The market for sugar is strong. Technology is increasing productivity. Current government policies are working.
Kendall and his family farm 1,200 acres south of Mitchell, Neb. Along with around 300 acres of sugarbeets; he grows corn, dry edible beans, alfalfa and wheat. He and Tami, his wife of 20 years, have two children, Mariah and Cutler, both in high school. Also helping on the farm is Kendall’s dad, Bob, now technically retired.
“I think he works harder for me than he did when he was farming,” jokes Kendall, who credits his dad with getting him started in the business in 1982, sharing equipment and expertise until Kendall was ready to take the reigns.
Planting Roundup Ready
His operation is still a mirror of the basics his father taught him; “old-school” by Kendall’s definition. He relies on conventional tillage and gravity-flood irrigation.
“A few neighbors have tried minimal tillage,” Kendall explains, “but irrigation is almost impossible with the entire residue left in the ditched crops.”
That’s not to say Kendall won’t try a new approach. He planted Roundup Ready beets this past year and is more than pleased with the results.
“An early May freeze forced me to replant my entire crop and fortunately I was able to replant all 300 acres back with Roundup Ready seed,” he explains.
“Even with the replanted beets I was very pleased with the results.” Kendall says his crop averaged in the upper 20s in tonnage and 16.5 percent in sugar content.
Weed Control
The new technology also offered a boost in time management by providing a broader window of weed control.
He was able to watch his daughter run at the state track meet in Omaha in mid-May, something that would have been impossible with a traditional crop.
“Normally, in May, I would always be on a band sprayer making sure the weeds didn’t get away from me.”
He also likes the long-term environmental effects of fewer trips through the field and reducing his carbon footprint.
“It’s great to see this type of technology developing,” says Kendall, “to see science applied to weed and insect control with fewer chemicals and to the development of drought-resistant crops.”
Future Expectations
It’s that one eye on the future that sets Kendall Busch apart from his peers. Despite his rigorous farm and family schedule he finds time for involvement in the Western Sugar Cooperative and both the Nebraska and American Sugarbeet Growers Associations.
Since 2002, the Western Sugar Cooperative has serviced growers in Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado and Montana.
“This has been a great opportunity for growers to have a voice,” says Kendall. Approximately 1,400 growers are involved in the co-op with around 135,000 acres in production.
That number is set to increase this year, according to Kendall. “High commodity prices shifted acres to corn and beans last year and we fell short of our committed acres,” he explains, “but this year things have shifted back and we have growers lined up asking for shares.”
The Big Picture
Industry growth is important to Kendall. The U.S. sugar industry pumps $10 billion into the economy and provides 146,000 jobs. He would like to keep it that way.
He is entering his second term on the Nebraska Sugarbeet Growers Association and is one of two directors to serve on the ASGA.
“My dad got me into this, too,” he says of his father’s involvement before him.
It is a legacy he is glad to continue. “He told me about the experience, knowledge and the friends I would make and he was right,” says Kendall. “Through both boards I have learned there is a lot more to the sugar industry than just planting, nourishing and harvesting the crop.”
Through the ASGA, Kendall has a hand in developing national sugar policy, a role that is more important now than ever, as the worldwide economic crisis tempts policymakers to adjust trade agreements.
“We want to make sure the agreements that work stay in place,” he says. “We want the U.S. sugar policy, as per the Farm Bill, to stay as written.”
Kendall says the ASGA is working to ensure that lawmakers resist the possibility of making cuts to the Farm Bill to pay for the economic stimulus package.
Market View
Busch also sees the importance of continuing to develop sugar markets.
The country’s dire economic straits could help there, as more people prepare meals at home rather than dine out.
And food manufacturers are re-discovering sugar as a readily available sweetener, with growers ready and willing to meet the demand, which is safer than artificial alternatives. “Demand is up,” explains Kendall. “Our supply is safe and reliable and users know it is the best product out there.”
Like most sugar producers, Kendall is worried about the effects of NAFTA and CAFTA on the U.S. sugar supply.
He is concerned that sugar imported from Mexico not only has the potential to flood the market, but that it can be of lesser quality.
“The real concern here is what they import from other countries and then pass on to us,” he says.
But, overall, Busch sees the picture as bright. The Farm Bill allows for any overstock of sugar to go into ethanol production.
New leadership in Washington, like Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, looks promising. Production inputs are decreasing from the peak of the past year.
And U.S. sugar remains a good, solid food ingredient.
“The main reason I do this,” Busch says as he jets off to Washington, D.C., for another round of lobbying, “is to keep it going.”