2020 was a good year for Idaho’s sugarbeet industry.
Growers averaged 41 tons per acre with sugar at more than 18 percent. The Executive Director of the Idaho Sugarbeet Growers Association explains how they reached the second biggest crop in history.
According to Brad Griff, “The harvest was excellent. It was warm enough that the beets came out nice and easy. It looks like they’ll store well through the winter. Some of the concerns during the harvest is that it can be too warm and growers have to shut down until temperatures drop a little. That didn’t seem to be a very big issue this year.”
Beet growers feared some disruption from the pandemic, particularly with truckers, but the challenge was no different than previous years and they expect another high quality crop in 2021.
