Friday, March 5, 2021
CapitalPress.com
9
Growing sugar beets a way of life
By HEATHER SMITH THOMAS
For the Capital Press
Zach Patterson at the
Amalgamated Sugar
plant near his farm.
Zach Patterson and his family.
cultivate the past couple years.”
This saves labor and
expense, he said. The trac-
tor may be in the field a cou-
ple times rather than 9 times
during growing season. This
saves on diesel and reduces
soil compaction.
“Our yields have skyrock-
eted after getting rid of com-
petition from weeds,” he said.
“The varieties we use today
are also a lot better; sugar
beets are now a fun crop to
grow.”
Zach is involved in the
political side of farming and
has gone to Washington, D.C.,
six times lobbying for the
sugar industry.
“This has been educa-
tional, learning more about
sugar policies and how they
affect the growers and users,”
he said.
“We grow sugar beets,
corn, hay and wheat—but
sugar beets are what keeps
our farm and our community
going.”
Southern Idaho has nearly
180,000 acres of sugar beets
and it’s a huge crop for the
economy.
“Our farm is 7 miles from
the Mini-Cassia plant in Paul,
Idaho,” he said.
Of the three plants Amal-
pany in 1997 and it’s a co-op.
To grow more acres of sugar
beets you have to own more
shares,” he said.
“Right now, shares are hard
to come by, but the factory
will give young people a share
if a farmer is willing to spon-
sor them. So I give my kids a
share and the factory matches
it. So, each of my kids get to
grow 2 acres of sugar beets
every year,” he said.
“They have to pick a
research topic about sugar
beets, and present it. My kids
have gone with me to Wash-
ington, D.C., and enjoyed
doing research projects on
everything from GMOs to sus-
tainability. They also have to
put together a budget for their
own acres, so this has been
very educational and a way
to get them involved,” Zach
said. “We have a good youth
program and about 200 kids
involved in growing shares,
and this gets them exposed to
the industry.”
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Zach Patterson and his
family have been growing
sugar beets in southern Idaho
for decades.
His
grandfather
first
farmed in Utah, then moved to
Idaho in 1981, the year Zach
was born.
“Our family had cattle, and
started growing sugar beets
after they moved here. My dad
and uncle worked at the sugar
factory to supplement farm
income,” Zach said.
“By the time I was 12 we
had about 150 acres of sugar
beets and I helped spray, with
a 4-wheeler — using a 50-gal-
lon tank with a 12-row sprayer
to get rid of weeds. I also helped
hoe weeds and thin the beets,”
he said.
“After high school, I got a
bachelor’s degree in finance
and served a two-year mis-
sion to Brazil for my church,
returning to the farm in
2002,” he said. “By that time
we had 300 acres, and in 2006
we bought more shares and
now farm 580 acres of sugar
beets.”
Sugar beets have changed in
recent years, with better variet-
ies and Roundup-ready beets,
he said.
“Before that, we had to cul-
tivate 3 or 4 times, and spray 5
times,” he said. “Today, I can
usually just spray twice for
weeds — and I haven’t had to
gamated Sugar owns, this is
the biggest.
“We deliver most of our
beets right to its doorstep,” he
said. “Farmers pile beets at
harvest, then all winter long try
to get them hauled to the fac-
tory and sliced before it gets
too warm in the spring. We
have good natural storage; cool
weather keeps the beets cool.
“I lease ground to neigh-
bors who grow potatoes, then
I follow that with beets. We
also have dairies around us
so we grow corn for them and
put manure on our fields. Too
much fertilizer can hurt sugar
levels in the beets, however,
so we have to watch nitrogen
levels,” Zach said.
He and his wife, Amy, have
four children — Bryan, Isaac,
Gracie and Sam. Their oldest
son is 16; the youngest is 10.
“I’m involved with our
company’s youth program;
Amalgamated gives farm
kids a share. The farmers got
together and bought the com-
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