Sugar beet farmers in Canada’s two main growing provinces are hoping for a good year, according to the leaders their respective provincial associations.
Wet conditions extended planting in Ontario, said Rob McKerrall, chair of the Ontario Sugarbeet Growers’ Association (OSGA).
“There was probably a third of the crop went in fairly early. It looks to be on track for a good crop year,” he said.
Most of this year’s crop was planted during the second half of May, with about 15 per cent having been sown during the first half of June, he said.
“We’ll keep our fingers crossed for it,” McKerrall said of the beets planted in June.
Unlike southern Ontario, Alberta has dealt with dry conditions throughout most of this year, but the province’s sugar beet growers were able to irrigate their crops, said Arnie Bergen-Henegouwen, president of the Alberta Sugar Beet Growers (ASBG).
“A couple of the irrigation districts restricted their water allocations,” he said, noting most of those restrictions have since been lifted.
“The crop is progressing well,” he said.
The Alberta sugar beet industry is centered in the Taber area, where Redpath Sugar operates a processing plant.
The ASBG president said farmers are paid according to the quality of their beets they deliver to the plant. Expectations for this year are for an average quality, which he said should fetch $50-$52 per tonne.
Ontario growers’ beets are purchased by the Michigan Sugar Co-operative in the U.S. McKerrall said farmers are expecting at least US$46 (C$60) per tonne, perhaps up to US$50.
Statistics Canada projected 37,400 acres of sugar beets to be planted this year, down from last year’s 46,600 but still among the most acres planted in recent years. Production-wise, the 2018 crop was the largest on record, at nearly 1.38 million tonnes.
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