Sugar beet harvest is underway in Michigan, and beet tonnage and sugar content both look favorable for the state’s growers in upwards of 20 counties.
However, rising costs of producing and processing sugar beets into sugar have squeezed operating margins and weather challenges in various regions have affected production potential.
Sugar beets have historically been a high-profit-per-acre crop but have become an average commodity due to low prices, disease pressures, and labor issues, according to Jake Moegle, VP of Lending at GreenStone Farm Credit Services.
“Sugar beets can be expensive to grow because of the many fungicide applications necessary to keep the plants healthy and producing,” he says. “So, it really needs to pay well for people to be excited about growing them.”
Founded in 1906, Michigan Sugar Company is headquartered in Bay City, Mich., and has sugar beet processing facilities in Bay City, Caro, Croswell and Sebewaing, Mich.
Drought impact
Planting conditions were generally favorable this year, Jake says, but drought conditions affected certain areas and delayed early-dig by a week.
“It wasn’t widespread, but there were significant pockets where it was dry,” he explains. “It's hard on everything when you’re digging. Tips can break off the beets leaving part of the beet in the ground. It also takes a toll on digging wheels. Machines ride hard, and you wear things out in a hurry when we haven't had rain in a long time.”
Jenna Maher, an agronomist with Michigan Sugar, says the weather has been sporadic this year.
“We have areas that haven’t received rain in two months and some areas with more than two inches of rain recently,” she says.
The regular sugar beet campaign – slated to start in mid-to-late October – requires beets to be piled at several locations around the state. “We really need some colder conditions for favorable storage,” Moegle says.
Permanent piling (full harvest) will continue through mid-November, according to Rob Clark, Michigan Sugar’s senior director of communications and community relations.
Favorable sugar content
Sugar content has been the highlight of harvest. At Michigan Sugar’s four factories, more than 630,000 tons of sugar beets have been sliced, and the sugar content is averaging 16.31%, according to Clark.
“We are seeing higher numbers now on a regular basis,” he says. “To date, we have produced more than 150 million pounds of sugar.” Weather mainly controls sugar content to finish the crop, and growers are paid on pounds of sugar per acre.
To date, Michigan Sugar’s grower-owners have harvested more than 600,000 tons of sugar beets, about 15% of the projected crop, according to Clark.
“While recoverable white sugar per ton (RWST) is tracking well above the five-year average of 270.1 pounds, yield is tracking below the five-year average of 31.95 tons per acre,” he adds. “We are seeing some pressure from leafspot and aphids across our growing region. We need more rain and are asking growers to continue to care for their crops over the coming weeks before permanent pile begins.”
Hiring seasonal workers to harvest the crop continues to be a challenge.
“Finding workers with a CDL who you trust to drive the semis and be loading on the go in the field is sometimes difficult,” Moegle says.
Current Production Status for 2025
• Planting Progress: According to Betaseed, Michigan Sugar reported 97.5% of the 2025 sugar beet crop was planted by May 5.
• Acreage: Michigan Sugar planted 139,000 acres of sugar beets in 2025, down from slightly more than 143,000 acres in 2024.
• Yield Projections: Early estimates suggest average sugar beet yields between 27-32 tons per acre for 2025.
• Harvest Timeline: Michigan Sugar’s 2025 early dig harvest started on Aug. 25, and slicing at its factories began in late August and early September.
• Michigan ranks as the third largest sugar beet producer in the United States.
Despite ongoing challenges, including lower prices and operational difficulties, industry representatives maintain cautious optimism. As Moegle notes, "The outlook is still positive. I think there's a nice crop out there waiting for us."
