Source: KMVT
Early indications show it’s a good year for the sugarbeet crop in southern Idaho’s Magic Valley.
It’s still early in the harvest season, but so far the sugarbeet crop is producing about the same amount as last year. That’s good news, as last year set company records at Amalgamated Sugar for both sugar content and yield.
Years like this year and last are partially due to the growers. They monitor the plant during the growing season for nitrogen levels to make sure they are applying the right fertilizer, as well as irrigating properly. Much of the rest is out of their control.
“Once we get the crop grown and fertilized appropriately, then it’s kind of up to Mother Nature, and what kind of cool fall we get and just kind of triggering that beet to store sugar for the winter,” says Luke Adams, a sugarbeet grower in Rupert.
This year’s beets aren’t quite as sweet, meaning they have a lower sugar content, but growers say they are happy to see high yields.