The 2019 sugarbeet harvest frustrated local growers. Red River Valley Sugarbeet Growers Association President Dan Younggren says a significant amount of beets did not get harvested. “American Crystal Sugar Company got two-thirds of the crop out of the ground. That’s unbelievable for the conditions around the area. It’s crazy. Not only with our acres, which is 118,000 in American Crystal, but across the country there’s 148,000 acres,” explains Younggren. “If you can imagine a field that’s one mile wide and 235 miles long, that’s the amount of sugarbeets left in the ground across the country. That’s from the Fargo-Moorhead area all the way to St. Paul, Minnesota.” Photo taken by Matthew Krueger.
