HUSA Nov 13 2026 - Zeb Hughes

Sugar Beet Harvesting Operations

Zeb is running three semi-trucks with 38-foot live-bottom chain-floor trailers near Johnstown, Colorado, after completing work in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. The trucks haul beets to a ground pile, from which the sugar plant's own trucks transport them roughly 50 miles to the processing facility. Yields are reportedly in the 30-ton range but vary by field. A key challenge is temperature management, as beets must not exceed around 50 degrees when piled, causing operations to shut down or route loads directly to the plant during warm weather. Field conditions near Denver are currently favorable due to clay soil packed by adequate moisture, unlike muddier conditions reported by contacts in Minnesota.