American Crystal Sugar Company General Agronomist Joe Hastings says right now, plans are being put in place to possibly delay the start of full harvest at most factory locations. “The unusually warm temperatures aren’t good for sugarbeet storage. We store sugarbeets through the end of May. Our plans are always usually to start on October 1, but that’s not the case when it gets warm. I think the Drayton district is going to try and harvest that night, but moving south, it may not be fit to fire up until next Monday, October 4.” Plans can change anytime with the weather. The goal is to harvest a storable sugarbeet with a root temperature in the mid-50s. “Fifty-five degrees is where we see the best storage.” The Minn-Dak Farmers Cooperative says a delay is possible, but they haven’t drawn a line in the sand as of Tuesday. Southern Minnesota Beet Sugar Cooperative postponed their full harvest until October 6.
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