This is the sugar beet report, bringing you the latest information from NDSU throughout the sugar beet growing season. Get ready for updates on the winter beet processing, spring planting, the farm bill, and more about what's going on with this negative talk about sugar. Our guest today is Harrison Weber, the executive director of the Red River Valley Sugar Beet Growers Association. Harrison, we had a cooler winter. How did that process go?

You know, Bruce, we've had a a really good processing campaign throughout this wintertime. Much better conditions for storing sugar beets this year as to compared last year with those warmer temperatures last year. Our crew made the decisions to turn the fans on early this fall. And really, I think as the dust settled and the beets were processed, that was definitely the right decision. All five factories finished up processing starting on May 19 and finishing up, May 23. Really just hats off to our crew for getting through that entire campaign, keeping the beets in good condition, and then being able to extract that sugar and run efficiently and staying on target.

So what's the report on spring planting?

We're all wrapped up with sugar beet planting. We got about 408,000 acres planted. Really, generally, I'd say a good spring for us. A lot of beets got in relatively early, did receive some nice moisture, but that didn't come without its own challenges midway through and and definitely towards the end of planting. Certainly got hot and dry at the tail end. We faced some crusting issues from that first spell of rain that we got, and then wind damage and blistering hundred degree heat for a few days. You know, stand counts on the average probably are ranging, you know, those one fifty to one sixty mark, but the total range, you know, as low as one ten and up to 200 and some of the good stuff. I know a lot of guys are making the tough decision or analysis of whether to replant, especially when their stand counts were down to one ten. Never an easy decision. Regardless, you know, the replant window was relatively early and I know there are a couple of guys that still finishing up some replants. Now, we'll be focusing on weed control and and disease and pest control. I think the biggest thing right now is getting those herbicides down, getting the lay bys down for waterhemp. We're gonna be monitoring the the sugar beet root maggot flies. Right now, a good spring so far. We're off to a relatively good start, but a lot of things can change, whatever the good lord gives us with weather as we progress.

So Last year, the farm bill got an extension, and this year, another one. What can you tell us?

Yeah. Farm bill, you know, we're really operating on a seven year old farm bill. Our the numbers are are seven years old, and the economic realities are starting to set in at the farm level. The safety net that's currently in place is just basically nonexistent. So we did receive some relatively good news. As recent as last week, the House side did pass the farm language as part of the reconciliation bill. Really, all of our asks were included into that. All of agriculture's asks. So, reference price increases, loan rate as it relates to sugar, crop insurance improvements. And so, you know, really kudos to chairman GT Thompson and his colleagues for including those necessary updates into the farm bill, as well as chairman Smith and his colleagues for the numerous tax provisions that are gonna benefit family farmers. So now it's off to the senate, and we'll see what the senate shakes out. I've heard kind of rumors that, you know, they have a deadline as early as July 4. Kinda fun to see some things moving really really quickly when we've been waiting and asking for quite some time now. So we'll see what shakes out, but, relatively good news.

Harrison, what's up with the negative talk connecting sugar and health issues?

Yeah, Bruce. There's a lot of comments around the the MAHA, make America healthy again movement. We agree that these chronic diseases are serious and they warrant attention and really do require rigorous scientific review to determine the root causes. The evidence is gonna reaffirm what really hundreds of years of history have indicated, that's that balanced diets do have room for moderate amounts of real sugar. Especially real sugar that plays a really important functional role in foods and has a tough time being removed from foods without adding numerous amounts of industrial additives like artificial sweeteners that Americans really prefer to avoid. The other thing too, Bruce, added sugars currently make up about 12% of our total calories as Americans. It's actually the lowest level in forty years and near the lowest level ever recorded, was 11% in nineteen o nine. While we've seen this steep decline in added sugars over the past twenty five years, it's actually coincided with rising rates of childhood obesity and chronic diseases. So, it's just not fair to point a finger just at sugar alone. Diet is extremely complex, and and we believe that sugar can play a critical role in that diet in moderation.

Thanks, Harrison. Our guest has been Harrison Weber, executive director of the Red River Valley Sugar Beet Growers Association. This is the sugar beet report, bringing you the latest information from NDSU throughout the sugar beet growing season.