Beets could produce trifold crop of biofuel, food and cash

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by Kirk Starratt/The Advertiser
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Article online since September 16th 2008, 13:50

BY KIRK STARRATT Kings County Register With the first crop less than a month from harvest, an energy company is already looking for growers for the next growing season.

Atlantec BioEnergy Corporation (ABC) has contracts in place for 520 acres of sugar beets for ethanol production across Nova Scotia this year and has been hosting field days with growers to demonstrate the merits of the crop.

ABC held one such field day in Northville Aug. 26 at the farm of John and Peter Swetnam. The Swetnams have a crop of ABC’s sugar beets in the ground, and John Swetnam said this particular variety is a long-season beet and the land they’re planted in is too heavy for carrots or onions. They used to grow table beets for Avon Foods in the 1980s, and the sugar beets could be an alternative crop.

“All farmers are optimistic,” he said. “Everyone is looking for another alternative for crop rotation and cash flow.”

Although yields have yet to be determined, John said the crop could be of value: it’s a Roundup-ready variety and would help keep weeds off the land.

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