A City Girl's Description of Beet Harvest

It is October, which for us means sugar beet harvest.  The quickest way I can describe sugar beet harvest is by showing you this video. 

 

 

What do you think?!  It's "a classic" from Sesame Street.  You can thank me later when you have that song stuck in your head for weeks straight.

 

Sugar beets are planted in the spring and given lots of TLC all summer long until October 1st when the 24-hour-a-day "beet campaign" (beet harvest) officially begins.

 

My husband, his dad, plus approximately 10 other hired men (or women) work around the clock to harvest the beets.....as long as the weather is good.  Too warm, and the beets could rot when piled up.  Too cold, and the beets could freeze.  Too rainy, and the trucks can't get in and out of the fields because of the mud.

 

Back in the field, the process goes as follows:  A tractor pulling a 'rotobeater' (or 'topper') first cuts the leaves off, as shown in the beginning of the video.  Another tractor pulling the 'lifter' follows that.  The lifter grabs the beets from the ground.  It has a conveyer which brings the beets through a 'ferris-wheel' to knock off some of the mud or dirt and eventually fills a truck with beets.

 

The trucks haul the beets either straight to the sugar plant or to a 'piler' (piling station), depending on how far away the field is from the plant.  There is a plant in our nearby town, so our trucks transport to both the plant or to a piler.  Sometimes, there can be a long wait at the piler when the trucks are backed up, so truck drivers often bring something to pass the time, such as a smartphone, a book to read, or they could learn how to play the trumpet like my cousin did!

 

Ever since I have lived here, we have hosted my dad, uncles, cousins, friends and friends-of-friends at our house who have come to help during beet harvest.  My husband and our guests are often scheduled to work the night shift, which means they sleep during the day.  Have you ever tried to keep two kiddos quiet in the middle of the day while they are cooped in the house?  Not an easy feat!

 

If the weather cooperates and there are minimal break-downs, we could finish harvesting beets in two weeks.  Last year, however, beet harvest started out with a couple 70-degree days, which meant it was too warm to dig.  Just a day later, winter entered with a BANG and an ice storm hit the area.  The fields became too sloppy and the root temperature of the beets was too cold.  Much of the county did not have power for a few days, including us.

 

You could say we consider this storm a blessing in disguise for our family, because one year ago today our lil' sugar beet, Reed, was born and his daddy got to have some time off work to be at the hospital.  When we returned home with our new baby, the weather continued to be disgusting for much of October and November, so unfortunately some of our beets never made it out of the field.  Last year was considered a worst case scenario.

 

But so far this season, there was only a 12-hour delay on the first day due to high temps, and harvest has been going strong ever since.  [Knock on wood.]  Let's pray that it continues to go smoothly and safely!
 

 

If you ever have the chance to drive past a sugar plant and take in the distinct odor, I will tell you the same thing J told me years ago- "That's the smell of money!"

 

One last plug from this farm wife:  When given the choice at your grocery store, show us some love by purchasing the sugar that looks like this: