Accumulation and allocation boost sugar beet growth

By Cal Braid
Taber Times
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

By late July, farmers that were bracing for the worst in the spring were in a better place. The spring and early summer failed to live up to forecasters’ predictions of drought and it was a blessed failure indeed. The spring skies opened up and delivered rainfall where little was expected.

 An update from the Alberta Sugar Beet Growers (ASBG) confirmed that the water is still flowing and the crops are still growing. The ASBG is a marketing board that supports and serves the farmers it represents. It bridges the gap between the Lantic sugar factory and the farm families who grow the crop.

 Sugar beets are grown under irrigation, and they require 20 inches of moisture per season to thrive. The St. Mary Irrigation District began the growing season by allocating eight inches of water to each farm in the district. In July, SMRID bumped that up to nine inches. The ASBG serves four irrigation districts; the St. Mary, Bow River, Lethbridge Northern and Eastern. Each district allocates water on the basis of the spring supply in its reservoirs and the weather forecast. This year, both of those metrics improved as the season progressed. And it’s a good thing; sugar beets are a staple of the local economy.

“Due to the fact that we had an unexpected wet spring, the nine inch allocation was not problematic,” said ASBG Executive Director Jennifer Crowson. “Each irrigation district had different allocations; the lowest was eight inches. There was an accumulation of eight to nine inches of rainfall. Most producers have a variety of crops, and they can make decisions based on water needs. They are allowed to move irrigation acres from one piece of land to another.” So, a little basic math would suggest that between accumulation and allocation, the farmers benefited from 17 to 18 inches of moisture.

 Asked if sugar beet growers are ever exempt from allocations due to the absolute necessity of ample irrigation water, she said no, “There are no exemptions.” The answer speaks to the good luck, fortune, or blessings (depending on your point of view) that saved the summer’s crops from heat death. As July progressed, the region was blasted by both heat and sunlight, when it wasn’t obscured by the haze. And that’s the magic formula: moisture followed by sunlight and heat equals growth.

 One of the ASBG’s primary functions is to administer quotas for crop growth and negotiate pricing contracts with the processor (Lantic). Crowson said, “Our main focus is supporting our growers, and as a marketing board we manage quota. A big part of what we do is advocate for our growers.” She explained that the ASBG has a permanent quota that typically is subject to a “reduction” from Lantic, which is based on the quantity the facility can process in a given year.

 The ASBG has a permanent quota of 33,895 acres. However, each year Lantic provides the number of acres that they allow the farmers to grow. In 2023, just over 25,000 acres were planted; this year, the quota was just over 28,000.

  “We manage that,” she said. “So each grower that has a contract will be allowed to grow based on their quota. and all the growers have contracts of different sizes.” As the representative of the grower body, the ASBG does the negotiations with Lantic and in turn, each grower signs their own contract individually with the company.

 The sugar beet crop isn’t quite on pace to meet the exceptional standard of last year, but it’s still better than expected. “This spring we had a delayed start due to cool, wet weather. Now that we have had a heat wave, as of July 15, we are measuring at an average yield, but below last year. However, last year was an exceptional year: 2023 was the highest average yield ever recorded at 36.43 tons per acre,” Crowson said.