Journey to Print
How Rock Concerts and Sugar Beets Built a Writer
Big haps on the home front this week.
On Saturday, Journey and Toto rocked the Alerus Center (the AL), where, for some reason, they let concertgoers purchase up to four drinks at once.
North Dakota things.
Judging by Sunday’s slower-than-normal Grand Forks traffic, the liberal booze policy led to a fruitful day for Door Dashers delivering grease bombs to those over forty and hungover.
A pair of aging rock groups invading Grand Forks is what locals call a big deal, but that was only the beginning.
Arts for Vets
My future bride, Sheri (not to be confused with Oteri) Hartwig, was a guest on Tuesday's Grand Forks Best Source podcast. She talked about her photography career and promoted her work, which is currently displayed at the Grand Forks Art Center/Arts for Vets on Third Street downtown.
The GF Art Center is in an unfortunate spot, at the end of a one-way street near downtown’s outskirts, so hardly anybody knows about it.
But I’m telling you, kids, it’s worth a stop.
There are few art studios in Forks, which is not known for its cultural scene. If you are in town and crave art, you should stop by and check it out.
If you're hungry, head to The Hub next door without worrying about parking, as the bar and art center share the same parking lot.
Better yet, you can grab a few drinks, play blackjack, and use your winnings to purchase new art for your shop or she-shed.
Sounds like a heck of a Saturday.
Despite her fears, I am proud that m'lady had the confidence to go on a podcast. Had I been in her shoes, I’d need seven therapists and a priest to help me through it.
Way to go, love!
Check out the Grand Forks Best Source podcast by clicking the link below:
I Did a Thing
A few weeks ago, I watched a panel of agricultural speakers at the Minnesota Crop Improvement Association’s (MCIA) annual meeting in St. Cloud, Minnesota.
One of the speakers was Betsy Jensen, a farm management instructor and grain marketing guru from my hometown. I’ve long admired Betsy’s work and feel a stab of envy watching her share her ideas, both on the stage and in the farm magazines I find her writing.
As Betsy spoke, I told myself I needed to find a way to do what she does, but I had no idea how to pull it off.
Later at lunch, John and I chose seats at the last empty table before three gentlemen sat next to us. One was Brad, a farmer I'd met in the lobby bar the evening before. The second was Carl, MCIA’s new field inspector. The third guy I did not recognize.
Before long, the conversation ramped when Brad mentioned something about an idea for a magazine article to the third guy.
I wonder as I glanced at the third guy's name tag. Kevin from Informa Markets and editor of The Farmer magazine.
Huh, magazine.
How do I get this guy's attention without holding up a "Hey, I'm a writer" sign?
Think Adam, think.
Then it hit me...Brad me mentioned he was from Thief River Falls, close to the lineup of Versatile tractors I wrote about last August in this newsletter. So I turned to him and asked how far his farm was from the lineup of old iron.
After a chuckle, Brad told me Versatile guy was his neighbor who hadn't discarded a single piece of iron since Moby Dick was a minnow. We all laughed while I casually mentioned my Substack and how my lady and I snagged a bunch of pics of the tractor collection for the newsletter.
Nothing more.
The conversation continued until we wrapped up lunch and prepared to head back into the conference room when Kevin turned to me and said, hey, did you say you write articles?
Why yes, I write a digital pamphlet where I share life experiences about farming and mental health.
After informing him what Substack is (it still surprises me how many people are still unaware of Substack, which tells me there is still a ton of room for growth here), he asked me if I've considered doing any freelance writing because he's struggled to keep up with covering the entire state and could use some help.
Gee cripes, would I?
Unable to conceal my excitement, I blurted, I'd love to!
We exchanged business cards, shook hands, and returned to our seats.
A few weeks passed until mid-February when Kevin emailed me asking if I wanted to write a story for The Farmer Magazine about Red River Valley sugarbeet production.
My first freelance writing score arrived because I stuck my neck out long enough to get noticed. As an extreme self-critic and someone who usually gives up when things get tough, I am proud of myself for this achievement.
Unreal.
Earning a spot in a respected magazine was an amazing accomplishment for this North Country plowboy. It was quite the change from the normal goofball business I spit out here at the stack, but I enjoyed the challenge.
Thank you, Kevin Schulz, editor at The Farmer, for the opportunity and help with my first gig.
You’ll find the article below. If you’d like to view the original piece at The Farmer, CLICK HERE
Red River Valley Sugarbeets Storing Favorably in an Unfavorable Year
Update on Sugarbeet Slice and Outlook for 2024
This article was published on March 5, 2024, by The Farmer website from Farm Progress and Informa PLC.
“It’s not a popular opinion, but I would welcome a late-season snowstorm,” says Cory Kritzberger, Ag Operations Manager at Moorhead-based American Crystal Sugar Co.
For most Red River Valley folks, El Niño brings a favorable change from normally frigid winters. But, for a sugarbeet, abnormally warm temperatures are not so welcome.
The best way to store sugarbeets is to freeze them soon after harvest. To accomplish this, American Crystal aims to run cooling fans for 450 to 600 hours on ventilated piles as soon as the temperatures drop below zero degrees F, typically in early to mid-December.
This year, above-average temperatures kept cooling fans idle until Jan. 8, the latest Kritzberger has seen in his 28 years of experience.
To prevent spoilage, American Crystal wants the tops of ventilated piles to reach zero degrees F before blanketing the sugarbeets with tarps until late spring when they are ready to be trucked to the factories for processing.
Through Feb. 23, American Crystal’s piling sites remained at least 100 fan hours short of their goal, leaving the peaks 10 to 15 degrees higher than preferred. This forced Kritzberger and his team to experiment with newer practices, such as using a bulldozer to remove the top two feet of some piles before covering them.
Scraping the tops has disposed of 60,000 tons or less than 1% of the company’s 12.6 million tons. Removing the upper layer prevents hotspots that can cause much more spoilage.
“Imagine putting an apple in the freezer before bed at night. The next morning, you take it out and put it on the counter before leaving for work. By the time you get home, that apple will be disappointing. Sugarbeets react similarly when storage temps fluctuate,” explains Kritzberger.
Like an apple, one lousy sugarbeet spoils the bunch.
In the valley’s southern end at Minn-Dak Farmer’s Cooperative in Wahpeton, N.D., Vice President of Agriculture and Research Mike Metzger faces the same challenges.
Metzger says Minn-Dak hasn’t discarded any beets yet, but he remains concerned about the future risks.
“We are holding our own, but we understand that things can take a turn for the worse very quickly. That’s why we are relying more on technology to monitor the condition of the piles,” says Metzger. He refers to the temperature sensors placed under the tarps and the drones equipped with thermal cameras that fly at night to detect hotspots before they spread and infect large areas.
Detecting early hotspots allows the team to vent the heat from the tarps before hauling the pile to the factory, helping avoid unnecessary processing costs due to sugarbeet spoilage.
Good ’23 crop
Minn-Dak and American Crystal growers achieved phenomenal yields last year despite late planting, thanks to favorable weather and genetic advancements in seed.
Though the large crop forced growers to leave a small percentage of unharvested beets in the field, Kritzberger says American Crystal hit the sweet spot in 2023, producing enough sugarbeets to operate factories at total capacity.
According to Kritzberger, even a two-million-ton smaller crop wouldn’t solve heat-related storage issues, so producing a large crop is more of a blessing than a hindrance.
’24 optimism
Despite concerns about processing the remaining third of the 2023 crop, Metzger and Kritzberger are optimistic for the 2024 growing season.
Planting sugarbeets in mid-April yields the best crops, but late, cool springs have obstructed this in recent years.
The 2024 crop may face capacity issues since neither company has yet witnessed the potentially high yields the latest generation of seeds can produce when planted in April.
According to Metzger, planting tolerance adjustments may be something Minn-Dak needs to address in future years as they learn more about the true yield potential of modern genetics. Still, for now, the company’s proven practices will remain unchanged.
Although a warm and dry spring season is ideal for sugarbeet production, Kritzberger explains that a month of cold weather would favor American Crystal. He further adds, “March is our critical month. To process the remaining sugarbeets successfully, we need Mother Nature to lower the thermostat for a few weeks.”
Thank you so much for reading.
In the words of Journey, be good to yourself.
Take care, and I’ll catch you on the flip side.
Name dropping all my heros, nothing like scientists to get this agronomist excited. That must've been an awesome meeting. We're obviously weird people. And the four drink crappy vodka rounds did no one any favors, but what an excellent time! So proud of you and your article, it is very optimistic, which AC is not truly known for, and it a sigh of relief to this girl whose livelihood is tied to those damn piles, so I appreciate your view and theirs. And SO SO SO proud of Miss Sheri! Please support the veterans and our local artists, especially my personal favorite, Sheri Dawn Photography, and I promise you will be as shocked and amazed at what this place has to offer. I could spend hours there and I've been to museums galore. These artists don't get the recognition or support in these small towns and they are just as talented, if not more, than many I have come across. Make the trip, I promise, you won't be disappointed, like me, you'll look forward to your next visit. Great article, Adam and so proud of you and Sheri!