Roger and I worked in the beet field Tuesday night/Wednesday morning until 1 am! The last truck full was half full, and delivered to the piling grounds yesterday afternoon. The weather report for Wednesday and later this week is rain, rain, rain. So, to avoid mud it was imperative that we finish ahead of the rain. Yesterday it did not rain much, but the sky is grey every day.
The yield in beets wasn’t so high this year as last. We averaged about 18 tons to the acre, significantly below the 32 tons of the 2008 crop. Costs were up, so overall the profit will be marginal this year. The factory is aware of this reduced tonnage among its growers, so this year they are going to pay us $2.00 per ton for a crop from several years ago that was lost when the factory was sold to a new operator. After that sale, it was sold once again to us, the farmers. Now, it is a cooperative venture. So, in reality I think we are just paying ourselves!
Weiss Farm is pretty small by today’s ag standards. We will probably get a check for about $1000, but for some of the large beet farmers, the check will be much larger. Of course, so are their bills. It all averages out.
I am praying that we see some warmer, brighter days soon. We have not had Indian Summer yet, and I really am looking forward to that brief warm interlude before we head into winter.
Tags: Farming
