Early beet harvest planned for Sept 14

LOVELL (WNE) — Mark Bjornestad, Senior Agriculturalist at Western Sugar, says local growers will start digging sugar beets on September 14. While the campaign was originally scheduled to begin on the 11th of September, the crop needs more time in the ground, he said. 

Early harvest will begin at the Heart Mountain pile as well as the Lovell pile. The factory will start slicing beets and making sugar the following day, September 15.

The sugar content of the beets is currently in the high 18% range, lending favor to a successful campaign. 

While the spring frost caused some concern early in the growing season, less than 5% of the crop had to be replanted. With the dry, warm winter, there was some concern about pests or fungus; however, those concerns have also proven to be invalid. 

Early harvest will be outside of Ralston at the Heart Mountain pile and in Lovell just west of the factory. Shortly after, other piling grounds will be used as well.