:The Laurel Outlook:Big Story

Weather can be the friend or foe of those involved with Montana agriculture. Farmers have enjoyed more moisture this year compared to the area's recent years of drought conditions.

Cold temperatures and rain/snow during October slowed area farmers' sugar beet harvest, eventually bringing it to a standstill. Now, with nearly 75 percent of the crop harvested, producers and Western Sugar managers are uncertain what the rest of the harvest season will hold.

“When cold temperatures hit that froze the beet tops and damaged beets that were still in the ground, about 60 percent of the harvest was completed,” Western Sugar Montana-Wyoming Ag Manager Tony Zitterkopf told the Outlook last week.

Western Sugar is currently purchasing beets in two-week cycles, as long as the weather continues to allow producers to harvest. “We are processing damaged beets first at our refineries, because they won't keep as long as the beets that were dug before the hard freezing weather,” said Zitterkopf. He estimates that as much as 40 percent of the harvest could have some degree of damage. “We are just going to keep slicing the damaged beets as long as we can. When they deteriorate to the point it is no longer worth the cost, we will stop accepting damaged beets and start processing the beets that were harvested earlier.”

With warm weather this past week, area beet farmers are going strong again, however weather forecasts call for cooler temperatures and a chance of snow by the weekend.

Heavy rain since mid-September and four consecutive nights of temperatures in the teens or lower jeopardized almost 400,000 tons of beets, said Zitterkopf.

Western Sugar operates refineries in Billings and Lovell, WY. Both plants are accepting frost-damaged beets for processing. Rapid handling is essential because the beets deteriorate quickly as they warm, Zitterkopf said.

Beets stored at the Mossmain Beet Dump, the Schreiner Beet Dump near Park City and the beet dump in Clarks Fork Valley are all being held for later processing after the damaged beets are processed. Beets from the dumps west of Billings are being transported to Western Sugar's refinery in Lovell for immediate processing.

If producers end up with some beets that aren't processed, they can consider plowing them into the ground for their nitrogen value or harvest them and feed the beets as silage to cattle, according to the Yellowstone County Extension Office.

Associated Press contributed to this story.