| Members of Southern Minnesota Beet Sugar Cooperative are
bracing for what they fear is "big-time problems" with beet pile
spoilage due to last fall's frozen beets.
At issue is how much of the co-op's 2.3-million-ton beet crop last fall
is being hauled away in trucks and taken to farm fields for disposal.
"They might as well tell me up front," says Roger Duncan of
Hancock, Minn., a shareholder who was in his second year of raising beets
last year. "I want to know what's being disposed of. Is it 10, 15, 40
percent? If we're going to lose 20 percent of this crop, I've got to go
talk to my banker," Duncan said Monday. "I'm one of the lucky
ones, because I got a 27-ton crop."
Duncan said he's been paid less than $20 a ton out of a $30-per-ton
projected gross payment.
Company officials were unavailable for comment on Monday. Al Ritacco,
president and chief executive officer, said he was tied up in meetings
through the week.
Several growers contacted by the Herald on Monday said they expect to
hear grim details at district meetings set Wednesday through Friday at the
co-op's headquarters in Renville, Minn.
Some growers who asked not to be named confirmed the company recently
asked growers to offer their "end-dump" trucks to come and take
spoiled, oozing beets away from the piles -- a process that typically
doesn't start until April or later. The co-op reportedly offered about
$1.40 a mile to haul a 20-ton load up to 10 miles.
The new factory was rated at 14,000 to 15,000 tons a day, but this week
was averaging under 10,000 tons, according to shareholder information on
the Internet.
Purity -- a measure of beet quality -- has been running at a lackluster
85 percent compared with the desired 91 percent to 93 percent.
Duncan and his 25-year-old son raised 346 acres of beets last year and
share equipment with two neighbors. "They're holding $100,000 from
what they promised us, and my banker would sure like to see that --
especially for a new grower," Duncan said.
What hurts worst is this is the second year of trouble.
Duncan, coincidentally a member of the board of Ag Country Farm Credit
Services, says it doesn't take much for a farmer to go down these days.
Southern Minnesota's fortunes are entwined with those of American
Crystal Sugar Co. of Moorhead and Minn-Dak Farmers Cooperative of
Wahpeton. The three co-ops sell sugar and byproducts together through
United Sugars Corp. of Minneapolis and Midwest AgriCommodities of
California.
Growers from Red River Valley co-ops don't want to see problems in
Renville's sugar production but admit privately it might reduce a surplus
of sugar that has severely depressed prices.
Southern Minnesota started pre-pile harvest earlier than usual last
August. Troubles started at the time of the "full-scale" harvest
in October. Conditions were dry, and co-op officials delayed the start of
harvest by a few days and instead got 13-degree frost in the worst areas
in the first week of October. Co-op officials delayed harvest several more
days for "healing time" after freezing. After testing the beets
for damage, they resumed harvesting and piling.
This winter, however, piling station workers have been busy rooting out
"hot spot" places in the piles, delaying the normal
"splitting" of piles to cool them, various members said.
Jim Wydner, the co-op's vice president for agriculture, on Monday
referred all questions to Ritacco. Neil Rudeen, the co-op board chairman,
also was not immediately available.
Other members confirmed that Southern Minnesota Beet in December
refinanced debt through a consortium of private companies, replacing
CoBank. "I've heard what you have: There's speculation we might not
get a lot more for the beets," one grower said.
Duncan spent $1,250 an acre for beet shares two years ago and says he
knows of neighbors who were offered shares for $450 a share this year.
"We had to put $200 down cash, and the annual payments are $150
for another eight years," Duncan said. "I think we'll survive,
but it'll be a hard-fought fight." |