Seedex Roundup Ready 2010

Seedex Roundup Ready® – 2010 Varieties

By kristal | Published: December 4, 2009

 

 

By Kristal Rick, Seedex, Inc. as published in Sugar Producer magazine, November/December 2009

The time has come for growers to plant Seedex (SX) Roundup Ready® varieties. We have completed the process of developing RR varieties that have the same quality and performance of our conventional varieties. Limited quantities of some varieties were available in certain growing regions this past year, but this will be the first year Seedex offers Roundup Ready in the Red River Valley.

Along with our proprietary research trials, several strip trials were planted in 2009 on grower farms. They are in the process of being harvested, but cooperators like what they are seeing so far.

Our Seedex varieties are well known for their strong vigor and fast emergence, and those qualities are found in our Roundup varieties as well. We also focus on an overall great disease package bred to perform across most conditions! Combining those genetic strengths with exceptional seed processing, priming, and treating makes a uniform final stand that’s high in quality and yield – just the broad-based adaptability you expect when planting Seedex!

Some growers’ farm management practices don’t require the need for Roundup herbicide. Or they’ve seen success in the disease tolerance of conventional varieties and want that protection on their farm. They still prefer conventional seed and Seedex will continue to offer our top-producing conventional varieties to fill those needs.

Seedex will also be offering their first Tandem Technology® variety, for growers planting into hot Rhizomania areas and needing the double tolerance of the Tandem genetics.

In American Crystal, Minn-Dak and Michigan growing areas, all Seedex seed will be XBEET primed by Germains Technology Group. XBEET is a priming process that in over 5 years of testing has shown it provides 3-4 days faster emergence, a more uniform stand, a 5% increase in final stand and a 1-2 ton increase in yield. Sugarbeet growers have experienced these benefits the last few years and want their seed primed with XBEET.

Below is a list by growing region, of 10 Seedex varieties for sale this fall for planting in 2010. They include approved varieties and those pending approval.

Amalgamated

SX 1571RR – good emergence and vigor, balanced yield and quality, good disease package, moderate Curly Top tolerance

SX 1583RR – excellent vigor and emergence, good yield and quality, high sugar/ton, moderate Aph & Rhizoctonia tolerance, limited Curly Top tolerance, manage placement

Please call Serban Marinescu with Holly Hybrids, our sales manager for SX varieties in the Amalgamated area at 209-481-7911, or your local Holly Hybrids dealer, for more information and questions about these varieties.

American Crystal

SX 0881RR – Good germination and speed of emergence, Great yield potential, limited Aph tolerance, manage placement

SX 0883RR – Great yield and quality, handles tough emergence situations, outstanding vigor, fastest emergence in the 2009 trials, manage Cercospora

SX 0884RR – Great sugar content, outstanding vigor for tough conditions, moderate Aph tolerance, great overall disease package

All varieties sold in American Crystal area will be XBEET primed.

Please call Mike Dohman, Seedex sales manager for American Crystal at 701-361-6547, or your local Seedex dealer for more information and to answer any questions you might have about these varieties for 2010

Michigan

SX 1260RR – Planted in 2009 with great results, very good emergence and vigor, good balance of sugar and yield, moderate Aph tolerance, manage Cercospora, good root aphid tolerance

SX 1281RR – On track for approval, Excellent balance of sugar and yield, very good emergence, good Cercospora tolerance, moderate root aphid tolerance, limited Aph tolerance, manage placement

All SX varieties sold in the Michigan area will be XBEET primed.

Please call Ron Groskopf with Holly Hybrids, our sales manager for SX varieties in the Michigan area, working in conjunction with the Co-op’s Agriculturists, at 307-620-2803 for more information and questions about these varieties.

Minn-Dak

SX 0981RR – Very good RZM tolerance, good yield and quality, good Cercospora tolerance

SX 0983RR – Excellent emergence and vigor, very good overall disease package, above average sugar/ton

All varieties sold in the Minn-Dak area will be XBEET primed.

Please call Mike Dohman our Seedex sales manager for Minn-Dak area, working in conjunction with the Co-op’s Agriculturists, at 701-361-6547, for more information and questions about these varieties.

Sidney Sugars

SX 0381RR – Outstanding RZM tolerance, balanced yield and quality, good Aph tolerance

Please call Ron Groskopf with Holly Hybrids, our sales manager for SX varieties in the Sidney area at 307-620-2803, or your local Holly Dealer, for more information and questions about this variety.

Please visit our websites at seedexseed.com and beetseed.com for more information on these varieties and our conventional varieties specific to your growing region.

Thank you for your business and we look forward to being your RR supplier in 2010. You’ll notice why – it was worth the wait!

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American Crystal halts beet harvest Tuesday

By kristal | Published: October 15, 2009

By: Stephen J. Lee, Grand Forks Herald, INFORUM

MOORHEAD – American Crystal Sugar Co. halted its sugar beet harvest Tuesday because temperatures dipped below 20 degrees and the crowns, or tops, of the beets were getting frosted.

Company spokesman Jeff Schweitzer said all five factory districts dug no beets Tuesday. “We will take a look at it again at noon (today),” he said. About 65 percent of the crop was harvested as of Tuesday morning, he said.

When temperatures get below 20, the beets, especially if the green tops have been lopped off in anticipation of the root crop being lifted, can freeze. Frozen beets don’t store well in the giant outdoor piles that are maintained during the winter processing season. One factory district announced on American Crystal’s Web site that it would not take any frozen beets from growers.

Schweitzer said some growers reported fields that had even lower temperatures.

This week, company officials announced that the grower/members of the farmer-owned cooperative can harvest all their planted acres. In recent years, including this season, growers have been told to set aside 10 percent of their beet acres for possible plowing under, because the Moorhead-based cooperative has been producing so well it can’t handle all the tons of beets grown.

But all 422,000 acres planted by the 875 growers will be lifted, Schweitzer said.

Yields are averaging 23 to 24 tons per acre, slightly below the records set the past two years, but well above 10-year averages. The sugar content of the beets is running slightly below the 17.5 percent average of the past five years, Schweitzer said.

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New Variety SEEDEX DEUCE TT

By kristal | Published: October 14, 2009

Rhizomania (RZM) is one of the most prevalent diseases in many sugarbeet growing areas today. That’s why many, if not all varieties sold today contain the Holly gene for RZM tolerance. In some areas growers are seeing increasing RZM pressure each year, but Seedex has the answer for growers in 2010. The answer is Tandem Technology®,
Our new variety, DeuceTT, is a newly approved Tandem variety available for our American Crystal customers. Tandem Technology varieties have double tolerance to RZM, because they include RZM tolerance on both genetic parents, the male and female side. The combination of both offers unparalleled tolerance to RZM. This allows Tandem varieties like DeuceTT to out-yield all other varieties in severe RZM areas. Watch for results on DeuceTT in our grower strip trials and the coded trials.
Talk to your local Seedex Dealer if you are interested in double RZM tolerant DeuceTT for your farm in 2010! Tandem Technology® is a registered Trademark of SESVanderHave.

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XBEET COMES STANDARD

By kristal | Published: October 14, 2009

Seedex was the first sugarbeet seed company to offer all their varieties primed with XBEET and for the 2010 season, all Seedex varieties, both Roundup Ready® and conventional will once again come standard with XBEET. Adding XBEET to the already strong vigor and fast emergence of Seedex genetics means more benefits to our customers:
• Accelerated and More Uniform Emergence
• Enhanced Vigor and Vitality
• Lower Stand Loss resulting in Higher Plant Populations
• Higher Recoverable Sugar
• Bigger Yields
• Better Bottom Lines

XBEET is a priming process done by Germains Technology Group, that uses a specifically calibrated combination of heat and moisture to remove or weaken germination inhibitors in the cork of the raw seed. It also starts the germination process that naturally occurs in the field until the seed reaches a certain physiological point. Then the process is stopped and the seed is boxed and ready to be delivered to growers.

Once the grower plants his Seedex XBEET seed, it absorbs moisture and starts the germination process just where it was left off. Because the seed is allowed to naturally return to the germination process, it takes off quicker. This fast emergence leads to stronger stands and less risk of crop loss. The emergence speed of Seedex varieties enhanced with XBEET means Seedex will be the first out of the ground. Period

XBEET lessens the effects that harsh spring conditions might have on your beets, at the most vulnerable time in a sugarbeet plant’s life. Independent studies and our research at Seedex has shown that in over 5 years of testing XBEET provides 3-4 days faster emergence, a more uniform stand, a 5% increase in final stand and a 1-2 ton increase in yield. Sugarbeet growers have experienced these benefits the last few years and want their seed primed with XBEET. It’s no wonder why Seedex made it standard on all its varieties!

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Photographic hobby reflects love of hometown

By kristal | Published: October 12, 2009

by Jennifer Johnson • Daily News, Wahpeton, ND

This photo of the "Morning Harvest" was shot outside of Breckenridge in 2006. DeVries typically takes photos that celebrate Wahpeton and the surrounding area. "It's always good to have a stock of pictures, whether it be around the city or work or whatever the case may be," he said. photo by Chris DeVries

This photo of the "Morning Harvest" was shot outside of Breckenridge in 2006. DeVries typically takes photos that celebrate Wahpeton and the surrounding area. "It's always good to have a stock of pictures, whether it be around the city or work or whatever the case may be," he said. photo by Chris DeVries

 Minn-Dak Farmers Cooperative Communications Manager Chris DeVries has been a novice photographer for years, but his work will soon be reaching the public on a larger scale.

Within the next few weeks, DeVries’ photos of local residents, scenery and landmarks will be featured on the city of Wahpeton Web site. The project started before he joined the city council nearly two years ago, when he wanted to stockpile as many photos possible for promotional purposes.

“I thought, you know, we need to promote the town,” he said. “I grew up here and I know what Wahpeton has to offer. I have a real interest in the town’s success.” His interest in photography started when he was hired at Minn-Dak for a public relations position in 2004. With a new Sony on hand, he was able to capture images for the company Web site and feed into his new hobby.

“I’m a pretty visual person. Whether it be family or work or the city or whatever, I enjoy having that documentation,” he said. “It’s a way to preserve something.”

His photography tends to capture extreme colors and the sentiment of small town living – one photo features children on the playground, another reveals a family gathering around the table for dinner framed by Christmas lights hanging from the rooftop. There’s a bit of nostalgia in the images, too, and part of it results from DeVries’ fond memories of his youth in Wahpeton. Many of his favorite spots, such as the Blue Horizon roller skating rink and Spies grocery store, have vanished.

“All the things I remember from being a kid aren’t the same anymore, and I really wish I had pictures,” he said. “I’m hoping what I’m doing now will be nice for the kids, too, someday.”

DeVries takes a simplified approach to his work. As he’s inspired by the quiet, everyday moments of life, his growing portfolio includes a vivid blue peacock at Chahinkapa Zoo, snow-covered trees in the park and Wahpeton’s Homecoming Parade. Although he hasn’t invested in expensive lighting equipment or other means, he enjoys framing each shot to give the viewer a different perspective. He referred to a quote by Henry David Thoreau – “It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.”

“It’s pretty much perfect for what I do,” he said.

DeVries intends on expanding his portfolio by including other cities, such as Fargo and Minneapolis, in the future.

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Judge’s ruling forces second look at Roundup Ready sugarbeets

By kristal | Published: October 9, 2009

By DALE HILDEBRANT, Farm & Ranch Guide

For the second time in two years, a ruling by a U.S. district judge based in San Francisco has thrown a roadblock in the path of ag chemical giant Monsanto.

Back in 2007 Judge Charles Breyer halted the use of Roundup Ready alfalfa seed and on Sept. 21, 2009, Federal Judge Jeffrey White challenged USDA’s approval for Roundup Ready sugarbeets, saying further environmental studies needed to be done.

The ruling was issued even though the sugarbeets have been widely grown in Wyoming since 2007 and in this region since the 2008 growing season.

White found that the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) violated environmental law by failing to take a “hard look” at whether Roundup Ready beets would eventually share their genes with other crops such as chard and table beets.

 

 
  

Heavy rains give harvest a beeting

By kristal | Published: October 7, 2009

By: Jon Knutson, INFORUM, Fargo Forum

AMENIA, N.D. – Seven good days.

That’s what Amenia farmer Bill Hejl needs to finish this year’s sugar beet harvest.

“We just need some dry weather,” said Hejl, who had to shut down his sugar beet harvest after receiving about 3½ inches of rain in the past week.

He’s not alone.

Most sugar beet producers in the southern two-thirds of the Red River Valley have quit harvesting temporarily because of recent rains.

They likely won’t go again for another week or so, given current forecasts.

“It’ll probably be a week, depending on the weather,” Paul Coppin, general manager of Reynolds United Co-op, said of the resumption of sugar beet harvest in his area.

The northern Red River Valley – or the area north of U.S. Highway 2 – has had less rain, and many farmers there are able to keep going, said Dan Berhardson, director of agriculture for Moorhead-based American Crystal Sugar Co.

“We’re still going,” said Kelly Erickson, who raises sugar beets in Hallock in extreme northwestern Minnesota.

“It’s a challenge to get the beets. But the good news is, we’re still going,” he said.

Most of the sugar beets in Minnesota and North Dakota are grown in the Red River Valley by shareholder/members of American Crystal and Wahpeton-based Minn-Dak Farmers Cooperative.

The two co-ops have a major impact on the region’s economy.

In fiscal year 2008, American Crystal had net revenue of $1.223 billion, and Minn-Dak had $243 million in net revenue.

Though recent rains hurt, the situation isn’t desperate yet for sugar beet growers, provided the weather turns dry quickly.

About a quarter of the area’s beet crop already has been harvested.

Twenty-four percent of North Dakota’s sugar beets were lifted, or removed from the ground, as of Sunday, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

That compared with an average of 30 percent in 2004-08.

In Minnesota, 23 percent of beets were harvested as of Sunday, down from the 2004-08 average, the USDA said.

Crop conditions in both states generally are good.

In Minnesota, 70 percent of sugar beets are rated good or excellent, with 27 percent fair and 3 percent poor or very poor, the USDA said.

In North Dakota, 66 percent of beets are good or excellent, with 26 percent rated fair and 8 percent poor or very poor, the USDA said.

But recent rains stir memories of a year ago, when heavy, persistent October rains hammered sugar beet fields, particularly in the southern Red River Valley.

Minn-Dak growers were forced to leave sugar beets valued at $36 million in their fields.

It’s far too soon to say things will be that bad again, said Chris Devries, Minn-Dak communications manager.

Dry weather is what sugar beets fields need now, said Claude Richard, a Fargo producer.

“No more rain this fall and then some snow for Christmas. That would be great,” he said.

 

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Rain slows beet harvest

By kristal | Published: October 6, 2009

By: staff report, Grand Forks Herald

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Wet weather has slowed the sugar beet harvest in parts of North Dakota.

Jerry Christenson with American Crystal Sugar said harvesting is at a standstill south of Highway 2, but conditions are better north of there.

He said the harvest normally takes about three weeks, but could last up to a month this year.

Christenson said rain delays during the harvest aren’t that unusual.

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Valley beet harvest began at midnight Tuesday, Sept 29

By kristal | Published: September 30, 2009

INFORUM, Fargo Forum, Sept 30

After a month of preliminary digging, the American Crystal Sugar Co. beet harvest began full tilt at midnight Tuesday, meaning hundreds of big trucks will be rumbling over roads up and down the Red River Valley. The “stockpile” harvest start was moved up one day from its traditional first minute of Oct. 1 because of forecasts for rain Thursday and Friday, according to the company’s Web site late Tuesday.

Stockpile harvest, after a month of “pre-pile,” brings a safety concern that American Crystal takes seriously, a company official said. The company issues cautions to growers and residents to watch for the stepped-up harvest and road activity, said Jeff Schweitzer, spokesman for the Moorhead-based, grower-owned cooperative.

In fact, an 18-year-old woman was killed Tuesday afternoon in Wahpeton, N.D., in a three-vehicle accident that included a semi-trailer hauling beets for the other sugar beet cooperative in the southern the valley, Minn-Dak Farmers, the North Dakota Highway Patrol said.

The patrol said Antoinette Gjesdahl was driving a 2005 Pontiac about 1:30 p.m. and entered an intersection on the Interstate 29 bypass on the west side of Wahpeton when her vehicle was hit by a 2005 International semi-truck and trailer driven by Cathleen Dean that was hauling sugar beets from Barney, N.D., to the Minn-Dak processing factory in Wahpeton. The Pontiac was pushed into a third vehicle at the intersection, driven by Mary Motzko, 38, of Wahpeton. She and the truck driver were taken to the local hospital for treatment; Gjesdahl was dead at the scene, the patrol said. The crash is being investigated.

A ton of trucks

American Crystal’s 875 growers will gear up several thousand trucks to move the beets from their fields to one of dozens of field stations, and Transystems Inc. will run its dozens of semi-trucks hauling the beets from stations into the five processing factories in East Grand Forks, Crookston, Moorhead, Hillsboro, N.D. and Drayton, N.D.

During the preliminary “pre-pile” period of beet digging in September, the growers harvest about 10 percent of their crop to get the factories up and running for the processing campaign that will continue until the end of May.

The stockpile harvest that usually begins the first hour of Oct. 1 just about every year can take 10 to 20 days, with some growers digging 24 hours a day, and others on 12-hour shifts, depending on the schedule of the grower-owned co-op.

There always is a rush to the stockpile beet harvest as the valuable but bulky crop needs to be dug and hauled in fast because October weather isn’t always cooperative, Schweitzer said.

The average yield looks to be 24 tons an acre, which means several truckloads per acre will need to be hauled for each of the 442,000 acres to be harvested in the Valley. It adds up to lots of extra truck traffic.

“So, safety is a big focus for shareholders,” he said. “It’s important that everyone goes about their business in a safe manner.”

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Statements by the Sugar Industry Biotech Council on US District Court Decision

By kristal | Published: September 24, 2009

September 23, 2009

On September 21, 2009, U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey White ruled that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will have to complete an Environmental Impact Statement for Roundup Ready sugar beets.  This is a procedural decision, in which the court concluded USDA needs to show a more thorough review process than was documented in the deregulation process the agency completed in 2005.

While the Sugar Industry Biotech Council is disappointed by the outcome, we look forward to the next phase of the proceedings and the opportunity for growers, processors and seed producers to advocate the need for this technology and vigorously defend farmers’ freedom to plant Roundup Ready sugar beets.

This ruling found no issue with the safety or benefits of Roundup Ready sugar beets.  The sugar from biotech sugar beets is the same as from conventional sugarbeets and sugarcane, and is widely accepted in the United States and worldwide markets.

Farmers in the United States and Canada are choosing to plant Roundup Ready sugar beets on 95 percent of the acreage because of the environmental and economic benefits they bring to farming operations.

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