The sugar beet harvest is getting under way in the Red River Valley of North Dakota and Minnesota. American Crystal Sugar Company’s “prepile” harvest was to begin in some areas on Wednesday, after being pushed back a day by record rainfall in parts of the valley earlier in the week. It was to get under way throughout the valley by Thursday or Friday. During the prepile harvest, growers get just enough beets out of the ground to get Crystal’s five processing plants running. The full harvest is to begin about October 1.Crystal expects about 420,000 acres of beets to be harvested by the end of October, about 80,000 fewer than last year.

AP 2008