Grower fined for herbicide spill

HERMISTON, Ore. (AP) -- The state has fined a fruit grower in Eastern Oregon $15,000 for failing to immediately clean up an herbicide spill and for improperly disposing of hazardous waste.

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality said Aug. 18 that an employee of Stadelman Fruit LLC spilled 60 to 80 gallons of three different herbicides while trying to unclog a sprayer at an orchard in Milton-Freewater.

Stadelman has appealed the fine and has asked for a hearing.

Beet crop could set record

MOORHEAD, Minn. (AP) -- American Crystal Sugar Co.'s early beet harvest was beginning Aug. 17, earlier than ever because the crop appears to be bigger than ever.

During the "pre-pile" harvest, growers get just enough beets out of the ground to get Crystal's five processing plants in the Red River Valley running. It typically begins Sept. 1, with the full harvest beginning Oct. 1.

Dan Bernhardson, the cooperative's director of agriculture, says the factories were to begin running Aug. 19. Minnesota plants are in East Grand Forks, Crookston and Moorhead, and North Dakota factories are in Hillsboro and Drayton.

Bernhardson says an early spring planting and an ideal growing season have led to a crop expected to set a record for yield.

Ill. yields both up and down

PEORIA, Ill. (AP) -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates Illinois' corn crop is expected to yield 180 bushels an acre, up 6 bushels from last year. And the state's soybean yields are expected to average 49 bushels an acre, or about 3 bushels more than last year.

But the outlook isn't so rosy everywhere.

Kim Craig works for Bell Enterprises, a grain elevator that's organized a plot tour for the past 15 years. Craig says farmers who recently checked cornfields in Tazewell, Woodford and McLean counties reported conditions that look to fall short of last year's yields.

He says the tour found problem areas in most fields due to last season's wet fall.