Bruce Sundeen 0:00
This is the sugar beet report, bringing you the latest information from NDSU throughout the sugarbeet growing season. Today we're talking with Harrison Weber, the executive director of the Red River Valley sugar beet Growers Association. He's providing an update on the sugar beet crop and the sugar program in the United States. Harrison, what are some of the struggles facing the sugar beet growers this year?
Harrison Weber 0:23
Yeah, Bruce, we've had a lot of challenges in the sugarbeet industry seems to be the year of almost seven plagues. This year, we had obviously a cool and wet spring not only at American crystal, but across the entire country. And in fact, it ended up being the longest and latest planting window that we've seen in the last 20 years. Then the next plague is once we got the beets in and we got the hot and windy weather and caused damage to a lot of beets, acquiring a number of replants. Now we're moving on to the third plague, it seems like with some of our production challenges, we got pests, disease, you know, bacteria, weeds, all kinds of different pressures. And it's really a major challenge for us. Hopefully, we're not going to see the remainder of the four plagues there. But certainly a challenge so far this year.
Bruce Sundeen 1:04
Are there any other issues, maybe with labor?
Harrison Weber 1:07
Yeah, Bruce, the labor market definitely have seen a shift there. It's getting really challenging during harvest, to get enough people up and down the valley on the farms, at the factories at the piling sites to really get this crop in. I estimate between seven and 10,000. People are needed just on the farms for a two three week window to get the crop off. Its truck drivers, card operators, beat toppers, pole tractors, lifter operators, fuel guys, you name it, there's all kinds of opportunities really, for people to get away from their day job and get out to the farm and help and you know, that's one of our challenges is labor and where do we go as an industry? Whether that's bigger equipment, or maybe even some automation down the road? I guess I'm not really sure. But you know, we're certainly looking at making some changes to fix those challenges.
Bruce Sundeen 1:51
Is crop insurance in a good place? How can we improve this safety net if things don't go well for growers?
Harrison Weber 1:57
Yeah, crop insurance, another continuous challenge all the time for us. And we're continuing to work with RMA to build on that already strong relationship that we do have with them. Working with the American sugar beet Growers Association. One success story here to one of our previous challenges that we spoke about last year is RMA really making some good changes for growers such as clarifying and improving the price election discovery process. And that's really allowed growers to have more certainty when they're making their insurance decisions in the springtime.
Bruce Sundeen 2:27
Now on to one of your favorite topics, the sugar program, what needs to happen to maintain a strong sugar program?
Harrison Weber 2:34
That's our bread and butter right there. Bruce, that's our biggest challenge and continuing to maintain a strong US sugar program. We've got the Farm Bill conversations have begun. We've already had several hearings hosted around the country. And it's really a continuous drumbeat for us on stressing the importance of maintaining a strong domestic industry, an industry which has worked fantastically for decades for our consumers, our customers and our Redwood Valley sugarbeet growers, even with this fantastic industry that we have. Just a couple of weeks ago, we had an attack on the sugar program in the Appropriations Committee, which actually attempted to limit USDA staff for managing the program. Bruce had situations like these where opposition wants to flood the US market with foreign subsidized sugar and drive prices down basically just to add to the large food companies bottom line. And this is definitely a challenge for us. We have the highest worker safety standards in the world, most stringent environmental programs out there, and the most efficient and effective distribution system. Why in the world would anyone want to source sugar from anywhere else? I have no idea. We're really the gold star right here in the Red River Valley. A strong US sugar program keeps our small towns vibrant whether it's Bathgate Buxton Argyle or Amenia. We can see and feel the impact that a strong sugar program makes. It helps keep the tire shop guy on the corner open the coffee hot down at the cafe are repairs and improvements at the local schools. Really maintaining a strong US sugar program is extremely vital for our region.
Bruce Sundeen 4:02
Harrison, how important is it to the sugar beet industry for the political parties to find common ground?
Harrison Weber 4:07
Yeah, Bruce, we've got to continue to recognize the importance of working with both political parties are rural voters shrinking each and every election cycle. We've got to come together to work with Democrats and Republicans to make sure our farms and rural communities you know really stay healthy and vibrant for many years to come. There's a lot of polarized issues out there. We've got to find a way to separate those from our farm issues and focus on our agriculture issues to stay together. Anyway, these are some of our challenges. And you know, like I said last year, and they'll say it again this year their challenges but I'm always looking at them as opportunities for success.
Bruce Sundeen 4:40
Thanks Harrison. Our guest today has been Harrison Weber, Executive Director of the Red River Valley sugar beet Growers Association. This is the sugarbeet report, bringing you the latest information from NDSU throughout the sugarbeet growing season
Transcribed by https://otter.ai