A sugarbeet grower in southwest Minnesota says there’s talk of record yields.
Larry Baumgardt farms near Buffalo Lake and says the crop isn’t to the finish line just yet.
“These beets have got to grow another six weeks and it will depend a little bit on how much moisture we get.”
He says it was a very good spring.
“In that it was dry. We had a very dry fall last year (and) the spring was dry so planting conditions were perfect. We planted those beets around the 18th, 19th of April.”
Rains have been timely and there haven’t been serious weed problems this year, but leaf blight is an annual concern.
“We do spray fungicides up to three times if not even four times. Not too much really for insects; more for leaf blight.”
Baumgardt says he has never lifted beets this early, but the bulk of the harvest is still five to six weeks away.
Agronomists he has spoken to say yields could be as high as 30 tons per acre, compared to 22 last year.
Source: www.brownfieldagnews.com