From humble beginnings, the sugar beet has blossomed into a key commodity. Minnesota Agricultural Statistics Service records show that the 28,000 acres of beets planted in 1924 grew to 155,000 acres by 1970. In 1998, about 465,000 acres were planted in Minnesota, yielding more than eight million tons of beets.

Sugar beets are raised in about 25 Minnesota counties from the Red River Valley to southwestern Minnesota. And Minnesota is home to two sugar processors: American Crystal Sugar Co. in Moorhead, Minn.; and Southern Minnesota Beet Sugar Cooperative in Renville, Minn.

Sugar is a lucrative industry and there have only been isolated attempts to develop new uses from this root crop.

“The industry is always interested in finding new uses and new markets for sugar. These endeavors are usually on the private sector side of the industry,” says Thomas Schwartz, executive vice president of the Beet Sugar Development Foundation. “We are doing considerable research on the agronomic side of increased sugar beet production and there is considerable research being conducted on increased recovery of sugar from sugar beets.”

Past research projects have included studying beet potential for ethanol, dietary fiber and yeast production. Beets have also been used to produce ribose, a complex sugar beneficial to recovering heart surgery patients.