Early Completion of the “Harvest”

 Good morning !

So the harvest completed early due to the great weather that was had! I must apologize for not posting every day once the harvest begun but 12 hour days don’t leave much time to update ,sleep and eat.

So the main job a helper/sample taker does is guide the trucks under the “tear” belt which is the dirt left over from the beats in the truck once they go through the piler. We also 50% of the trucks coming in we would pull a sample of the beets and bag them (about 25lbs) and put them in a pile.We would also keep the beets out of the driving area of the piler and truck cause they do make a mess so the goal is to keep your working area clean.

Piler

So a couple of days we had to shut down cause the beets internal temperature was over 55º and to high of a temperature does not do good for the sugar content internally.

I was also cross trained to operate the piler as well which will be great for future employment at the next harvest!

The day shift team was just awesome,we all worked together as a team to accomplish the harvest which has to be done so everyone (some) can have sugar! The process (I found) to be very interesting yet not complex..so basic. Now I would like to see the “rest of the story” to see what happens next to the beats.

Over all the experience was great and what I hear last year was horrible due to the weather.

I do believe if time and health permits I will be back next year to give it a whirl again.The only thing that is difficult is the 12 hour days on your feet! You get a 10-15 minute break In the am an pm and a 30 minute lunch. It’s real dusty and can be warm or cold..Now the night shift is a whole different dynamic which I really do not want to experience seeing that I’m normally to sleep by 10:15-10:30pm...

I also was trained on how to operate a front end loader and a skid loader,both fun by the way!

So bottom line if you're thinking ,hey I want to try the sugar beet harvest ? It's not for everyone, it's long days and 7 days a week if the weather is good. Your crew could be hit or miss and the age of the workers ranges from 23 + to 70 and up so it's clearly a range. The monies paid are ok and everyones situation is different.

I truly feel that if you look at it with a positive attitude you can do it! But I must say if it snowed or was very cold not sure how I would of done it? This year was a in ,my eyes a perfect storm! For me this will be the one to compare the rest to. Also remember if there is a problem don't just quit talk to the supervisor and get it worked out cause everyone likes sugar and the job truly does need to get done!

So I hope this gives you all a perspective on "sugar beets" and the importance of the sugarbeet harvest it truly can be a great experience or as they say the unbeatable experience!

So take care and see ya soon!

In His Grip

Lark 

any questions feel free to ask!