According to Knight Ridder and the Tribune Business News, growers near Twin Falls, ID are still working to harvest about 3,000 acres. But temperatures continue to dip below freezing and delay harvest operations.
Traditional southern Idaho weather patterns may provide some hope for growers in January if the current cold weather continues through December. January usually brings a new-year thaw.
Growers hope that when the weather does swing to the warmer side, it will do so slowly. When sugarbeets are thawed rapidly in the ground, bacterial action attacks beets in the soil. A gentle thaw provides growers time to get them out of the ground and into storage.