Sugar beet harvest is in full swing.
“We grow 20,000 acres of sugar beets, we produce 125,000 tonnes of sugar, and that equates to eight per cent of the Canadian market,” said Gary Tokariuk, president of the Alberta Sugar Beet Growers.
Southern Alberta is the only producer and processor in the country.
According to Tokariuk, last year the average yield was 32 metric tonnes per acre. This year they’re forecasting 35 metric tonnes, with some farmers possibly seeing a record 40 metric tons.
“We’re way better quality than last year, and that all equates to a pretty good yield in sugar and at the end of the day, dollars for the farmer,” said Tokariuk.
“I’ve got 19 per cent extraction, and I never had sugar content like that last year.”
That quality is inspiring innovation.
At a sugar beet farm tour on Friday, Brad Longacre, co-owner of Back 40 Distillery sampled his unique product.
“We use the beet sugar to make our distillate, so all of our vodka is made from beet sugar,” said Longacre.
Their business was built to cater to people with celiac disease. They’re now one of many distillers that rely on the sweet beet.
While the industry results were good this season, there remain some red flags shared by all southern Alberta farmers.
“We’ve received two inches of rain this year in the growing season, and we applied close to 20 inches,” said Tokariuk.
Dry spring and summer conditions have left both St. Mary River and Lethbridge Northern Irrigation districts low going into winter, which is a concern for next year.
“We’re going to need a good snow pack, and early melt to get the reservoir up and running, and I guess … preparing for a shortage of water,” said Tokariuk.
It’s a shortage the sugar beet industry hopes doesn’t take away any sweetness from next year’s crops.