Early sugar beet harvest in the Platte and Goshen County areas began on Sept. 25. Snow slowed the harvest down for about a week. The harvest normally lasts until the end of October, but that date could change this year due to the recent weather, according to Craig Spencer, agriculturalist with Western Sugar Cooperative. (File photo/Amber Ningen)

Although snow halted the sugar beet harvest for a few days throughout Wyoming, rainfall earlier this year helped set a new record.

The Wyoming Field Office of the USDA National Agriculture Statistics Service (NASS) reported that the Oct. 1 sugar beet yield sets a new record at 26 tons per acre, topping the 2008 high of 24.5 tons per acre.

Steve Gunn, deputy director with the Wyoming Field Office of USDA NASS, said this year\\\'s rainfall throughout Wyoming made for good growing conditions.

\\\"The rainfall was pretty plentiful,\\\" Gunn said.

The next crop production release from NASS, Gunn said, will not be available until Nov. 10.

The sugar beet growing areas in Wyoming are predominantly in the southeastern part of the state and Bighorn Basin. Along with rainfall, plenty of irrigation water was available, Gunn noted.

Gunn said sugar beet farmers plan to harvest 30,000 acres in Wyoming this year. Acreage for harvest is up 2,900 acres from 2008.

Although the heavy, wet snow temporarily put the brakes on sugar beet harvests, the overall harvest is slightly ahead of where it was last year at this time. Gunn said the sugar beet harvest in Wyoming is 53 percent complete right now. Last year at this time the harvest was 50 percent complete. However, harvest completion is behind the five-year average, which is 60 percent.

Craig Spencer, agriculturalist with Western Sugar Cooperative, said early harvest in the Goshen and Platte County areas began on Sept. 25. The harvest usually lasts until about the end of October, he said, though that could change this year due to the recent weather.

\\\"The cold weather could prolong the harvest,\\\" Spencer said.

Gunn said the snow Wyoming was hit with slowed things down.

\\\"We were sidetracked for a good week there,\\\" he said.

Though frost can do vast amounts of damage to sugar beets when young, this root crop can stand cold weather in the fall. A hard freeze, however, could spell disaster. In some areas of the state, Gunn said, temperatures dropped between three to 10 degrees.

Snow is expected to hit Platte County this week again on Wednesday, Oct. 28 and Thursday, Oct. 29.

According to the Wyoming Field Office of the USDA NASS, total sugar beet production throughout the state will be 780,000 tons - beating last year\\\'s total production by 17 percent and 2007\\\'s by 19 percent.

Spencer said sugar content is running around 16.5 percent, which is about average.