Top Saving

Over the years, sugar beet harvesting has gone through different stages. In the early days, the foliage on top of the beets was saved and fed to livestock. Then, when feeding fell out of style in the 80's and 90's, the tops were pretty much always defoliated. Well today, top saving is back. 

There is quite a bit of feed value in the green leaves that adorn a sugar beet. But often, the work involved in saving and feeding the tops is more effort than it's worth. Not for the Lungrens. South Flat Land and Livestock has been saving beet tops for the past few years. Here's an example of a field on the south edge of the Worland city limits. 

Grandpa Adam farmed this same ground in the late 30' or early 40's. Here he stands with is son Lloyd, my grandfather, in about that era. Back then, you lived by the shovel. 

Sugar beet production has come a long ways, especially in weed control. Even through a light freeze, their top foliage remains green. It is a good source of feed, even into the late spring.  

Once the top is removed you can dig the beet, which is about 10" in the ground. Even if you defoliate the tops and leave them lay, cattle and sheep can still find and graze on them. One big problem though, has to do with the crown of the beet. It is pretty common to get lodged in a critter's throat. About the only way to tend with that, is to rope and tube the poor thing. Hence, guys getting away from feeding tops. 

If I have my facts straight, the way the Lungrens are saving tops today avoids beet crowns altogether. First they go through and windrow the leaves themselves. Then, with a different unit, they slice the crown off the beet, which is needed to properly process the beet at the factory. This two-fold action keeps the tops in good, clean position to be fed and leaves the crowns in the beet row where the cows are less likely to stumble upon them. 

Worland is back to feeding cattle through the winter. Feedlots are popping up all around the Basin. It is also a good area to winter cows in the field. It takes some extra work, but beet tops are still a good source of feed. It just takes a little ingenuity to feed them right. Country boys can survive.