Wet fields are challenging sugarbeet harvest. There are some similarities to last year’s harvest near Fisher, Minnesota. “We don’t have the frost damage in the sugarbeets, yet. Last year, we had very low temperatures overnight and that froze sugarbeets severely,” says farmer Curt Knutson. “We didn’t have a normal leaf canopy. This year, it’s different. We have a lot of leaf canopy to protect the sugarbeets.” Farmers want to know what to expect in the weeks ahead at American Crystal Sugar Company. Crookson, Minnesota farmer Kevin Capistran says there is some contingency planning in place in case the weather doesn’t improve. “One of the overarching goals is that we have a viable cooperative with factories and staff that are here to try again next year, regardless of what happens this year,” says Capistran. “There will be some hard decisions to be made on how we do that. We are getting prepared for possibilities we hope don’t get there.”
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