The sugar beet harvest is quite a challenge this year, to say the least. About 10 percent of the area still needs to be cleared and that will be exciting with the current weather forecast. The sugar content is now also taking a step back and the tare percentage is increasing further with the current harvest conditions.
Cosun reports this with figures on the progress of the beet harvest. The sugar percentage was reduced by 0,3% to 15,8% last week. The average percentage of the entire campaign is also 15,8%. Higher percentages are achieved in the northern regions than in the center and south of the Netherlands. The tare percentage has increased to 13,9%.
In total, about 10% of the total beet area still needs to be harvested, says Arno Huijsmans, director of agricultural affairs at Cosun Beet Company. According to him, many beets were harvested last week due to the drier conditions, with great effort from growers and contractors, but the heavy rainfall is once again preventing the beet harvest. In other years it concerns the last beets around this period.
With the campaign ending on the planned January 31 and the current weather forecast, it can be quite a challenge to harvest the last beets on time or at all. Huijsmans indicates that a drier period is necessary to be able to harvest everything. Most of the area still to be cleared is on sand. "Progress is most advanced on the clay soils and we expect to make ends meet there. Most of the work remains to be cleared on the sandy soils. The Flevoland region is also almost ready."
600.000 tons of extra beets to be processed
With an end date of January 31, the campaign has been delayed by approximately two weeks compared to the previously original schedule. The main reason for this is the higher root yield than was expected on August 1. Partly due to the growing season and the dark, wet weather of the past period, the root continued to develop and the sugar content was only limited. According to Huijsmans, there is an average of 7 tons more beets per hectare than previously expected. If you convert this into a total yield, it amounts to an additional processing of 600.000 tons of beets. The processing per day at the factories at full capacity is approximately 58.000 tons. Another reason for the delay in the campaign is the later start at the beginning of the processing season, when both factories could not yet use their optimal capacity.