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bioweb.sungrant.org » Technical » Biomass Resources » Agricultural Resources » Existing Crops » Sugar Crops » Sugar Beets

Sugarbeets	Printer Friendly

About 54 percent of the 8.4 million tons (raw value) of sugar produced annually in the U.S. is from sugarbeets (Beta vulgaris L.) with the remainder from sugarcane. Sugarbeet production occurs in four regions of the U.S.—the Upper Midwest (about half of the acres), the Great Lakes, the Great Plains, and the Far West (USDA NASS). Table 1 shows the harvested acres and yields of sugarbeets in the U.S. for the years 2002 to 2005 and figure 1 shows the distribution of sugarbeet production in 2005.                    Sugarbeets are planted annually from seed at a density sufficient to achieve about 65,000 plants/hectare (26,315 plants per acre) following thinning operations (Kaffka, 2007). Most sugarbeet acres in the western U.S. are irrigated. Sugarbeets are generally produced in 3 to 5 year rotations with small grains (mostly wheat) commonly preceding and following sugar beets. On average, about 104 lbs of nitrogen (N) are applied per acre with a range of 76 to 137 lbs N/ac depending on region. An average of 64 lbs phosphorus/ac and 39 lbs potassium/ac are applied (Ali, 2004). Sugarbeets are susceptible to a number of diseases and weed pressures which are controlled by rotation with other crops, and mechanical and chemical means. About 97 percent of sugarbeet acres were produced using conventional tillage methods and only about 0.3 percent used no-till practices in 2000 (CTIC, 2000).    Sugarbeets are harvested for their roots and the beet tops and leaves are left on the field (an average of about 6.7 metric tons/hectare; 3 tons/acre). Maximum sugar (sucrose) production occurs following periods with cool nights and nitrogen deficiency and fertilizer applications are timed accordingly. Sugarbeet roots are typically about 15-18 percent sucrose and nearly 90 percent is recovered during processing. The world’s commercial production record occurred in a California field with a total root yield of 115 metric tons/hectare (51.2 tons/acre) and a sucrose content of 16.5 percent. After extracting the sugar, about 135 pounds of pulp per ton of roots remains and is generally processed into cattle feed. In 2005, 506,128 metric tons of sugar beet pulp was exported (about half to Japan) (USDA ERS).  During the processing of sugarbeets to sugar, molasses (about 4 percent of the sugarbeets by weight and 50 percent sucrose) and monosodium glutamate (MSG; about 1.75 kilograms per metric ton of roots) are also recovered and used in the food industry and molasses is also used for livestock feed (Kaffka, 2007; Shapouri, 2006). Sugarbeets must be processed soon after harvest as the sugar begins to deteriorate (Ali, 2004).   Most sugarbeet production in the U.S. is produced under contract between individual growers and the processing company with the grower receiving a share of the returns from the sale of the sugar.   In 2005, there were 23 processing facilities in 9 states with a total daily capacity of 163,900 tons of beets (Shapouri, 2006).    The average cost of producing a ton of sugar beets in 2000 was $37.30 and ranged from $15.40 to more than $60/ton (Ali, 2004).  Given average yields and sugar recovery rates (for the years 2003-2005), and a market price of $39.15/ton, the average cost of the sugarbeet/pound of refined sugar is estimated to range from $0.12/lb to $0.144/lb depending on production region (Shapouri, 2006).   The sugar from sugarbeets could be used to produce bioenergy and bioproducts, particularly fuel ethanol, but is a high cost feedstock relative to corn grain. The estimated cost of using sugarbeets to produce one gallon of ethanol (assuming an ethanol yield of 24.8 gallons/ton sugarbeets) is $1.58 (compared to $0.40 to $0.53/gallon for corn starch at an assumed corn grain price of $2.15/bushel).    The estimated cost of using refined beet sugar as the ethanol feedstock is $3.61/gallon of ethanol (assuming an ethanol yield of 141 gallons/ton refined sugar). The molasses byproduct is substantially more competitive as a feedstock for ethanol production with the cost estimated to be $0.91/gallon of ethanol (assumed market price of molasses of $63.00/ton and an assumed conversion rate of 69.4 gallons of ethanol/ton of molasses). Potential costs of converting molasses were estimated to be lower than for corn grain resulting in a total ethanol production cost of $1.27/gallon compared with $1.05/gallon or lower for corn-derived ethanol (Shapouri, 2006).   Sugarbeet production is expected to decline slightly in the next decade. The USDA projects a slight decline in harvested sugarbeet acres to 1.23 million in 2015 and an increase in yields to 24.2 tons/acre (USDA-OCE). The Food and Policy Research Institute projects a decline in harvested sugarbeet acres to 1.17 million in 2015 and a slight increase in yields to 23.5 tons/acre by 2015 (FAPRI, 2006).

References
Ali, Mir B., October 2004, Characteristics and Production costs of U.S. sugarbeet farms, U.S.D.A. Statistical Bulletin No. 974-8. Conservation Technology Information Center, 2000. National Crop Residue Management Survey. West Lafayette, IN. Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) (January 2006), FAPRI 2006 U.S. and world agricultural outlook, Iowa State University and the University of Missouri-Columbia, FAPRI Staff Report 06-FSR 1. Kaffka, Stephen, University of California-Davis, The California Sugarbeet, http://sugarbeet.ucdavis.edu/main.html. Shapouri, H., and M. Salassi, The economic feasibility of ethanol production from sugar in the United States, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Chief Economist, July 2006. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, Sugar and Sweeteners Yearbook. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Chief Economist, USDA agricultural baseline projects to 2015, Baseline Report OCE-2006-1, February 2006.