According to the USDA, the projected sugarbeet acreage will drop 4 percent this planting season compared to last year (2022).
Not surprisingly, the biggest drop in acreage comes from Montana due to the closing of the Sidney sugarbeet factory. It’s expected the state’s sugarbeet growers will plant 24,000 acres in 2023, a drop of 9,600 acres compared to a year ago.
Six of the 11 sugarbeet growing states will plant the same or slightly more acres as was planted in 2022 while the other five will see a decrease in acreage.
Minnesota still leads the way in sugarbeet acreage at a projected 433,000 acres, followed by North Dakota (214,000 acres), Idaho (175,000 acres) and Michigan (133,000 acres) with Nebraska rounding out the top five with 49,000 acres.
Here is the USDA report:
Sugarbeet Area Planted – States and United States: 2021-2023
[Relates to year of intended harvest in all States except California]
Area planted
State 2021 2022 2023 (1) Percent of previous year
(1,000 acres) (1,000 acres) (1,000 acres) (percent)
California (2) 24.0 18.0 18.0 100
Colorado 24.3 23.4 23.0 98
Idaho 173.0 173.0 175.0 101
Michigan 155.0 139.0 133.0 96.0
Minnesota 427.0 434.0 433.0 100
Montana 43.7 33.6 24.0 71
Nebraska 44.4 46.8 49.0 105
North Dakota 226.0 251.0 214.0 85
Oregon 10.5 9.4 10.0 106
Washington 1.8 2.0 1.8 90
Wyoming 31.2 29.3 30.0 102
United States 1,160.9 1,159.5 1,110.8 96
(1) Intended plantings in 2023 as indicated by reports from processors.
(2) Relates to year of planting for overwintered beets in southern California.