| CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) - The sugar beet harvest in Wyoming is nearly
complete, with 93 percent of the acreage harvested by the end of last
week, according to the state Agricultural Statistics Service. "Right
now we're showing 16.65 percent sugar with a 19-ton yield," said
Craig Spencer, agriculture manager with Holly Sugar in Torrington.
"It's nice to be in this situation with good weather, a good crop and
an early finish."
To make sure farmers and processors get as much sugar out of the crop
as possible, in recent years, the sugar industry has turned to protecting
the piled beets with a lime slurry. This is the second year that Western
Sugar in Scottsbluff, Neb., and Holly Sugar in Torrington, Wyo., have used
the method.
A mixture of waste lime and water, with a consistency close to house
paint, is sprayed on the piles with a vacuum pump. Straw can be blown over
the top of the dried slurry for added protection.
The lime is recovered from the carbonation process in the plant, when
impurities are removed from the sugar.
"We'll cover the late piles, or the last three to be processed in
January, with straw, too," said Jerry Darnell, senior agriculturist
for Western Sugar.
The Wyoming corn for grain harvest is progressing rapidly and ahead of
normal with 58 percent completed, the statistics service said.
Soil moisture remains bleak, with 80 percent of the state rated short
or very short.
Pasture and range fee supplies remained mostly poor or very poor. Only
10 percent was rated good and none excellent.
Warm daytime temperatures last week did help conserve hay, but
availability of winter pastures remained a concern with livestock
producers, the agency said. |