Sugarbeet Campaign Underway in the Southern Red River Valley

The Minn-Dak Farmers Cooperative sugarbeet plant is running around the clock. “So far, knock on wood, everything is running as it should,” said Executive Vice President Mike Metzger. “You know, we like to see our root temperatures 55 degrees or lower, and everything’s right in line with the parameters.” Metzger says the quality is a little lower than he’d like, but the region was impacted by cercospora root rot. Yields in the northern part of its trade area are the best this year. “Stuff is looking really good, it’s tough to find a yield below 30 tons. In the southern end of our growing area, down that Wheaton–Herman area, they were just plagued with rain, so much rain this year, they’re running in the mid to upper 20s.”