The rumble of sugarbeet trucks is back as area farmers wind down an early pre-pile harvest to help bring sugar factories back online.
Despite high moisture levels hurting the crop throughout some parts of the Red River Valley, industry experts say this year's full stockpile harvest of sugarbeets, which begins Oct. 1, could match early projections if current conditions hold up.
The pre-pile harvest is a practice in which growers harvest a portion of their crop early to cut back on sugarbeet storage requirements and allow sugar processors to avoid staying idle.
East Grand Forks farmer Richard Krueger said he started his pre-pile harvest on a 150-acre sugar beet field slightly north of the city.
"It's a little wet out there, so I'm hoping it dries up some more," Krueger said, adding that the pre-pile had been going well so far.
He estimated that he would end "at or above average tonnage" from his land by the end of the harvest season and said he'd been helped by an earlier planting allowed by a mild spring.
Brian Ingulsrud, American Crystal Sugar Co. vice president of agriculture, said the timing of this year's pre-pile harvest came sooner than usual because of the early seeding, which also tends to help raise the overall yield. He added that the timing of this year's pre-pile harvest is close to last year's.
Source: www.grandforksherald.com