Done Before November: Wrapping Up a Resilient Harvest
Farming Full-Time #61
Resilience and the Evolution of Farming
Under a Halloween moon, we wrapped the season before winter took a breath.
No Christmas rush, no fighting snowflakes in a barnyard bathrobe still clinging to last year’s letdowns.
Just a clean finish—right on time.
This season felt like a tribute to the resilience woven into every acre and every person involved. Twenty years ago, with the rain we saw in June and July, you’d have written the season off, parked the machinery, and headed to the bar.
But this year?
Agriculture’s advancements kept us in the game.
I remember 2005—drowned-out beets barely made seven tons an acre. We spent more time doing mud donuts than lifting anything decent. Two days to dig up the entire crop, and all we had to show for it was a mountain of mud and bruised egos.
And before that?
Back in ’81, my dad’s buddy—a local legend and tougher than a two-dollar steak—worked his butt off all season only to have his beets freeze solid in the ground.
His check from the sugar company? A whopping eleven bucks.
Instead of cashing it, he framed it and hung it on his wall like a war medal, a testament to the brutality and absurdity of farming.
Now, that’s a statement.
But these days? We hold steady. We make it through with today’s genetics, advanced tools, and a touch of sheer stubbornness.
Sure, the crops took a beating, but they didn’t buckle.
July dried us out, but just as the plants started to stress and flip their leaves, August rolled in with those late-season rains that saved our hides. True to the old saying: ‘August rains make beans.’
And this year?
We booked some of the biggest beet and bean yields I can remember.
Not to tempt fate, but we lucked out, especially with most of Minnesota struggling in 2024. The weather threw us on a seesaw—soaked early on, then drier than a popcorn fart by fall—a recipe for shallow roots, not bumper crops.
And that yield rollercoaster? Been strapped in for that ride plenty of times.
Silver-platter disappointment has been a steady meal over the years. The 2010s were mostly a parade of July and August droughts—except for ‘16 and ‘19. Thirty-bushel beans were the usual song and dance.
No wonder half the guys around here won’t even bother with bean treatments—late-season rain around here is about as common as a Bigfoot sighting, and usually, it only shows up when no one needs it.
But once in a blue moon, everything aligns, and you get a good one. And when that happens, you savor it like the first ice-cold wobbly pop on a scorching day.
I know it’s not all us—honestly, hardly.
Genetics, weather, fate, and a handful of things way out of our control play their part in this game.
Still, there’s something satisfying about pulling in a crop you can be proud of.
Seeing it all come together at the end of the season, especially when the odds were stacked against you? That kind of payoff keeps you hooked and hungry for next season.
Sugar Beet Harvest By the Numbers
Because what’s a season without a few stats to look back on?
Trips to the piler: Lost count somewhere around 106, finally clocked in at 148. My ticket-grabbing chip clip was hanging on for dear life by the end.
Pounds of Beets Trucked: 3,371.44 tons or 6,742,880 pounds, approximately. Big whoop, Adam. But what does that mean? Well, it’s enough sugar to crank out more than 20 million Snickers bars, 55.2 million Krispy Kreme donuts, and, oddly enough, the same number of jars of Ragu spaghetti sauce. America’s favorite pasta dish has as much sugar as a pastry—let that sink in.
Total Hours of Sleep Missed: Enough to start seeing imaginary cows in the fields.
PB&Js Consumed: A small mountain. Let’s just say I’ll be glad if I don’t see another one until Valentine’s Day.
Times “Fifty-Mission Cap” by The Tragically Hip Replayed: Let’s just say Gord Downie and I now communicate across realms.
Words Typed in the Piler Line: A couple hundred thousand. Hit the 99th percentile on Grammarly. Even I’m impressed at how much hot air I can generate.
Loads Measured: 54 for yield and 33 for sugar—I’m bringing you the test data soon.
Fuel Burned: 548 gallons—not too bad for more than two weeks of short-hauling.
Wrenches Tossed in Frustration: Zero. Anger management is paying off.
Volvo Snapchats Posted: 16. Or maybe it was 17. I’ve lost track.
Times John Listened to Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes”: Still a mystery. Part of me thinks he’ll take it to the grave.
Emergency Nap Breaks: Just one. Seems like it’s one every year.
Trips to the Hospital: One. False alarm, thankfully. No major injuries or mental breakdowns (this time), but it rounds out the stats.
And here’s the kicker: if you stacked all the beets that American Crystal Sugar Company stockpiles each year, you’d get a cone so large it’d cover two football fields at the base and rise tall enough to equal four Empire State Buildings.
Unreal.
More Than Just a Crop
This isn’t just about yanking a crop out of the ground—it’s about defying the odds each season, dusting yourself off after the ground tries to swallow you, and chasing that last load like it’s the Holy Grail.
Every harvest is a mad dash—a test of grit, family, and the patience to handle whatever Mother Nature and your coworkers decide to throw your way.
This year, it was a fight worth fighting, even in the darker, grim moments.
If you want to see what that machine-breaking, bone-tired joy looks like, jump into my world on Grow with Riopelle and Farming Full-Time. I’m sharing the raw, real stuff: fieldwork, trial data, breakdowns, and every gritty detail that makes this life as wild as it is worthwhile.
Grow With Riopelle YouTube Channel
Farming Full-Time YouTube Channel
Thank you for riding along and supporting this beautiful, chaotic life. Hit up the channels for more—the good, the bad, and the downright absurd.
This is farming.
This is us.
Wouldn’t trade it for a thing.
Until next time, friends. Bye for now.
A few harvest snapshots: Skies were next level this year.
Congrats!
You Made it!
Now you've gone and done it. I'm knee deep in edits on book two and you throw out there you have a tube channel? Holy cow, two of them! An author can only handle being pulled in so many directions before she becomes too busy with social media to write. But if I had a you tube channel, what would I do with it? You made me think about it. 😉 On the other side, I'm glad you had a good harvest year. On a scale, is this year just good, or incredibly amazing numbers?