Another beet harvest is in the books in Richland County

Harvest- Another successful sugarbeet campaign has come to a close. According to the Sidney Herald officials with Sidney Sugars seemed very pleased with the harvest this year, especially considering the issues growers had in getting the crop planted and growing. Averages for this year's crop were;

Tonnage-25.3 tons/acre
Sugar Content-17.57
Total Acreage-29,069

As far as other crops are concerned, just about everything is harvested for this year. There is still some corn out there but not much.

Weather- Weather for the month of October has been just about perfect for harvest activities. Although it was a bit too warm at the beginning to allow for much beet harvest, this actually lead to the accumulation of a few more degree days which promoted some last minute beet growth.

Sidney to hold classes for Montana Pesticide Applicator points

On November 15 and 17, classes will be held at the Extension Office in Sidney to help pesticide applicators in Eastern Montana obtain the necessary points needed to keep licenses current. Each class will be worth 4 points for private applicators meaning that a person attending both classes would receive 8 points. Commercial points have been applied for as well but, to date, no determination has been made regarding how many, if any commercial points will be given.

The classes will start at 5:30 both evenings and run until about 9:00. On Tuesday, November 15, the class will pertain to pesticide storage, safety, and laws. On Thursday, November 17, the class will cover disease, insect, and weed issues in Montana in 2010.

For more information and a complete schedule, contact the Richland County Extension Office.

Beet harvest continues in Richland County

Harvest- As mentioned in the title, sugarbeet harvest is still going strong. Beet farmers have been in the fields all week and I believe we are well over the half-way point. Some corn for grain harvest has taken place and most of what few acres of soybeans we have has been taken off as well. Essentially, all that is left are a few fields of safflower and the items listed above.

Weather- Conditions have been just about perfect agronomically speaking. Temps have been in the high 50's to low 60's during the day and low to middle 30's in the evenings. Beet harvesters have not had to postpone their work because of warm temperatures since the first week that harvest started and they also have not had to deal with trying to dig beets in extremely wet/sloppy fields.

Richland County Sugarbeet Harvest Continues

Harvest- Unfortunately, the weather last week did not cooperate with beet harvest. As was alluded to in an earlier post, warm daytime temperatures and an equipment issue at the plant lead to a stoppage in beet harvest. However, on Friday, October 7 harvest resumed and has been going strong ever since. In my estimation, about 30-40% of our beet acres have been harvested at this point.

Corn harvested for silage is all but wrapped up and grain harvest should begin before too much longer. Right now, corn, soybeans, and safflower are about the only crops we have left to harvest.

Weather- As I mentioned above, the weather this week has really helped with getting our beets harvested. We did receive some rain last Friday (10-7), but it did not amount to much, probably .25" or so average. This did allow for a good amount of moisture to get what winter wheat has been seeded started and provided additional moisture for those that are still planning on seeding the crop.

Sugarbeet Harvest Has Started in Richland County

Harvest-As the title of this week's post states, the sugarbeet campaign has begun. Growers were told to begin harvesting on Friday, September 30. Hopefully this year's campaign will be a successful and safe one. The last report that I had heard was that total acreage was down some from last year due to the early spring weather and flooding and the early summer hail damage around Savage.

As far as small grains are concerned, we are pretty much wrapped up with harvesting those. Reports were that yield and quality were average to slightly below average but with prices holding steady producers are, for the most part, content. Silage harvest has slowed some and corn for grain harvest should begin before too much longer.

Weather-We have been a bit on the warm side for much of the past two weeks. If this trend continues, there is some concern that it will interfere with beet harvest. If temps are too warm throughout the day, beet harvest will stop and wait for cooler evening temps before resuming. This is done to prevent spoilage. We ran into this issue last year and growers would harvest in the late evenings and into the early mornings, then quit around noon and start back up in the late evenings again.