Frost and wind have taken a heavy toll on recently planted eastern Idaho beet crops, Sugar Producer magazine has learned.
Growers in the American Falls/Aberdeen area have been the most severely affected. Growers will reportedly have to replant an untold number of acres. These beets were either blown out by near-hurricane-force winds on April 21-23 or killed by frost on the morning of Wednesday, April 24.
According to Amalgamated Sugar Company spokesmen, temperatures hit 18 degrees F on Wednesday morning in Aberdeen. The damage was still being evaluated today, with some growers needing to replant and others still uncertain.
It reportedly froze beets, which were just developing sprouts, an inch below the soil surface. One grower will reportedly have to replant 600 acres.
In southern Idaho, frost also took a toll of sprouting beets, which were in the cotyledon (two leaf) growth stage. Just what the damage will be in that area was still being evaluated.
As of this morning, Amalgamated fieldmen say at least 1,000 acres will need replanting in southeastern Idaho.