Ryan Samples plants sugar beets in the Burley, Idaho, area.

1. Amalgamated Sugar detail

With just two sugar beet planting seasons under his belt, Miguel Villafana has already decided he likes to err on the late side.

“I choose to wait a little bit, just to be closer to water,” he said. His local irrigation district will soon start deliveries.

Villafana, who farms in the Wilder-Homedale area of southwest Idaho, started planting sugar beets April 1, some three weeks later than he could have.

He aimed to give the plants the best chance to emerge in soft, moist soil with minimal exposure to wind and other elements.

“Conditions have been drier than I’d like to see,” Villafana said.

Sugar beet planting is well underway among most of the 700-plus growers in the cooperative that owns Amalgamated Sugar and its factories. They will plant about 180,000 acres, similar to the 2020 total.

“Planting has been interrupted, sporadically, by rain, snow and wind events — typical for spring in the Pacific Northwest,” said Jessica Anderson of Boise-based Amalgamated. “It’s a pretty normal year as far as planting is concerned.”

As of April 5, Amalgamated growers had planted about 45,000 acres, she said.

By April 7, planting was 70% complete in the Treasure Valley. Some fields in the Nampa, Idaho, area had to be replanted due to wind and frost.

Sugar beet planting typically starts in early to mid-March in the Treasure Valley and later to the east in south-central and southeastern Idaho. Some growers are yet to start planting.

“Depending on the weather, we expect a sharp increase in planted acres in the Magic Valley and Upper Snake growing regions over the next two weeks,” Anderson said April 7.

Randy Grant farms in the Eden-Hazelton area of south-central Idaho. He said planting conditions have been good and progress around average for the region. He often plants beets early — he started March 18 and finished April 3 — so he can shift to planting potatoes.

Twin Falls area farmer Kody Youree also finished planting sugar beets in early April.

He said soil prepared in the spring had moisture 4 to 5 inches deep compared to about an inch where crews last fall bedded and fertilized.

“We could definitely use some rain,” Youree said. “It’s pretty dry around here.”

Ryan Samples, who farms south of Burley in the eastern Magic Valley, started planting sugar beets about a week later this year compared to 2020. He expected to finish April 8.

Last year, he replanted some following a freeze. That cost some yield.

“It’s dry and it’s windy — a typical Idaho springtime,” Samples said.

Idaho Sugarbeet Growers Association Executive Director Brad Griff said beets, which are planted earlier and harvested later than many crops, are hearty once established.

Villafana, who has another full-time job and grows sugar beets on a relatively small scale, had a custom farmer plant his crop. That concluded April 6.

Villafana works in the field daily. He checks seed placement and will do all of the irrigation work. He will monitor plant emergence and stand quality.

And he’ll watch the weather.

“We are a little worried about Friday,” Villafana said, referring to expected cold snap April 9.