News

Harvest activities picking up in Michigan’s Thumb

Early digging for the Michigan Sugar Company is underway.

Sanilac County farmer Dennis Gardner tells Brownfield he delivered his first field of sugarbeets last week.

“We got some phenomenal beets that are probably 30 tons plus right now,” he shares. “Some of the early beets went 20, and some were a little under that. It really depends on where you’re at, where the rain came in.”

Gardner says he doesn’t expect to make a profit on this year’s beet crop with the current price outlook, and he’s thankful to have added cucumbers into the rotation.

“Overall, the cucumber crop was really good this year,” he says. “The price was pretty good. It’s nice having that diversification in there to keep some cash flow coming in throughout the year.”

He says corn and soybean yields also look good ahead of harvest.

In its latest crop progress report, USDA says one percent of sugarbeets in Michigan have been harvested, slightly behind last year and the five-year average.

Michigan’s corn is rated 65 percent good to excellent, with 59 percent dented and four percent mature.

Michigan’s soybean crop is rated 59 percent good to excellent, with 37 percent of the crop dropping leaves.