10-7 IAT Sugarbeet Update

Well it is harvest time this time of year and goodness only knows we have had a weird summer in terms of climate. I'm not can get all philosophical and say that at this time of the year I pause and reflect on the meaning of life but I certainly do want to know how things are going in the harvesting of such important crops to Idaho agriculture as sugar beets. We had a weird spring, a long hot summer, and now recently quite a bit of rain which can make things muddy and hard to get into the fields. Last week on a rainy day, I called Mark Duffin Executive Director of the Idaho Sugarbeet Growers Association and asked him for an update: "The early harvest has started in the Magic Valley and Eastern Idaho, it hasn't started in the Treasure Valley yet, but the reports I am getting are that the crop is looking good. The yields, even though we had a bad spring, recovered with the extra warm summer so the yields are coming in pretty good although the sugar is a little low. I haven't heard any reports on rain but I went over to Eastern Idaho last weekend and saw the harvest going on with the beet trucks hauling away, I don't know what has happened in the last 24 hours, but so far it has not slowed down the harvest in most of the area but that could have changed in the last 24 hours because it is still raining. But overall the crop looks like it's going to be a good year without any catastrophes? It is looking like a good crop.