2017 Sugarbeet Harvest Report | North America

The 2017 sugarbeet harvest in the United States is wrapping up with mixed results.  The USDA’s sugar and sweeteners outlook for November lists Idaho, Wyoming, and Oregon as states to see a drop in sugarbeet production in 2017 while Minnesota, North Dakota, Nebraska and Colorado have all seen gains.  Each sugarbeet growing region faces variability in sugar content and yields which can swing the amount of sugar grown per acre from year to year.

2017 Sugarbeet Harvest Report – By Region

In the Red River Valley, this year’s beet crop was good.  American Crystal Sugar Co. averaged 30.1 tons/acre with sugar up this year to above 18% compared to last year’s 17%.  The higher sugar increases the payment to growers.   Minn-Dak Farmers Cooperative harvested 31.5 tons/acre while leaving 5% of acres in the field to match factory capacity.  The sugar percent was over 17% compared to last year’s 15.5%.

Southern Minnesota Beet Sugar Cooperative harvested approximately 30.5 tons/acre while voluntarily leaving 5,000 acres of sugarbeet in the field to accommodate factory capacity.  Sugar was up to 16.5 %. Michigan Sugar was the story of two tales.  Sugar percent was up to 18.5% while beet tons were down to 25.5 tons.  Yields were off almost 5 tons from what is now considered average.

2017 Sugarbeet Harvest for Montana and Wyoming

Amalgamated Sugar almost harvested 7 million tons with sugar percent coming in just under 17%.  The sugar percent was disappointing after last year’s sugar 18%.  Yields averaged around 40 ton/acre which is lower than last year.  In Montana, Sidney Sugar harvested a 31.25 ton crop with 17.9% sugar.  Western Sugar yielded 36.4 tons with 17.4% sugar.  That is the second largest yield for Western farmers.   In Lovell, Wyoming, the tons were down to 27.9 and sugar was 17.2%.

The 2017 harvest is a mixed bag of results.  Some Cooperatives performed better than last year, while others did not do as well.  The sugarbeet industry is diverse, with each growing area experiencing unique challenges.  Sugarbeet farmers continue to persevere, learn from their experiences, and prepare for another growing season.

About Germains Seed Technology
Germains Seed Technology was one of the first to introduce seed pelleting to the sugarbeet industy.  Today we continue to provide seed treatments for sugarbeet growers across the United States.  Click here for more information about our seed technologies for sugarbeet.

Article provided by Sugarbeet Market Manager, David Bateman