By T.McDonald
Fargo, ND – Officials with American Crystal Sugar say they are expecting a lower than anticipated crop this year due to the wet conditions seen earlier this summer. Spokesman Jeff Schweitzer says growers for the co-op planted 500-thousand acres of sugar beets, but successive rains in late June and early July are setting things up for a lower than average harvest...
"Particularly the Kittson County area in Minnesota and Pembina County in North Dakota. Those areas seem to have been hit the hardest by standing water and have received the most crop loss. Anything north of Highway Two has seen some deterioration and crop performacnce due to excessive moisture. As you move south of Highway Two - as you approach Hillsboro and Moorhead - the crop looks like it's going to be more toward average."
Schweitzer says normally the co-op will see yields of 9-point-8 Million tons of sugar beets harvested. He says this year's yield could be down by a possible 10-percent.
--
Earlier this week, officials from Minn-Dak growers announced they could see a 40-percent drop in production due to rains in the southern end of the Red River Valley.