Sugar industry looking forward to 2010

Southern Alberta’s sugar beet farmers are expected to claw back this year after a devastating weather-wreaked crop in 2009.Grower official Rob Boras of Picture Butte said he expects most of the 200 farmers, most with years of sugar beet production experience, “Are ready to go at it again this year.”

With a normal crop in the midst of harvest, Mother Nature turned nasty Oct. 4, hitting most of the sugar beet production zone with rain, snow, and cold and freezing weather.

Lantic Sugar and its field staff and Taber factory crew worked in co-operation with Boras’ Alberta Sugar Beet Growers Marketing Board to harvest and process as many beets as possible before the hammer came down on operations, leaving about 6,500 acres of unharvested beets to clean up for 2010 farming operations.

Losses were reduced for growers who purchased crop insurance, but armed with a new three-year production contract in 2009 with Lantic, producers were expecting some of the best prices in years, partly because of the highest world sugar prices in 20 years.

Boras said the industry was predicting an average yield of 24 tonnes an acre, and farmer returns before expenses could have hit $50 a tonne. Using those figures, the potential loss without crop insurance on 6,500 acres would have been $7.8 million.

Boras said the biggest disappointment was the inability of all growers to capitalize on the excellent beet price for the 2009 crop.

“But that is the way it goes,” he said. “It is not always like that and I think most growers will shrug it off and rise to the challenge.”

He said some new sugar beet varieties have been approved fro the 2010 crop and growers hope they will help promote the industry.

Boras said opportunity for new sugar beet growers in 2010 remains at the behest of Lantic Sugar and its ability to create market share for beet sugar. Lantic Sugar allocates production acres and the marketing board distributes those acres among growers. With the large percentage of the crop left unprocessed, Lantic Sugar could face a sugar shortfall this year he said. The could encourage increased beet acres.

“Until Lantic Sugar says it needs a lot more sugar, we will make production adjustments as we go,” said Boras.

He added it is unlikely the poor production scene in 2009 will be enough to force or encourage sugar beet growers to leave the industry.

“There are always guys exploring when they want to get out of beets.”
Boras said most growers have faced production diversity before, “but we have a devoted group in this industry I feel will hang in ‘til the bitter end.”

source: sunnysouthnews