Just over half of the sugarbeet acres in the Red River Valley were left in the field last fall. The question now is what to seed or not to seed this spring on those acres. University of Minnesota Extension agronomist Jochum Wiersma says there is no one answer that fits all. However, there are some realities that should be considered. “When beets decompose, they tie up some of that nitrogen,” Wiersma explains. “That probably requires 20- to-30 pounds of extra nitrogen for corn or small grains.” If farmers decide to work those leftover sugarbeet acres, that could create a lot of problems later on. “We (U of M Extension) recommends minimizing the amount of tillage and controlling the traffic load across that field.” Many farmers now-a-days work with GPS equipment and other precision agriculture technologies. Wiersma says that can help come planting time. The complete RRFN interview with Wiersma is available here.