Sugar beets are the source of more than half of the U.S. sugar supply. North Dakota State's Eric Branch joins the AccuWeather Network to explain the weather challenges facing sugar beet growers.

Fargo

Sugar beets account for over half of the United States' sugar supply, with major cultivation concentrated in the northern plains, particularly North Dakota and Minnesota. The crop is well-suited to the region's colder climate and shorter growing season, but recent weather patterns have posed significant difficulties for farmers.

Growers have experienced unusually high rainfall in some areas, leading to delays in harvest and increased risk of plant diseases. Efforts are ongoing to develop sugar beet varieties that are more resilient to drought and disease. Despite these challenges, sugar beets remain a vital part of the local economy and food supply, with most of the crop processed and distributed nationwide.

Weather challenges facing sugar beet farmers

And welcome back to AccuWeather Early, thanks for watching on this Thursday morning. Now it's time for the Agriculture Advantage. Sugar beets are the source of more than half of America's sugar supply. In today's AccuWeather Agricultural Advantage, we're taking a look at this essential crop growing across the Northern Plains. Joining us is sugar beet specialist, what a title, at North Dakota State University and the University of Minnesota Extension, Eric Branch. Thanks so much for being with us this morning. Yeah, thanks for having me. Happy to be here. Great. We're happy to talk about some sugar beets. About 60% of U.S. sugar now comes from beets, not cane. What's the difference between these two sugar crop sources? Yeah, at the simplest level, sugar is sugar. You know, it's the same sucrose, whether it's from cane or beet sugar. Really, you know, as a consumer, we would never be able to tell the difference. But what is really unique, these crops are situated in different geographical regions and they're really developed for each region specifically, right? Whether it's in the southeast where sugar cane is grown or where I am in the upper northern Midwest where sugar beets are grown. And of course, they can handle the cold weather and the shorter growing season and things like that. So these crops are really weather driven, I might say, right? You know, growing where they grow best and where that advantage can be. I have to ask you a question here. You know, we talk a lot about the corn product and how they're developing more and more seeds that are drought resistant. Are we seeing those kind of advantages as well for sugar beets? Yeah, you know, the sugar beet breeders are hard working and really working to develop varieties and improve the genetics for these crops so they can produce the same or better sugar content despite challenges like drought and disease and the weather fluctuations and things like that. Well, we're seeing some video on our screen of it looks like the sugar beets. Can you describe how big the sugar beet crop is and where do we find that sugar? I'm sorry. And where do we find that beet sugar in our everyday foods? Yeah, so nationally across the U.S. there are about 1.1 million acres of sugar beets grown each year. So compared to corn and soybeans, it's a very, very small, small crop in that regard. Here in North Dakota and Minnesota where I'm located, we have about 600,000, 620,000 acres of sugar beets the past couple of years. So really, it's a huge part of our landscape in eastern North Dakota, western Minnesota, and has a big impact for the economies here. And how is it? In the grocery store, sugar, you know, this is the same sugar that's sold wholesale to food manufacturers, food producers as a sugar ingredient. And also, we can buy beet sugar directly right off the shelf. And how is this sugar beet harvest going and what kind of weather challenges have growers been dealing with as far as there's too much rain, too much cold, too early cold? How has the weather impacted it? Yeah, when I talk to my stakeholders, sugar beet growers here in the region, variable has been my word, right? Parts of the region had way too much rain, I think as much as 33 inches since May 1st, which is way, hugely, way more than usual rain-wise. And that's been a challenge throughout the year. And now as sugar beets are getting harvested, right, in our region, we want some dry weather, some conditions that allow the equipment to get into the fields and get the beets out. And of course, when we have rain, we're having some rain this week, actually, and kind of does slow things down. So rain is a big difference. We have plant diseases that are affected by the rain, more rain, more disease, more crop loss, just a tougher situation in some places this year. And really quickly, we were talking with our river expert, Alex Sosnowski, about the low water levels on the Mississippi. Does a lot of the crop get transported down the Mississippi, the other parts of the country? You know, in terms of what happens after the beet gets to the factory, you know, and after that processing in the market, except I can't speak to that. Beets are trucked out of the factory and then loaded by rail car, of course, from the factories to the wholesaler distribution hubs. So, you know, we're part of that same ecosystem for crop transportation and transporting these commodities across the country, too. Excellent answer to a tough question, Eric Brand, sugar beet specialist at North Dakota State University and the University of Minnesota Extension. We have learned so much about sugar beets. Thank you so much for joining us on Accurate or Early. Thank you.

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