conditions until early November, when we had a dry spell that allowed us to harvest the biggest share of our tonnage. The last field of beets was harvested November 18, and the last Maus beets from a field clamp were delivered on November 23.

We were down a bit on yield, but quality was good. Overall, we harvested 162,845 acres with an average yield of 24.07 tons per acre and a grower sugar of 18.16%.

Storage conditions have been good through mid-December, and we plan to slice our last beets in early March. — Paul Pfenninger

Minn-Dak Farmers Cooperative Minn-Dak growers began planting the 2011 crop in early May. The delayed start was due to a cool and wet April. Planting of the southern portion of the growing area was impacted by wet field conditions into mid-June.

Biotech sugarbeets were planted for the fourth year on virtually all of the acreage. Weed control was very good all season long.

Despite the late planting, the crop made very good progress up until July, when excessive rainfall and very warm temperatures put the crop under considerable stress. This hot, wet period did not subside until early August. By then there was considerable damage done to the crop. The July and August samples indicated a below-average crop in the works.

Due to the reduced crop size, preharvest was delayed until September 21. Main harvest began on October 3, but was then delayed due to a long period of above-average temperatures.

Fortunately, the entire month of October was one of the driest on record.

Full harvest resumed October 13 and was completed, with only two minor frost interruptions, on October 24.

THE SUGARBEET GROWER January 2012

Minn-Dak growers harvested a total of 1,954,638 tons from 120,516 acres in 2011. The crop averaged 16.2 tons per acre with a 17.6% sugar content, an 88.3% purity and 2.1% tare.

It was a good year in terms of crop quality, but disappointing in terms of overall volume and average yield. — Chris DeVries

Sidney Sugars, Inc. The Sidney Sugars agriculture staff started contracting acreage around the middle of April, contracting a total of 32,926 acres. The previous winter was very wet, and the ground had a heavy snow cover. The mountains received record snowfall.

Temperatures slowly warmed up, melting snow and leaving wet fields.

Growers struggled to begin planting the 2011 sugarbeet crop. Spring rains also set back planting. As the snow melted, low-land flooding occurred. Many fields were not planted because of excess moisture as late as the end of May. We also had planted fields under water for a long period of time. Between fields too wet and flooding, growers lost over 2,600 acres.

The crop went into the summer trying to catch up on growth. Plant stands were good, but crop development was behind. Late June produced an estimate of 23.4 tons per acre.

Root samples indicated the estimate was valid.

The weather was good throughout the summer, except in the Savage district south of the factory. This district received a hailstorm every weekend for four straight weeks. Growers sprayed fields with fungicides and did a nice job of controlling Cercospora.

Harvest was set to begin October 1.

Growers harvested just enough beets to start the factory and were then shut down because of heat. The last of September and the first week of October brought record-high temperatures.

Harvest finally started the second week of October and continued for the next two weeks. It was a dry harvest, and the beets went into the pile in very good condition.

Final yield averaged 25.2 tons per acre with a 17.57% sugar. Sidney Sugars growers harvested a total of 29,344 acres. The warm fall temperatures added tons to the crop and held the sugar percent down. The purities in the beets are very good, and the beets are processing well. The factory should slice out by the end of January.

— Russ Fullmer

THE SUGARBEET GROWER January 2012

Southern Minnesota Beet Sugar Cooperative Planting of the 2011 SMBSC crop was delayed due to excessive rainfall in April and May. Approximately 20% of the acres were planted in April, with the majority of the remaining acreage planted in mid- to late May and the last few in early June. Despite the difficulties, just over 120,000 acres were planted.

Excessive rainfall continued until the first part of July, resulting in more root rot than normal. Both Aphanomyces and Rhizoctonia were common in tested root samples.

Mid-July was free of rainfall but very hot and humid. This allowed Cercospora leafspot (CLS) to get started in many fields. Overall, the growers did an excellent job of maintaining their CLS fungicide program, keeping this disease from reducing their crop even further.

August, September and October rainfall was well below average — which also limited the growth of the crop. In mid-September we experienced a freeze that finished off the corn and soybeans and damaged some

beet leaves in areas where the plants were already under other stresses.

This resulted in some regrowth of leaves late in the season.

Harvest went well, except for a lengthy heat shutdown at the beginning of October. In the end, SMBSC growers harvested just over 119,000 acres at an average yield of 17.2 tons per acre and 16.53% sugar. The 2011 crop was somewhat disappointing, but it went into storage in as good a condition as possible. — Todd Geselius

Spreckels Sugar Company Imperial Valley growers began planting on September 6, 2010, under normal temperatures for the area.

Temperatures were around 105 degrees, so most growers held back until the middle of September to start planting the crop.

Cultivation began on September 27, 2010, with normal temperatures.

October temperatures also were normal for the Imperial Valley, with highs around 100 degrees. Planting was in full swing and was completed by the end of the month. The final planted acreage tally was 25,633, with 1,640

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acres of replants, mainly due to light stands.

November conditions were ideal with excellent weed control, except in fields that had wild beet infestations.

Weeding crews were sent through some of those fields three times during the winter to try and keep them clean.

December temperatures were a little cooler than normal. Root samples taken the first of the month showed normal growth and quality. January likewise had temperatures that were cooler than normal. Root samples taken in January showed normal growth and quality.

February was another cooler-thannormal month. Root samples showed yields were normal, but the quality was less than the five-year average.

Malva and wild beets began showing above the canopy and were sprayed with Upbeet® to control the malva.

March was another cool month for us, with samples showing normal growth and lower-than-average quality.

Harvest began on April 1 with yields that were typical. While sugar contents were a little below normal, they averaged above 17.5%. By the end of the month, the yield estimate was raised from 41.5 tons per acre to

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42.5 tons. April temperatures held at below normal by five to 10 degrees.

May had ideal digging conditions with cooler-than-average temperatures. Yields continued to climb, and the quality held even. The estimate was raised another ton to 43.5 by the end of the month.

June saw more-normal temperatures, even though they were still below average. Yields were climbing, and the quality was holding steady.

July finally brought normal temperatures. Yields continued to climb, while the quality began to decline due to the hot temperatures. The average yield estimate was raised by another ton to 44.5 tons.

August was another hot month as harvest wound down. Harvest was completed on August 9, with a final yield of 44.62 tons per acre, sugar content of 16.79% and purity of 88.95%.

Our hats are off to the growers of the Imperial Valley for a very good harvest and delivering a high-quality crop for processing. — Ron Tharp

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The 2011 crop year started off cool and damp across all regions of Western Sugar. The below-normal temperatures limited crop progress the first part of the growing season, but the above-normal precipitation helped create excellent plant populations.

Irrigation water supplies were above average, and water had to be released from the reservoirs — causing minor flood damage to some sugarbeet fields and irrigation river diversions.

The growing season brought very few disease issues. Growers in all areas continue to see increased sugar yields with the cyst nematode-resistant sugarbeet varieties.

The Rocky Mountain region experienced a great fall season, allowing the beet crop to continue to increase sugar production for the majority of October.

The favorable weather allowed the sugarbeet crop to make up for the poor

spring weather conditions.

Early harvest began on September 26. Regular harvest conditions were great in all areas until October 26, when cold temperatures and snow hit the region. The cooperative had 87% of the sugarbeet crop harvested by the 26th. The remaining beet acres were piled and processed in November.

Yields in the northern region averaged 27.52 tons per acre, with 17.22% sugar. Nebraska came in at 24.96 tons with a 16.89% sugar, while Colorado averaged 29.32 tons and 16.33% sugar.

Sugarbeet processing is scheduled to be complete by mid- to late February. — Jerry Darnell

Wyoming Sugar Company Wyoming Sugar Company is now totally grower owned, ending our struggle to maintain the necessary acreage base to operate our facility.

However, high sugar prices and a strong demand for sugar also helped leave us with a very desirable demand for beet acres this year.

Our growing area experienced an unusually cool spring in 2011, accompanied by above-normal precipitation.

Most of our sugarbeet planting was very timely; but the cold weather did severely stifle emergence. Yet while it may have slowed emergence, it did not hurt our stands. On the whole, our fields had plant stands as good as I have ever seen.

Summer growing weather was very moderate, which really helped the crop.

Harvest was divided into three categories: too warm, too wet and too cold. Harvest began on October 3 with hot, dry conditions. The first week was impeded by warm temperatures that caused us to regulate station hours and slow down harvest.

We received three inches of rain at the beginning of the second week, which slowed harvest again. By late that week, most growers were once again harvesting — just to be slowed down again by another storm system early in the third week.

Harvest got steadily better until freezing temps came at the tail end of digging in early November. Harvest concluded on November 8.

The beets have stored quite well.

We feel that the management of the piles and good harvest protocol were very beneficial toward getting our crop processed in a good condition.

Wyoming Sugar’s 2011 crop came in at an average 27 tons per acre and 17.57% sugar. — Myron Casdorph ❖

THE SUGARBEET GROWER January 2012

AgCountry Farm Credit Services is proud to serve the Red River Valley

sugarbeet growers and processors.

We thank you for your contributions and commitment to agriculture.

Corporate Office • (701) 282-9494 or toll free 800-450-8933 • www.agcountry.com

Excerpts from the January 1982 Issue of The Sugarbeet Grower

30 Years Ago Farm Bill Passes — “The House passed the Farm Bill on December 16 and President Reagan signed the bill into law on December 22. “The bill sets up a four-year support program with support loan rates of 17 cents a pound on raw sugar for the 1982 crop, 17.50 cents a pound for 1983, 17.75 cents a pound for 1984, and 18 cents a pound for 1985. Program terms are designed to result in operation of the system without any cost to the Treasury. “Between the date of enactment of the bill and October 1, 1982, when price support loans will go into effect, the Agriculture Department will support the market by announcing an offer to purchase sugar processed between the enactment date and March 30, 1982, at a rate of 16.75 cents a pound. No actual purchases are considered likely, however, because the government would be seeking, by use of import fees, to keep market prices above the level at which producers could sell to the government. “On December 23, import fees and duties on sugar were raised sharply by Presidential proclamation.

The increases totaled 2.8 cents a pound, . . . bringing total charges levied on imported raw sugar to almost a nickel a pound.�

Southern Minnesota Co-op Honors Growers — “Top producers for the Southern Minnesota [Beet] Sugar Cooperative were honored at the cooperative’s annual awards banquet on Dec. 11 . . . “In the Bird Island district, Casey Rouse won the

award for growers under 200 acres with an average yield of 20.84 tons and a total of 5,275 pounds of sugar per acre.

In the over 200 acre category, Gerald Elfering took the honors with 20.24 tons and 5,295 pounds of sugar per acre. “The Hector district had the following top producers: In the category under 200 acres, David Karl produced 22.45 tons and 6,514.56 pounds of sugar per acre; Robert Kiecker took the honors in the over 200 acre category with 18.82 tons and 5,138.96 pounds of sugar per acre. “Claiming honors in the Redwood Falls district was Oswald Jordan with 17.6 tons and 4,805.33 pounds of sugar. “Factory district honors went to the following: 0 to 190 acres saw Kenneth Abbas as the winner with 19.68 tons and 5,360.9 pounds of sugar per acre. Gunval Knudson produced 17.72 tons and 4,828.99 pounds of sugar per acre in the 191 to 275 category. In the 276 and up category, Kenneth Wacek had 19.40 tons and 5,287.99 pounds of sugar per acre.�

Link Reelected President of Minn-Dak Farmers Co-op — “James Link, Wahpeton, North Dakota, has been reelected president of the Minn-Dak Farmers Cooperative at [the] annual organizational meeting of the Wahpeton beet sugar cooperative board of directors. Also reelected to another term of office were: Earl Davison, Tintah, Minnesota, vice president; Ray Hudson, Colfax, North Dakota, secretary; and Alvin Hansen, Baker, Minnesota, treasurer.

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THE SUGARBEET GROWER (Upper Midwest) January 2012

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Global Sugar Update SDA’s most recent estimates of global sugar production, released in mid-November, show that world sugar continues its recovery since the high deficit year of 2008/09.

The world sugar surplus (i.e., production less consumption) grew from a negative 10.4 million metric tons, raw value (MTRV), to only negative 1.7 million MTRV as production recovered in 2009/10. USDA-Foreign Agricultural Service production, supply and distribution data released in November showed the world sugar surplus at 4.6 million MTRV in 2010/11 and an estimated 8.2 million MTRV in 2011/12.

Production growth has fueled consumption growth over the last four marketing years, with stocks remaining around 30 million MTRV, USDA noted. The world stocks-to-consumption ratio has remained constant at about 19% over the period. “Even with the recently revised strength in world sugar supplies, significant declines in world sugar prices may be limited by the relatively low level of world sugar stocks,” stated the December Sugar and Sweeteners Outlook report from USDA’s Economic Research Service.

That December report also included individual country analyses of several of the world’s major sugar producers.

Here are a few highlights: • Brazil — Sugarcane production for 2011/12 in Brazil is estimated at 558 million metric tons. Although area harvested, projected at 8.80 million hectares, is 500,000 hectares more than the 2010/11 area, average sugarcane yield, at 62.8 metric tons per hectare, is far below last year’s 73.0 metric tons.

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4v

The cane crop in the primary center/south growing area of Brazil is currently estimated at 490 million metric tons.

That’s 12% lower than last year’s 557 MMT and additionally less than USDA’s May 2011 forecast of 569 MMT. Major factors for the decline include lower sugarcane renewal rates, a lower volume of cane not harvested from the previous year, and dry weather — especially during April-August 2010 period and May 2011.

Brazilian 2011/12 production of sugar is estimated by USDA at 37.75 million metric tons, compared to 38.15 MMT in 2010/11. Exports of sugar this year are estimated at 23.8 MMT, down 2.0 MMT from 2010/11.

• European Union — EU 2011/12 sugar production is estimated at 18.5 million metric tons, an increase of almost 2.0 MMT from last year. The growth results from an increase in sugarbeet area of 6%, to 1.62 million hectares, and an increase in yields — especially in the two largest producing countries of France and Germany.

• Russia — Russia’s 2011/12 sugarbeet production is estimated at 37.0 million metric tons — 72% more than the 2010/11 total of 21.5 MMT. Just as the 2010/11 crop was devastated by poor growing and harvest conditions, this year’s crop benefited from very good conditions. The estimated 2011/12 average yield of 31.1 metric tons per hectare is nearly 32% higher than last year’s average.

• China — Cane sugar production in China for 2011/12 is estimated at 10.8 million metric tons, up 5% from 2010/11.

That’s from a sugarcane crop estimated at 116 MMT. The sugarbeet crop in China is estimated at 10.3 MMT, with beet sugar production at 1.0 MMT. So total Chinese sugar output is estimated at 11.8 million metric tons. ❖

THE SUGARBEET GROWER (Upper Midwest) January 2012

Dateline: Washington

By Luther Markwart Executive Vice President American Sugarbeet Growers Assn.

Roundup Ready Sugarbeets

2012 Farm Bill

The 60-day public commenting period for the draft Environmental Impact Statement ended on December 13. A preliminary count indicated more than 1,400 unique comments being submitted for the record, of which roughly 90% were favorable and 10% in opposition to the full deregulation of Roundup Ready® sugarbeets.

Your individual comments were very helpful to have as part of the public record in support of the technology, so we thank you for the time and effort you took to make a submission.

USDA-APHIS is now in the process of reviewing each of the comments to address and respond to any issues that are warranted. There is no set schedule to make a final determination. At the time the comments were requested, APHIS believed June 2012 would be a reasonable time frame to complete its work. It is our hope that they can stay with that schedule. There is nothing further that the industry can do except wait for APHIS to complete its evaluation of the comments.

In early December, after the deficit reduction super committee process collapsed, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) said, “We will resume holding hearings when Congress returns in January. The goal is for the committee to complete an initial product in the spring to provide plenty of time for Congress to complete its work.”

The Senate’s ag committee held 12 public hearings and accepted more than 5,000 public comments in 2011 in its work to produce a bipartisan and bicameral effort to provide recommendations to the Joint Committee on Deficit Reduction. This will be a basis for forging a new farm bill.

As of this writing, the House has not announced its specific plans for going forward in 2012. If the bill follows regular order, it will be drafted in the spring; separate bills will be voted on by the respective houses in the summer months; and a reconciled conference report will be voted on by both houses by October 1. A number of various scenarios can trigger deviation from that path and timeline, but it is too soon to say what particular route it may take.

Trying to write any legislation in a presidential election year is always tricky business. Elections have a way of pushing final decisions on major policy issues past the election into a “lame duck” session or the following year.

This is particularly true if there is a reasonable chance to change the majority in either body of Congress or the occupant of the White House.

The bottom line is that the industry must always be ready to defend and promote its domestic sugar policy whenever and wherever the debate takes place. Even though we have a sugar policy that has cost the taxpayer nothing for the past 10 years and is not projected to cost the taxpayer anything during the next 10 years, the opponents have been and will be continually attacking it with vigor.

Crop Insurance At the end of November, the Risk Management Agency (RMA) announced a price election of $51.30 per ton for the 2012 crop. While this remains a conservative estimate of anticipated value of the crop, it is at a level that will help our growers manage risk as they go to the fields this spring.

We will also see provisions for a pilot program for “clamps” or field piles in Southern Minnesota and Michigan for 2012. We believe this is in the best interest of both the grower and the insurance companies to improve efforts to recover beets under difficult harvest conditions.

2011 Sugar Crop As of late December, the beet and cane crops have been or are being harvested and processed without any major weather problems. USDA projects domestic sugar production to be nearly 7.89 million tons, raw value, which is slightly above the 2010 crop. Total imports are expected to be 3.45 million tons, of which Mexico will supply about 1.59 million tons.

THE SUGARBEET GROWER January 2012

2012 Elections The January 3 Iowa caucus is the official launch of the political marathon to the November elections.

Twenty-two states will hold their caucuses or primaries through the March 6 “Super Tuesday” when a Republican presidential nominee should be pretty well identified.

Mitt Romney has the money and organization that will be difficult to derail throughout the long selection process. But this is America, and anything can happen.

As candidates run low on funds and support, forcing them to depart the race, watch who they support as sign of who they believe will be the best candidate against President Obama. ❖

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Dryland Beets in Nebraska?

UN Research Finds They Could Be Viable, Depending on Soil Type & Seasonal Rainfall hree 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.

The data do suggest that dryland sugarbeets are a potentially viable crop, given deep soils with adequate stored water at planting time and a favorable growing season, according to Drew Lyon, extension dryland cropping specialist with the UN Panhandle Research & Extension Center at Scottsbluff. This is particularly of interest in the event that Western Sugar Cooperative would not able to contract with enough growers in irrigated areas, Lyon says.

Research was conducted at the UN High Plains Ag Lab (HPAL) near Sidney in 2008, 2009 and 2010, and also at two dryland Panhandle farms during 2009 and 2010. Roundup Ready® beet varieties were no-till seeded into winter wheat residue. At HPAL, beets were seeded into winter wheat stubble that had been harvested with a stripper header.

The study came about because several years ago there was concern that irrigated producers might choose to grow other crops instead of sugarbeets, and processors like Western then would have to look to dryland areas to have enough beets to keep sugar refineries running at capacity.

At that time, grain prices were relatively high and sugar prices relatively low. By the end of the study, however, sugar

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prices had risen considerably, and irrigated producers were eager to plant sugarbeets. Still, the western Nebraska research should provide some guidance if the relationship between grain and sugar prices were to return to 2007 levels.

Lyon and machinery systems engineer John Smith (now retired) completed the third year of research in 2010. Two locations were planted at HPAL each year. In 2009 and 2010, as noted, the research also was conducted at two onfarm locations — one near Gurley and the other near Hemingford. At each location, two different varieties were planted at four target populations.

Weather during the three years varied from slightly below-normal precipitation and slightly above-average temperatures in 2008, to a much wetter and cooler-than-normal year in 2009. The 2010 season started off cool and wet, but changed to warm and dry from July onward.

In the cool, wet conditions of 2009, beet root yields were higher than 20 tons per acre over a wide range of plant populations at Sidney. A severe July 2009 hailstorm at Dalton lowered what might have been yields similar to those at Sidney. Although the summer and early fall of 2010 were warm and dry, with a good start, beet yields were between 15 and 20 tons per acre across a wide range of plant populations at both Sidney and Dalton.

Sugar yields responded similarly to root yields across plant populations — except that the percent sugar was lower in 2009 than in 2008 or 2010.

Lyon points out that, from a research standpoint, there unfortunately were not many dry years — which skews the dataset and makes dryland sugarbeets look more promising than they probably would be over a 10-year period. ❖

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THE SUGARBEET GROWER January 2012

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our 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 22inch 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.

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Photo: Don Lilleboe

Idaho Growers Modify Cultivator to Meet Their Strip-Till Implement Needs

One key reason why is the modified cultivator they utilize for their strip-till pass. Not only was it very inexpensive to outfit for strip tilling; it also has proven very effective in providing an adequate — and protected — seedbed.

The base unit is an older 12-row cultivator built by Manitoba-based Elmer’s Manufacturing, to which Bergen added a couple ingenious modifications. While the cultivator already had cut-away disks, he installed an additional set ahead of them to aid in clearing wheat stubble from the beet row. Those disks came off an old Alloway cultivator that Maier had purchased for $300.

While the up-front disks do a good job of clearing away stubble in the seed

Above: An old row-crop cultivator, fitted with an extra set of cut-away disks and with one set reversed, forms the basis of an inexpensive yet effective strip-till unit on the Maier farm near Rupert, Idaho. row, the accompanying result was a deeper-then-desired ditch. That’s where the second set comes in. It is reversed, so moves some of the soil back into the row. The resulting seedbed is slightly lower than the untilled inter-row area, providing two benefits, according to Bergen: “We have less problem with our beets freezing, and they don’t blow out.”

Marker grooves can become indistinct in their sandy soils, so Bergen

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ASGA Annual Meeting February 9-11 • Orlando, Fla. www.americansugarbeet.org THE SUGARBEET GROWER January 2012

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Photos: Don Lilleboe

Above Left: Starter fertilizer is applied with this squeeze pump on the strip-till unit.

Above: Two corrugates on the 12-row strip-till unit form furrows that serve as guides for the planter tractor.

Left: Ben Bergen (left) and Steve Maier.

came up with the idea of using two hinged corrugates to serve as guides for the following planter tractor’s V tires. He laughingly refers to the corrugates and the pressed furrows they

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create as “our homemade GPS units.”

Maier and Bergen make a late-fall pass with a McFarland harrow across the harvested wheat fields that will be going into beets the following spring.

The angled pass spreads the wheat chaff quite uniformly across the field.

That’s the only operation until the strip-till pass the following spring.

Starter fertilizer goes on with the striptill unit.

Since he already had the Elmer’s cultivator and plenty of scrap metal around the farmyard, Maier says his only investment — other than Bergen’s time — in the strip-till modification was the $300 for the Alloway cultivator.

For his part, Bergen says it took only a couple days to make the alterations and get the system field-ready. “I made one row, checked it out and built the rest of them,” he relates, adding with a smile: “And it turned out all right.” — Don Lilleboe ❖

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THE SUGARBEET GROWER January 2012

Around The Industry Green New Crystal Chairman, Williams Elected Vice Chairman

Robert Green

Steve Williams

Robert Green of St. Thomas, N.D., was elected chairman of American Crystal Sugar Company at the December 1 board reorganization meeting following the cooperative’s annual meeting. A Crystal director since 2005 representing the Drayton district, Green has been a sugarbeet grower since 1976. He also serves as a director for the American Sugarbeet Growers Association and was a director of the Red River Valley Sugarbeet Growers Association for 12 years.

Steve Williams was elected Crystal’s vice chairman at the same meeting.

Williams, who has been a Crystal director since 2006, has farmed near Fisher, Minn., since 1987. He serves on the board of directors of the American Sugarbeet Growers Association and was ASGA’s president from 2006 to 2008.

A director of The Sugar Association, Williams served as a director of the Red River Valley Sugarbeet Growers Association from 1998 to 2007 and was that group’s president from 2003 to 2007.

Green and Williams replaced, respectively, Neil Widner of Stephen, Minn., and Curt Haugen of Argyle, Minn. Widner and Haugen remain on the American Crystal board.

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Retiring Caspers Inducted Into Minn-Dak Hall of Fame Minn-Dak Farmers Cooperative inducted retiring Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Minn-Dak Yeast Company President Steve Caspers into the co-op’s Hall of Fame at its early December annual meeting. The award honors a person who has made significant Steve Caspers contributions to Minn-Dak and the sugar industry in general.

Caspers, who retired in December after 37 years of service, began his career with Minn-Dak Farmers Cooperative in 1974 as an accounting supervisor. He then served as controller from 1977 to 1985.

Caspers was appointed as MinnDak’s executive vice president and chief financial officer in 1985 and then became president of Minn-Dak Yeast Company in 1994. He also served as the co-op’s interim president and chief executive officer in 2000 and 2001.

Richard J. Kasper has been hired as Minn-Dak vice president and chief financial officer.

Kasper was previously president and chief operations officer for Global Electric Motorcars by Polaris, Fargo, N.D. Prior Richard Kasper to joining GEM, he spent 11 years with the Jack Kent

Cooke Organization, which included responsibilities as CFO for the Los Angeles Daily News.

Kasper holds a B.S. degree in accounting from Minnesota State University-Moorhead and is a member of the MSUM School of Business Advisory Board.

Minn-Dak directors Brent Davison, Tintah, Minn., Dale Blume, Norcross, Minn., and Pat Freese, Kent, Minn., were re-elected by their district shareholders at the co-op’s annual meeting.

Co-op officers, elected by the full board of directors, are: Doug Etten, Dalton, Minn., chairman; Brent Davison, vicechairman; Chuck Steiner, Foxhome, Minn., secretary; and Dennis Butenhoff, Barnesville, Minn., treasurer.

Michigan/Ontario Research Reporting Session Is Jan. 26 The 2012 Michigan/Ontario Sugarbeet Research Reporting Session is scheduled for January 26 at the Doubletree Hotel Riverfront in Bay City.

This sixth annual reporting session will cover current sugarbeet research being conducted in the Great Lakes region.

The program runs from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Meal reservations are required.

For more information in the 2012 research reporting session, contact Steve Poindexter, Michigan State University Extension, Saginaw, at (989) 758-2500.

50th International Sugarbeet Institute Set for March 14 & 15 The 2012 International Sugarbeet Institute is scheduled for March 14 and 15 at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks, N.D. This year’s event marks the 50th anniversary of ISBI, which is the largest sugarbeet industry trade show in North America. Attendance at the 2011 event totaled more than 3,200.

Companies desiring exhibiting information for the 2012 International Sugarbeet Institute can contact exhibits coordinator Bob Cournia at (218) 2814681. Other ISBI-related inquiries should be directed to Dr. Mohamed Khan, organizing committee chairman, at (701) 231-8596. ❖

THE SUGARBEET GROWER January 2012