READYMADE, Alta. – The sugar beet harvest of 2002 may be one most
Alberta farmers would prefer to see from the rearview mirror.
While many started combining at the end of August, about half the
Alberta crop remains in the fields as rain and snow stalled operations.
A break in the weather sends farmers back to field for a few hours at a
time, hoping to glean something from damaged crops.
“I never thought I would see the day where there were combines out in
Read Also
Dry summer conditions can lead to poor water quality for livestock
Drought conditions in the Prairies has led to an decrease in water quality, and producers are being advised to closely monitor water quality for their animals.
the field, people making silage and people pulling their beets out of
the ground in the middle of October,” said sugar beet farmer Garry
Hranac of Readymade.
For sugar beet producers in the south, it is a year of disappointment
with reduced yields due to floods in spring and cold June growing
weather. The numbers are down to 250 growers on 30,000 acres. Last
year’s drought and irrigation water rationing saw many of the 405
registered growers take a leave of absence.
As Hranac circles his field, he watches the undersized beets pulled out
of the ground and conveyed into the truck that parallels the harvester.
The beets should be large and round like big white turnips. This year
too many have thin roots resembling parsnips.
Sugar beets are dug with specialized harvesters. They are unloaded at
dump sites in the south where, in past years, beets were processed
until mid-February. This year those mounds of beets are expected to be
finished by year-end.
Processed at Rogers Sugar in Taber, Alta., the beets are turned into
sugar, molasses and byproducts like pulp for livestock feed. Farmers
are paid on the basis of tonnage and sugar content. This year the
content is about 17 percent, compared to an average of 18.5 percent,
and the weight is down.
At one time the harvesters worked round the clock and the weigh
stations remained open 24 hours a day. This year the receiving stations
shut down by 10 p.m.
“There are fewer people interested in beets,” said Hranac.
