the sugarbeet grower magazine april/may 2013

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— Feature Articles —

It’s Our 50th Birthday! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4The Sugarbeet Grower’s first issue was May 1963

A Byproduct Success Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Report on Southern Minn spent lime research

‘Keep Watering’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Gary Mamer discusses Imperial Valley beet production

— Regular Pages —

Dateline: Washington . . . . . . . . . . . 8Farm bill and the sugar market

30 Years Ago . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Excerpts from the April 1983 issue

Write Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Dreaming at the Dome

Around the Industry . . . . . . . . . . . 15Who, what & where it’s happening

— Front Cover —

USDA’s initial forecast of2013 planted sugarbeet acreage pegged it downby 2% from last year.

Photo: Don Lilleboe

THE SUGARBEET GROWER April/May 2013 3

Page 6

Page 10

‘Serving The Nation’s SugarbeetCommunity Since 1963’

Volume 52 Number 4April/May 2013

Sugar Publications4601 16th Ave. N.Fargo, ND 58102

Phone: (701) 476-2111Fax: (701) 476-2182

E-Mail: [email protected] Site: www.sugarpub.com

Publisher: Sugar Publications

General Manager & Editor: Don Lilleboe

Advertising Manager: Heidi Wieland (701) 476-2003

Graphics: Forum Communications Printing

The Sugarbeet Grower is published sixtimes annually (January, February, March,April/May, July/August, November/December)by Sugar Publications, a division of ForumCommunications Printing.North American sugarbeet producers re-

ceive the magazine on a complimentary basis.Annual subscription rates are $12.00 domes-tic and $18.00 for foreign subscribers.Advertising in The Sugarbeet Grower

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The Sugarbeet Grower has reached abig milestone! The first issue of

this magazine was published 50 yearsago this spring, in May of 1963.

It began as a tabloid, publishedquarterly by the Western SugarbeetGrowers Association, Inc. Its editorwas Aldrich C. (“Al”) Bloomquist, exec-utive secretary of the Red River ValleySugarbeet Growers Association andlater vice president and then presidentof American Crystal Sugar Company.(We paid tribute to Al, who passedaway last August at age 91, in our No-vember/December issue.)

“The Sugarbeet Grower was con-ceived to better inform the membershipof sugarbeet grower and developmentassociations affiliated with WesternSugarbeet Growers Association, Inc. ofwhat’s going on in the wonderfully ex-citing and moving world of sugar,” Alwrote in that inaugural issue.“We are hopeful that thru thepages of the The SugarbeetGrower you will be better in-formed about the complexitiesand workings of the SugarAct. We hope you will have abetter understanding of theAssociation of which you are amember and the plans, activi-ties and accomplishments ofthat group.

“We hope you will be a bet-ter grower because of informa-tion on research and newtechniques practiced by grow-ers in other areas,” he contin-ued. “We hope that we can intime tell the story of the indi-vidual accomplishments ofmany individual growers. Wehope, too, to tell the story ofthe many and varied organi-zations which make up thiswondrous world of sugar.”

The Western SugarbeetGrowers Association (WSGA)existed from about 1940 to1965, drawing its membershipmainly from states whereAmerican Crystal Sugar Com-pany (still a private stockcompany in that era) operatedbeet sugar factories. The

WSGA’s main objective was to securecongressional legislation that wouldallow more sugarbeet acreage.

As of 1963, the WSGA umbrella en-compassed the Red River Valley Sugar-beet Growers Association (RRVSGA),the Mason City (Iowa) District BeetGrowers Association, the SouthernMinnesota Beet Growers Association,the Minnesota-Dakota Beet Develop-ment Association and the Tri-CountyBeet Development Association. Farm-ers belonging to the RRVSGA, MasonCity and Southern Minnesota groupsalready grew for American Crystal,while the two development associations(Minnesota-Dakota in the far northernRed River Valley region and Tri-Countyin the Mayville, N.D., area) were seek-ing expanded beet acreage and facto-ries for their respective areas.

Bloomquist had been hired as exec-

utive secretary of RRVSGA in late1962, according to Roots of Success, ahistory of the organization. A collegejournalism graduate, he previously hadworked in public relations for the West-ern Beet Sugar Producers, an industrygroup funded by several U.S. sugarbeetprocessors, including American Crys-tal. “The Western Beet Sugar Produc-ers folded up in 1962, when some of itscorporate supporters withdrew theirfunding,” wrote Roots of Success’ au-thor, Terry Shoptaugh.

Headquarters for The SugarbeetGrower as of the mid-1960s were inBloomquist’s Moorhead, Minn., home.By 1966, Al was listed as both editorand publisher. Beginning with theJanuary 1968 issue, the publicationwas converted to the standard maga-zine size of 8.5 x 11 inches.

Bloomquist continued to own andpublish The SugarbeetGrower until 1986, more thana dozen years after Red RiverValley growers had pur-chased American Crystal (atransition in which Al washugely instrumental).

Al hired me in late 1977to write and edit for The Sug-arbeet Grower. I did so untillate 1978, working simultane-ously with another ag maga-zine (not owned by Al, butprinted by Kaye’s Printing ofFargo, as was The SugarbeetGrower).

Back in 1968, Al had pur-chased the Gilmore SugarManual from a printing com-pany in New Orleans.Gilmore, which had beenaround since the early 1900s,was (and still is) a technicalreference book on the U.S.sugarcane milling sector. Almoved Gilmore operations upto Fargo-Moorhead and thenpublished both The SugarbeetGrower and Gilmore underthe banner of his auxiliaryenterprise, “Sugar Publica-tions.”

Al sold Sugar Publica-tions to Kaye’s Printing of

4 THE SUGARBEET GROWER April/May 2013

It’s Our 50th Birthday!Inaugural Issue of The Sugarbeet Grower Was Published in May 1963

Fargo in 1986, andKaye’s asked me toreturn as editorand manager ofboth The SugarbeetGrower andGilmore SugarManual. I am stillhere — some 27years later!

Kaye’s was soldto Forum Communications Company(FCC) in 1999, and Sugar Publicationshas been owned by Forum Communica-tions Printing (FCC’s commercialprinting division) since then. We werebased in the Kaye’s building in down-town Fargo until early 2006, at whichtime we moved into a new ForumPrinting building on the city’s north-west side.

So now, 50 years after its first issuehit the mail, The Sugarbeet Grower

perseveres — continuing that originalcommitment to serving the informa-tional needs and interests of sugarbeetproducers.

My favorite part of the job alwayshas been — and remains — interactingwith growers, researchers, sugar com-pany personnel, association leaders

and allied industry. With few excep-tions, I have been consistently im-pressed by the quality of individualsI’ve encountered, and likewise verygrateful for their interest and support.

During my tenure as editor of TheSugarbeet Grower, I have traveled toevery beet-growing area of the U.S. andCanada — often on multiple occasions.I have been fascinated by the variationin growing environment and produc-tion practices in the different locales,realizing, of course, that there’s alwaysa reason why each grower uses (or doesnot use) a particular production regi-men or implement in his operation.

I have also been gratified by thewonderful cooperation of so many peo-ple through the years— growers, agstaff, university and USDA scientists,industry leaders — when I interrupttheir day by asking for story ideas ortheir time for an interview. I often tellpeople, “I don’t know much; but I usu-ally know who to ask.” And thatcounts for something. I’m likewisegrateful for all those companies whoshow their confidence, as advertisers,in the value we provide. Without them,this magazine never would havereached the venerable age of 50.

The next quarter century is certain

to bring majorchanges — somemore profoundthan anything ex-perienced duringthe past 25 years,the past 50 years.Well, I won’t behere for the 75thanniversary of thismagazine’s found-

ing. But I do hope and trust the sugar-beet industry will be thriving in 2038— and that The Sugarbeet Grower willstill be serving it. It has been a won-derfully symbiotic relationship, and Iam proud to have played a role in it.

By the way, the above photo of merepresents, I believe, only the second orthird time I’ve been pictured in thismagazine during all the years I’veserved as its editor. I’m not a publicityseeker by nature, but I did conclude itwould be appropriate to put it here,given the reason for this article — andthe fact that I’ve spent much of my ca-reer asking others to allow me to placephotos of them on these pages.

My sincere thanks and continuedbest wishes to you, our valued readers.You remain, after all, the very reasonwe’re here. — Don Lilleboe �


Al Bloomquist Don Lilleboe

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The spreading of spent lime (more-technically known as Precipitated

Calcium Carbonate, or PCC) on upcom-ing sugarbeet fields has really takenoff during the past decade amongUpper Midwest beet growers. Alongwith increasing pH and influencing thesoil nutrients, the spent lime has beendemonstrated to reduce the impact ofAphanomyces and Rhizoctonia root rotin infested fields.

The region’s most recently reportedresearch on spent lime’s benefits comesfrom the Southern Minnesota BeetSugar Cooperative (SMBSC), wherethe use of PCC has expanded six-foldsince 2001. Based on this use pattern,the projection is that within five yearsthe Southern Minn factory PCC pilewill be reduced significantly beyondwhat it already has been. The annualPCC production by SMBSC will beavailable on a long-term basis forgrowers to use for their benefit,

SMBSC agronomists Mark Brede-hoeft and Chris Dunsmore, in conjunc-tion with University of Minnesota soil

scientist John Lamb, have summarizedfive years of studies (2008-12) on theuse of PCC. Their results show in-creases in sugarbeet and corn yields of23-36% and 22-35%, respectively, wheneither four, eight of 12 tons of PCCwere applied per acre. The SMBSCwork indicates that PCC applied twoyears in advance of crop productionwas the most advantageous, comparedto one and three years.

For sugarbeets, the biggest advan-tage came when beets were planted inthe second year (after soybeans andthen corn) following the application of12 tons of spent lime per acre. There,beet yields were nearly 27% higherthan the mean yield. When beets weregrown in the second year after the ap-plication of eight tons of lime, theyields were 20% higher than the mean;after four tons of lime two years previ-ous, the beet yields were nearly 14%greater than the mean. In all cases,the applied nitrogen rate was 110pounds per acre on the beets and 140pounds in the preceding year’s corn.

The SMBSC research also looked atthe effect of PCC on Rhizoctonia.

A summary of results from 2009and 2010 shows that when four tonsper acre of PCC were applied to soilsinoculated with Rhizoctonia solani sub-population AG 2-2 IIB, sugarbeet rootyield was 4.3 tons higher than whereno PCC was applied to the inoculatedsoil. The difference was smaller wheresub-population AG 2-2 IVA was inocu-lated. There, the benefit from four tonsof PCC was just 0.8 ton, well below theleast significant difference (LSD atalpha level 0.05) of 3.8 tons.

In the case where there was no in-oculated disease treatment, the yieldbenefit from four tons of PCC was 2.9tons per acre, versus where there wasno PCC applied. This increase was notstatistically significant, however.

The investigation, promotion and usesuccess of PCC on crop production

has been a collaborative effort by sug-arbeet growers, university researchers,agricultural retail industry, crop con-sultants and the sugarbeet industry.University researchers John Lamb andDr. Albert Sims (soil scientist at theUniversity of Minnesota’s NorthwestResearch and Outreach Center, Crook-ston) conducted a significant amount ofresearch in cooperation with SouthernMinnesota Beet Sugar Cooperative toshow the influence PCC can have oncrop production — and the benefits tothe soil as a natural additive.

The agricultural retail industry andcrop consultants have taken the timeto look at the benefits of PCC with anopen mind. There has been significantcommunication between the ag indus-try, crop consultants and SMBSC toprovide a quality product to thegrower. The University of Minnesotaalso has been instrumental in dissemi-nating the information to the agricul-tural retail industry, consultants andgrowers.

Southern Minnesota growers haveaccepted the research conducted bySMBSC and the university. They’vetaken the advice of crop consultants, agretailers and co-op ag staff and haveapplied the PCC with much success.The positive results have led to over-whelming acceptance of PCC applica-tion in the region. This collaborativeeffort has become a success story high-lighting the use of a sugarbeet process-ing byproduct into a crop productionenhancement additive. It also is an ex-cellent example of how the university,agricultural industry and growers canwork together for the benefit of all. —Mark Bredehoeft �

A Byproduct Success Storylncreased Spent Lime Usage in Southern MinnAffirmed by University/Co-op Research Results

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Dateline:Washington

By

Luther Markwart

Executive

Vice President

American

Sugarbeet

Growers Assn.

The first three months of 2013brought us a new Congress that

was settling in . . . a second term of aPresident with a renewed agenda . . .and plenty of battles over the eco-nomic course of our nation betweenthe House, Senate and the WhiteHouse.

Spirited debates over fiscal cliffs,sequestration, continuing resolutions,debt ceiling increases, etc., focused onwhere more money could be raisedfor the federal government and whereand how to cut spending. Sprinkle in a spirited debate overgun control and a race by both par-ties to fix a broken immigration andguest worker system to attract theever-increasing and influentialLatino vote in state and nationalelections.

It has not been an easy threemonths, but tough decisions arenever easy.

Everyone agrees that across-the-board spending cuts (sequestration)are the worst way to reduce federalspending; but allowing it to occur setsin motion congressional efforts to finda better way of reducing spending.All of the committees in Congresswill have an obligation to find waysto cut expenditures for future pro-grams. The agriculture committeeshave already shown us that they canaccomplish this in a thoughtful way.

Farm Bill — It now appears thatthe leadership of both houses of Con-gress wishes to complete a farm billthis year. The House and Senate agcommittees will be drafting legisla-tion under two very different budgetresolutions. Non-binding, resolutionsare a guide as to how much should becut from programs and policies, butthe cuts do not have to all come inthe farm bill package. It appearsthat the Senate is content with the$23 billion reduction over 10 years inagriculture policy that passed theSenate last year, but we are likely tosee modifications to proposals on

southern crops (rice and peanuts)that would garner more support forthe farm bill from southern senators. The House bill will need more sav-ings — somewhere near the $31 bil-lion over 10 years. The real battlewill be over food stamp — or theSNAP (Supplemental Nutritional As-sistance Program) — spending in thebill.

As of the first of April, it nowlooks like the committees will bedrafting the farm bill in May. Thecommittees typically do not like to lettheir passed bills linger on hold be-fore taking them to the floor to avoidthe opponents of the bill the opportu-nity to rail against it. How and whenthe bills receive floor considerationremains unclear.

As for sugar policy, we see strongsupport in both agriculture commit-tees, as we did last year. The realfights will be on the floor when eachbody takes up the debate. It will becritical for the commodity groups andfarm organizations to work togetherand support one another in a unifiedeffort to get the bill passed. Whensugar policy opponents in the Senatecontemplated attacks in both the con-tinuing resolution and the budgetresolution earlier this year, the Amer-ican Farm Bureau Federation andthe National Farmers Union, alongwith other commodity groups, stoodfirm with sugar to oppose harmfulamendments. We deeply appreciatetheir support to defend our policy.

In February and March, yourgrower leaders walked the halls ofthe House and Senate office buildingsto educate members and staff of theneed for the continuation of the cur-rent sugar provisions and to ask


them to oppose any proposed amend-ment. With almost half of the U.S.House having never voted on a farmbill, there is a huge educationalprocess that must be done by con-gressional leaders and industry rep-resentatives. Each and every day, weare explaining the need for our policyto sustain our domestic industry forthe benefit of food security for Ameri-can consumers, rural jobs and put-ting $20 billion into the U.S. economyat no cost to taxpayers.

The Market — Unfortunately, weare in the worst market we have seenin many years. Bumper beet andcane crops in the U.S. and Mexico andexcess imports from our other tradingpartners have clearly resulted inoversupply.

In order to avoid sugar forfeitureson August 1, USDA is working fever-ishly to find creative ways to get themarket back in balance as quicklyand efficiently as possible. The 2008farm bill was designed to avoid mas-sive costly forfeitures by removingsugar from the market and disposingof it so it does not overhang the mar-ket and cause a multi-year problem.

Given the market sensitivity ofboth timing and volumes of sugarthat could be removed from the mar-ket this year, USDA is keeping its op-tions very close to the vest. Staffswho are working on the oversupplyproblem are seasoned professionals,and we are anxiously awaiting an an-nouncement of an action plan to ad-dress our problem. The solution isnot simple, because we are dealingwith a North American market thathas three separate industries, differ-ent domestic sugar policies and notrade restrictions.

2013 Acreage —While U.S. beetacreage is projected to be down by19,000 this year, a later spring willhave a much bigger impact than re-duced acreage on final sugar produc-tion from the 2013 crop. �

USDA is working to find

creative ways to get the market

back in balance as quickly

and efficiently as possible.

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In testimony delivered to the U.S. In-ternational Trade Commission (ITC)in March, U.S. sugar producers en-couraged the agency to publicly notethe positive effect U.S. sugar policyhas on the economy.

The American Sugar Alliance’s(ASA) testimony cited low U.S. sugarprices, the 142,000 jobs supported bythe U.S. industry, growth in the coun-try’s candy business, and recent eco-nomic events in Europe’s sugarindustry as justification.

Every two years the ITC investi-gates the impact U.S. sugar import re-straints have on the economy, and ithas systematically moved in the direc-tion of showing no economic harm.The most recent ITC calculation, re-leased in 2011, noted a negligible $49million loss — down 96% since 2004.

“The ITC, in its last several up-dates, has moved encouragingly to-ward the ASA’s long-held position thatU.S. sugar policy and import re-straints provide a net benefit to theU.S. economy, and not a net cost,” ex-plained ASA economist Jack Roney,who testified on the industry’s behalf.

ASA believes that if the ITC prop-erly accounts for all the jobs tied toU.S. sugar production and acknowl-edges that global sugar prices are ator above U.S. sugar prices, then show-ing an economic benefit from sugarpolicy will be likely.

The spreads between U.S. pricesand the heavily subsidized worlddump sugar market have long beenITC’s reason for showing any eco-nomic harm. However, since the lastITC update, U.S. sugar prices have

fallen sharply and have convergedwith dump market prices.

Roney further explained that evensugar policy’s biggest critics — largeconfectioners — have expanded pro-duction in recent years and are book-ing impressive profit margins. Thesefood manufacturers are currentlypocketing falling ingredient costs tofurther boost profits instead of passingalong savings to consumers, he noted.

ITC was encouraged to look to Eu-rope for proof of the economic damagethat occurs when a country becomesmuch more dependent on imports.“[EU sugar] production fell by 20%, 83 mills closed, and 120,000 jobs werelost” after it “reformed its sugarregime in 2006,” according to ASA. Inaddition, EU sugar prices rose, foodmakers had trouble sourcing sugar,and food prices climbed.

Roney also noted that world aver-age retail sugar prices are 14% higherthan U.S. prices as further proof thatAmerican consumers benefit from U.S.sugar policy.

“As a result of these factors and ex-periences, we urge the ITC to findthere would be a net cost to U.S. soci-ety absent U.S. import restraints,rather than a net benefit,” Roney con-cluded. �

��

2v THE SUGARBEET GROWER (Upper Midwest) April/May 2013

Underscoring U.S. Sugar Policy’s Positive Effect on the Economy— Summary of ASA Testimony to ITC —

USDA’s first projection of 2013 U.S.planted sugarbeet acreage put the

number at 2% below that of 2012. The

March-released projected plantings re-port forecast 1,211,100 planted beetacres this year — 19,000 under last

year’s final number of 1,230,100.Percentage-wise, the biggest pro-

jected increase was in Wyoming, wherethe forecast calls for a total of 39,000acres this year (compared to 31,800 in2012). North Dakota is projected to beup slightly (230,000 versus 222,000last year), while Michigan and Califor-nia each are pegged at identical levelsto 2012.

At a forecast 43,800, Nebraska’s2013 planted acreage would be down14% from last year’s 51,000. Otherstates showed projected declines offrom 3% (Minnesota) to 7% (Colorado).

Total U.S. planted beet acreage in2011 was 1,232,800. The 2010 plantedacreage ended up at 1,171,000.

The next USDA planted acreagereport will be released in late June.

The all-time planted acreagerecord for U.S. sugarbeets is 1,647,100— set back in 1969. The harvestedacreage total that year was 1,540,500.The average yield in 1969 was 18 tons,for a total production level of nearly27.74 million tons.

During the three-year period of2010-12, by comparison, harvestedacreage averaged 1,191,200; yields av-eraged 26.9 tons; and total beet pro-duction averaged 32.06 million tons. �

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4v THE SUGARBEET GROWER (Upper Midwest) April/May 2013

Acreage Projection Places Beets Down 2%

30 Years Ago Excerpts from theApril 1983 Issue ofThe Sugarbeet Grower

Early Delivery Plan Wins Grower Support —“Minidoka County (Idaho) beet growers are still enthusedabout their early delivery program of 1982.

“The growers asked Amalgamated Sugar Company ifthey would contract additional acres with the stipulationthat these beets would be delivered earlier than normal.The company agreed and growers planted and harvested4,500 acres. These acres produced a total of 88,244 tons ofbeets — an average of 19.39 tons per acre. Sugar contentwas 14.07%. (Regular harvest beets averaged 22.19 tonsper acre with a sugar content of 15.16%.)

“The initial payment of $26.63 per ton totaled$2,023,676. Growers compared these results:

“Had this same 4,500 acres been planted to: Barley @110 bu. per acre x $2.25 = $247.50, totaling $1,113,750;Wheat @ 85 bu. per acre x $3.50 = $297.50, totaling$1,338,750; Beans @ 20 bags per acre x $11.00 = $220.00,totaling $990,000.

“Needless to say, early delivery is a part of the 1983program for Minidoka growers.”

Clarksburg Now Grower Owned — “Californiagrowers who grow beets for the Clarksburg plant of Amer-

ican Crystal Sugar Company have taken the bull by thehorns and are now the owners — and still growers — ofthe Clarksburg beet sugar factory.

“The story started some months ago. American Crys-tal served notice that (1) American Crystal would operatethe factory in 1983 only if the beet purchase agreementwas rewritten as a ‘nonloss’ contract to Crystal, or (2) thata new operator or buyer could be found for the plant, or(3) that the Clarksburg growers would form a cooperativeand purchase the plant.

“A buying group emerged — consisting of foreign inter-ests and the present growers — and a company wasformed, Delta Sugar Company. An offer was made toCrystal, accepted by Crystal and it appeared everythingwas in order. But, the foreign interests withdrew at thelast second.

“Growers in the Clarksburg area, still wanting to growbeets, and Crystal started negotiations all over. The nego-tiations were successful and a new deal was made.

“The new group, Clarksburg-Dixon, Inc., signed a con-tract to purchase, with Crystal continuing managing opera-tions for one year. After that, Clarksburg-Dixon will beowned and managed by growers, but not as a cooperative.” �


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As of the first of April, sugarbeetgrowers in the Red River Valley

were still waiting for the snowpack tomelt and the soil to warm up so theycould head out to their fields and getready to put the 2013 beet crop in theground.

As of the first of April, Gary Mamerand his fellow growers in the ImperialValley were getting ready to begin the2013 beet harvest — a campaign thatwill ultimately stretch through Julyand probably into early August.That’s just one difference between

raising sugarbeets in Minnesota andNorth Dakota versus the southern edgeof California. When one region nudgesup against the Canadian border whilethe other rubs elbows with Mexico,there are bound to be many more.Desert farming runs deep in Gary

Mamer’s genes. On his maternal side,great-grandfather T.B. Shank came tothe Imperial Valley in the early 1900s— right about the time irrigation waterfrom the Colorado River first beganflowing via canal over to the Valley. Pa-ternally, the Brawley farmer’s arearoots go back three generations. He jok-ingly describes himself as a bona fide“desert rat” — much more at ease in theImperial Valley’s heat than he would bein more-northerly climates.By the time he’d finished a couple

years of college, Mamer knew exactlywhat he wanted to do for a career: comeback to the Imperial Valley and farm.That was in 1978, and Gary and hisdad, Gordon, farmed together for an-other 23 years. They were plantingtwin-row beets on 44-inch beds at thetime. “That worked really well forlater-season beets; but we could nevermake the ‘Top 10’ ” in terms of per-acresugar production, he recalls. While hisdad wasn’t too keen on moving to 30-inch single rows, Gary was adamant.They made the switch in the mid-1980s.“Lo and behold, we got ‘Top 10’ the firstyear out” — and never looked back.The Mamer farm currently includes

560 acres of sugarbeets out of 2,100total. His cropping sequence usuallyconsists of three years of hay, followedby sugarbeets. He typically plantswheat (or occasionally Sudan grass)after the sugarbeets; then comes back ayear later with another beet crop, afterwhich it’s back to hay. “That’s the stan-dard rotation on my farm, as I don’t dothe ‘produce game’ (e.g., spinach, broc-coli, onions).”Farming in the Imperial Valley is, of

course, a year-round proposition.There’s always some field operationgoing on, be it ground preparation,spraying, tillage or harvesting. For sug-arbeets, everything works backwardfrom a given field’s anticipated harvestdate. “We get done digging on what wecall ‘July 41st,’ ” Mamer quips in refer-ence to the beet harvest commonlystretching from April into August.Because they are planting their beet

fields based on a projected “early,” “mid”


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‘Keep Watering’

Left: This is scheduled to be the final2013 Mamer beet field to be harvested.It was planted the second week in October; photo taken in early February.

Veteran Grower Gary Mamer Talks AboutRaising Sugarbeets in the Imperial Valley

Photo

s: D

on L

ille

boe

or “late” harvest date, Mamer and hisfellow Imperial Valley producers tradi-tionally have used different varieties,depending upon each field’s diggingtimetable. A variety with superior rootrot tolerance, for instance, typically hasbeen planted for late-season fields sinceit can better withstand summer’s ex-treme heat. Currently, however, Mamerseeds most of his beet ground to a singlevariety — Betaseed’s BTS 4521R, a con-ventional variety — because he’s confi-dent he can manage it to produce wellacross the various harvest scenarios.(Valley-wide, about 6,800 acres out

of the 24,500 total are planted toRoundup Ready® varieties this year.That percentage is expected to increaseas additional agronomically strongRoundup Ready varieties become avail-able for this market.)

Not Exactly Minimum-Till

Planting of the Imperial Valley sug-arbeet crop normally begins in earlySeptember and can often stretch intoOctober, depending on temperaturesand periodic rain delays. But there’s alot of field prep that goes on before theplanter ever pulls into the field.What’s the standard regimen at

Mamer Farms? “Let’s say I’m goingwith beets after wheat,” Gary begins.As soon as the wheat has been har-vested in June, “we’ll stubble disk thefield once, then go in and chisel it to ei-ther 24 or 28 inches.” After a corruga-tor pass, the field is flooded, followed byanother disking. That process encom-passes 30 to 40 days.Then soil samples are drawn to de-

termine how much nitrogen and phos-phorus will be needed for the beets.Mamer’s testing service typically pullssix samples from each field: two on thehead end, two in the middle and twomore toward the bottom.Next the field is disked, tri-planed;

then disked and tri-planed a secondtime. “Then we go in and list the beds.At that time, if we need some extraphosphate, we’ll probably put down 100pounds of 11-52-0.” The beds are thenfolded over, “and I’ll generally put insome 10-34-0 at that time” along with ashot of Hydra-Hume.“I run less fertilizer on the front

(early) beets and the last beets,” Mameradds. “With those late beets, the tap-root will go find it in our soils, with thetile lines at six feet. Generally, too,they’ll pick up some extra fertilizer thathas been ‘pushed down’ over the years.”Actual fertilizer rates depend, of course,on the soil test results. In-season leafpetiole sampling determines “whether

we need to add a bit more in January orFebruary.”

Beds on the early and mid fields areusually watered first. “We’ll set up thehead end, ‘punch the pipe’ or runsiphons, water it — and come back 10 to15 days later” with a Lilliston cultivatorpass, Mamer says. “Then, probablywithin a week to 10 days, we’re ready toplant that field.”If a field is being planted in mid-

September, the seed spacing will be sig-nificantly tighter compared to a fieldbeing planted in early or mid-October.Heat, salt and the periodic heavy rainare the reasons why. “We have to makesure we get a good stand despite allthat,” Mamer points out. “We still havethe salt later on; but the ‘weather side’isn’t as big. So we can widen out our

spacing — and the beets generally comeup quicker, too.”After planting, the water flows again

for four to five days; is shut off for an-other three or four days; then getsturned back on “to make sure we have agood stand. Once we’re satisfied withthe stand, we cultivate the beds. And ifwe have a bunch of weeds somewhere inthe field, that’s also the best time to goin with a small crew and take themout.”After watering back, “we’ll furrow

pack out: take the weeds again with oneside knife, making a little deeper fur-row. At that point, if the field has somewild beets, we come in with a shot ofTreflan and Outlook. Spraying thatand ‘Lilliston-ing’ it up helps control theweeds.” If the weed population war-rants, he can also incorporate an appli-cation of Eptam with the irrigationwater.“Then we’re off to the races. You

just keep watering the field” until har-vest nears.

That All-Important Water

Sugarbeet growers in the ImperialValley do not presently operate underwater restrictions. That may change inthe future; but to date, “we’ve been ableto have enough water at our discretionto use as we see fit,” Mamer says. The high salt content of Valley soils

is managed mainly through tiling andsummer flood irrigation. “We makesure our tile lines are clean, chisel any-where from 24 to 28 inches deep — andthen do that summer flood,” he ex-


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Gary Mamer

plains. “Once the water is runningacross the top of the field, it tends topush the salts deeper,” away from thebeet growth zone.

“If you want to get rid of even moresalts, you’re better off leveling thefield,” Mamer continues. “Make it niceand flat, with a little bit of fall so thewater drains off the lower end.” But, headds, no one wants to drain off toomuch water, either. The Imperial Irri-gation District operates gauges on fieldheadgates and tailgates to monitor fieldrunoff. “We’re always watching that.

We don’t like extra waste water,”Mamer emphasizes. “There’s no reasonto put more [salty] water into the[Salton] Sea.”

The veteran grower and board mem-ber of the California Beet Growers As-sociation admits that the water needs ofsugarbeets can be harder to gauge thansome of his other crops — especiallyduring the winter months. While somegrowers use more “high-tech” methodsfor scheduling irrigation, he still relieslargely on “the old-fashioned way ofpulling the sugarbeet out of the ground.

If there’s mud sticking to it, don’t water.If the dirt falls off and the taproot isclean, turn the water on.”

As the season progresses and har-vest approaches, however, “there’s a‘fine line’ in keeping the moisture moreconstant. We don’t want cracks devel-oping in the root. The beets get so bighere that the cell walls on the outsidecan split and cracks develop. You don’twant water hitting that” and contribut-ing to more root rot.

So, while water sets in Februarycommonly run for 24 hours, “once weget into June and onward — especiallywith all the later-harvested beets —we’ll go to 12- to 14-hour sets.” Also,those sets will be conducted during theevening and nighttime hours.

Harvesting at 100+ Degrees

When you have beets growing for 10or 11 months under ample irrigationand with lots of heat units, you’re likelyto end up with some excellent yields.The average Imperial Valley yield thispast harvest season was 46.5 tons peracre (a record), with sugar content justa shade under 16%. This is the environ-ment, after all, where a new world-record beet field seems to be achievedevery two or three years. On GaryMamer’s own farm, one section of a2012 beet field pushed 80-plus tons peracre.

Given the length of the harvest sea-son and variance in beet root size fromearly fields to late fields, “we’re alwaysadjusting the digger, up or down”Mamer allows. “We’re always askingour truckers, ‘How’s our dirt going?’ ”

Digging speeds are slow, especiallyon later-harvested fields with their ex-ceptionally large beets. “Our taprootsgo pretty deep, so we’re careful not tobreak off too much,” he says. “With thesize of our beets, we’re concerned aboutslicing them, too, so we’re always mov-ing the row finder one way or the otherto make sure it’s dead center.”

Because of the mass of foliage,Mamer runs a flail chopper through hisfields a day ahead of the defoliator pass.“That chopper really takes off a lot ofthe foliage and helps the [defoliator] doa much better job,” he affirms.

And what about the dynamics ofharvesting beets when temperatureshover well above 100 degrees? “All ourguys are pretty spoiled these days,”Mamer smiles. “Everything has AC init. So as long as you keep rolling, you’refine. You’re going to break down occa-sionally; but we don’t know any differ-ently.

“It is what it is.” — Don Lilleboe �


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I went to the Beet Show In Fargo at the Dome.

It’s handy when it’s there And only twenty miles from home.

There were salesmen everywhereFrom all over the land.

Intent to sell equipmentFrom every vendor stand.

The seed guys all are telling youWhy theirs is the best.

With charts to show them at the topOf some specific test.

There were ways to kill the weedsAnd give your beets more health.

Solutions for your workloadWhile adding to your wealth.

A way to keep your trucks from gettingStuck in harvest goo.

And Safety Pulls to get them outWhen they finally do.

A better way to change your oil,New wrenches for your shop.

Things to make life easierAt every service stop.

Tracks and tires and tractorsLined up red and green and blue.

Sprayers, spreaders, planters,And beet carts were there too.

The harvesters, well let me sayIt’s gotten out of hand,

What you can spend to separateYour beet crop from the land.

Trucks so big and shinyWith hoods all soaked in wax.

They’ll tell you it costs littleWhen you figure in the tax.

But for my operationThis stuff costs way too much.

So just like when I’m at the beachI’ll have to look, not touch. �

David Kragnes farms near Felton, Minn.A former board chairman of AmericanCrystal Sugar Company, he currentlyserves on the board of directors ofCoBank.

Dreaming At the Dome


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Write

FieldBy David Kragnes

Plant Pathologist Windels RetiresFrom NWROC at Crookston, Minn.

Well-known sugarbeet plant pathol-ogist Dr. Carol Windels retired at theend of 2012 from the University of Min-nesota’s Northwest Research and Out-reach Center (NWROC), Crookston.

Windels earned a B.S. degree in bi-ology from St. Cloud State College in1970, followed by M.S. and Ph.D. de-grees in plant pathology from the Uni-versity of Minnesota, St. Paul. In 1984she was appointed assistant professorat the Crookston Northwest Experi-ment Station (now NWROC). She waspromoted to associate professor in 1989and professor in 1998. She likewiseheld an adjunct appointment in theNorth Dakota State University Depart-ment of Plant Pathology.

Windels became widely known andhighly respected for her research insoilborne diseases of sugarbeet, includ-ing Aphanomyces, Phythium and Rhi-zoctonia. “Her major contributions tothe understanding of these diseasesand their management have led to herstatus as a world-renowned expert ofsugarbeet diseases,” noted a recent arti-cle in Phytopathology News, thenewsletter of the American Phytopatho-logical Society (APS), the national pro-fessional society of plant pathologists.“A strong commitment to and close rap-port with growers developed throughher 28 years of research and extensionwork. Her efforts resulted in more than200 publications, 16 book chapters, andtwo co-edited books.”

Windels, who served as the presi-dent of APS in 1998-99, received a num-ber of honors and awards during hercareer. Among them were the Distin-

guished Service Award from the Sugar-beet Research and Education Board ofMinnesota and North Dakota, the Meri-torious Service Award bestowed by theAmerican Society of Sugar Beet Tech-nologists, and Fellow of both APS andthe American Association for the Ad-vancement of Science.

Stachler Joins Willowood USA asNorthern Plains Account Manager

Dr. Jeff Stachler has joined Wil-lowood USA as the company’s new re-gional account manager in its newlycreated NorthernPlains geography.

Originally fromwest central Ohio,Stachler earned hisB.S. degree inagronomy fromOhio State Univer-sity. After complet-ing an M.S. degreeat Michigan StateUniversity, he returned to Ohio Stateand earned his Ph.D. there in crop andweed science.

Stachler was extension sugarbeetweed specialist and assistant professorat North Dakota State University andthe University of Minnesota from 2008until joining Willowood. He is the au-thor or co-author of numerous publica-tions in the areas of weed identificationand resistance management. “Jeff isconsidered by many as an expert in thearea of weed resistance management”states Andy King, Willowood USA’s na-tional sales manager. “Adding a personof Jeff’s caliber to our account manage-ment team will not only strengthen ourentire sales organization, but will alsoprovide growers in the Northern Plainsgeography a ‘go-to guy’ for dealing withthe ever-present and growing weed re-sistance issue.”

Stachler’s territory includes Min-nesota, North Dakota and SouthDakota. He is based at Kindred, N.D.

Willowood USA is an Oregon-basedmanufacturer of post-patent crop pro-tection herbicides, fungicides, insecti-cides, plant growth regulators andspray additive products for the agricul-ture and vegetation management in-dustries.

Sugarbeet Scholarship ProgramAgain Sponsored by Syngenta

Syngenta is accepting applicationsfor its annual Syngenta SugarbeetScholarship program through June 14.Students must submit an essay forjudging, and the student with the high-est score in each of the five eligible re-gions will receive $1,500 for his or hercollege tuition.

The scholarship program, now in itsfourth year, is intended to help equipthe next generation with the knowledgeand skills needed to contribute to theadvancement of the sugarbeet industry.Student entrants must meet the follow-ing criteria: (1) Be a current highschool senior or college freshman, soph-omore or junior. (2) Be majoring in (orintending to major in) an agriculture-related field. (3) Be attending collegeduring the 2013/14 academic year. (4)Attend school or reside in one of the fol-lowing sugarbeet-growing regions: Region 1 — Idaho/Washington; Region2 — North Dakota; Region 3 —Min-nesota; Region 4 —Wyoming/Col-orado/Nebraska/Montana; Region 5 —Michigan. (5) Be involved in 4-H, FFAand/or the sugarbeet industry.

Applicants can complete the appli-cation form found at www.Syngenta-SugarbeetScholarship.com. As part ofthe application, they will be asked todescribe their involvement in 4-H, FFAand/or the sugarbeet industry, and sub-mit an essay in 700 words or less thatanswers the following question:

What do you see as the biggest chal-lenge to sugarbeet production or the in-dustry in general, and why? Also, whatdo you recommend the industry con-sider to address this problem?

Applications are due by June 14,2013, and can be submitted online orsent to: Emily Reynolds, Gibbs & Soell,125 S. Wacker Drive, Ste 2600, Chicago,IL 60606. She also can be contacted at:phone: (312) 648-6700; fax: (312) 422-0660; email: [email protected]

This year’s scholarship winners willbe announced in August. Previous sug-arbeet scholarship winners are not eli-gible for future additional scholarshipawards.

For further details on the program,visit www.SyngentaSugarbeetScholar-ship.com. �

Around The Industry

Carol Windels


Jeff Stachler

the sugarbeet grower magazine april/may 2013

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