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Can mostly sunny days and rising temperatures save the remainder of the area sugar beet crop caught by last week’s freeze?
Western Sugar Cooperative officials in the Lovell factory …
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Can mostly sunny days and rising temperatures save the remainder of the area sugar beet crop caught by last week’s freeze?
Western Sugar Cooperative officials in the Lovell factory district are holding out hope.
Wet snow and cold put the clamps on the remaining harvest Thursday night Oct. 26. About 4% of the Lovell factory district crop, or roughly 15,000 tons of beets, remains in the ground on roughly 500 acres in the Cody, Lovell and Emblem areas.
When the quick freeze hit, 96% of the 2023 crop had been delivered.
Temperatures ranged from 8-10 degrees for a couple of nights at week’s end.
“Beets are severely frozen, especially the part sticking out, but the ground has not been frozen enough to stop the harvest,” said Ric Rodriguez, Heart Mountain area grower and beet board member.
The frozen sugar beets will be handled separately and processed right away.
“It will all depend on the weather (ahead) and how much the beets recover. They will be brought in a little at a time, enough to keep the factory running — about 3,000 tons a day,” Rodriguez said.
— Dave Bonner
