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At this time last year, Clint Hagan of Atwater Farms was replanting sugarbeets. Over the weekend, he was able to start planting.
“I bet it’s been 20 years since I planted anything in May other than a replant beet,” he says. “We’ve had extremely more acres planted in March than May. It’s really a long ways off on our planting dates this year.”
As of Wednesday morning, Michigan Sugar is reporting planting is at 5.5 percent complete. The majority of that is in Ontario. In 2021, USDA pegged Michigan’s sugarbeet planting progress at 83 percent. Mother Nature hasn’t wanted to cooperate.
“[We got] three, four inches of snow [Tuesday] night in the Thumb,” says Hagan. “It’s still white out there yet [Wednesday] afternoon—It’s so darn cold out it’s not even melting off.”
In a three-day stretch, Hagan was able to plant roughly a quarter of his beet acres. He says he can’t help but to feel a little nervous with the clock ticking.
“Last year, the last day I planted for the first time was April 6, and replants were about April 22,” he says. “Those replant beets were still 45, 47 tons. We know we can still get fantastic yields. Mother Nature determines that through July and August, but it’s not helping our cause any, that’s for certain.”
This year, Michigan Sugar’s growers will plant fewer acres than 2021 because of its record crop. Hagan says he’s still optimistic for a good crop this season.
