Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Sugar Beets

The only day I talked a bit about Big D's new farming venture, Sugar Beets. My knowledge level is still quite low, but I have learned a couple of things.

1. The sugar beet planter they searched and searched for and finally purchased looks a whole lot like a corn planter to me! I plan to get to the bottom of this and find out what is different, because to my untrained eye there is nothing different. So therefore I am wondering why we had to buy when? I am sure there is a reason, right?

2. Planting sugar beets is freakin' expensive! I saw the seed bill. The bill is more than what I make in a year! No joke. I felt faint when Big D showed me the bill. Real faint.

3. Sugarbeeters will be able to plant roundup ready beets this year. Yep, that was new to me. Of course, I have never even gave any of it a thought before. I recieved the following email about the good news:

“U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey White has denied the plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction that would have prohibited planting of the biotech sugar beets that growers planted on 95 percent of their acreage last year.”

“We are pleased that the court denied the request and recognized the significant negative impact that an immediate ban on planting would have caused to growers, processors, rural communities and the U.S. sugar supply. This decision allows sugar beet growers to proceed with planting this year’s crop. The court will decide at the July 9th hearing what will happen in 2011 and beyond.”

“We look forward to the next phase of the court proceedings where we can present evidence about potential choices for our growers and processors.”

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