| Mid-Michigan farmers have finished this year's harvest - and
now they await their checks.
At Michigan Sugar Co., the harvest is 99.9 percent complete, said
Robert D. Braem, vice president of agriculture for Michigan Sugar's Caro
plant. At the company's Carrollton plant, the percentage is about the
same, said William J. Gough, agricultural manager there.
The Carrollton facility contracted with farmers to plant 24,000 acres
of sugar beets this year. After losses due to weather and a government
program to keep the market steady, farmers harvested about 18,000 acres.
"We took in about 379,000 tons," Gough said.
Farmers will get checks in December, April, August and October.
Michigan Sugar has piling grounds on M-13 in Albee Township, and on
M-83 in Blumfield Township.
In Caro, the harvest is over, Braem said.
Sugar beet growers working through the Caro facility planted 16,000
acres this year, yielding 320,000 tons. Most growers are from Tuscola
County.
The sucrose content of beets is at 17.9 percent this year - about
average, Braem said.
"One of the best years we've had was in 1994, when we had 18.8
percent," he said. "We had 18.7 percent in 1991."
The 10-year average is 17.9 percent, Braem said.
"The sugar content has been getting a lot better in the last 10 to
15 years, thanks to the farmers," he said.
"They're growing better varieties and they're aiding in the
plant's growth through correct fertilization, watching the plant
population and through disease control."
While the harvest is solid, Gough said, some farmers suffered losses
because of a rainy fall.
"It was a bit warm during the harvest near the end of
October," Gough said. "We don't like to see the temperature get
over 45 degrees, because the beet is alive when it's in the pile, and when
the temperature goes up, respiration goes up and that energy comes from
the sucrose in the beet."
The ideal temperature, Gough said, is between 35 and 45 degrees.
Wayne F. Hecht, 50, a sugar beet grower in Tuscola County's Denmark
Township, said soil conditions were ideal for harvesting beets this year,
despite getting "a little rain" in the middle of the harvest
season.
Although the crop has an average sugar content this year, Hecht said
the the purity of the sugar is a couple of points better than in previous
years, which translates into money.
"If there is one percentage point more purity in a beet, that
translates into about six pounds more sugar recovered for every ton of
beets," Hecht said.
The long-time price of 25 cents per pound has dropped to 20 cents
recently, so farmers are looking for any increase they can find.
"That six pounds of sugar means $1.50 more a ton in profit,"
Hecht said.
The farmers get 531/2 percent of the net receipts of processed sugar
sales.
"That can mean about 75 cents a ton more to the grower,"
Hecht said.
He said growers this year are expecting 21 tons to the acre for beet
production. For a farmer who planted 100 acres of beets, that could mean
an additional $1,575 in profits.
Companywide, Michigan Sugar took in about 2.3 million tons of beets
this fall.
Dean Bohn is a staff writer for The News. You may reach him at
776-9679. |