The beet slice at the Sidney Holly Sugar factory is moving ahead at a smooth, steady clip. Russ Fullmer, agricultural manager at the plant, hopes that the slice will be complete by the end of January. "Slice is going very well," said Fullmer, "November wasn't kind to the beets in storage because of the warmer weather, but we love the weather now." Beet purities dropped during November. The decline has since leveled off and even rebounded in the first weeks of December, but are still lower than the factory had wished for, according to Fullmer.

Fullmer continued, "The factory has had very few breakdowns to speak of. The slice has been a steady 6500 tons per day. From a historic perspective that's very good, 200 to 250 tons a day better than we've done in the past."

Sugar markets are showing a recent upswing, Fullmer commented, "The price is starting to go up so we should see some good net selling prices for the growers and us."

Beet checks were issued Nov. 20, and a payment for PIC acres is anticipated in January. They will be small in comparison, as only 1402 acres in the Holly Sugar growing area were placed in the government program. That represents only about 5 percent of the total acres planted.

The annual Beetgrowers Recognition Banquet sponsored by Holly Sugar is tentatively scheduled for January 9 at the Sidney Elks Lodge. Watch the Sidney Herald-Leader for details.