Sugar Beet Harvest Completed

It was a sweet harvest for sugar beet growers in eastern Montana.

Harvest was completely done throughout the region on Thursday, Oct. 22.

“Usually it’s not over until around Oct. 25-26 or sometimes not until early November,” Sidney Sugars’ agricultural manager Duane Peters said.

The big and positive news was a sugar percentage of 19.21 this year.

“It was a very good crop,” Peters said.

To put that into perspective, Sidney Sugars’ record for the highest sugar content percentage is 19.29 percent back in 1992.

“That’s how long it’s been since we’ve been over 19,” Peters said.

Leading the way was the Culbertson area with a sugar content percentage of 19.51 percent.

“That’s tremendous sugar,” Peters said. “We love Culbertson.”

Peters said the excellent sugar content was because of very good weather including a frost event in the fall.

The tonnage average was 29.1. Peters said some areas were more than 30, but the average was lower.

Culbertson’s tonnage was 27.41.