Michigan beet crop saw steady winter season

As it wraps up its current Michigan crop, the market for domestic beets looked steady throughout the winter season. “It was a pretty average year for volume,” says Jordan Bremer of Hudsonville, Mi.-based Victory Farms Sales LLC. “Pricing was pretty average this year too. It was steady pricing.”

That said, Bremer did note the beets over the winter were slightly on the smaller end. “I think a lot of that had to do with the wet weather and the hot summer,” says Bremer. “So they didn’t size up as well.”

Volume letting up

So until it harvests its new Michigan crop in July, for now, Victory Farms is sourcing beets out of Texas. “Over the winter, the demand was pretty strong for beets. That’s pretty normal but in the spring going into summer, it does go down,” says Bremer. “And our volume goes down somewhat because we’re pulling out of state and they’re more expensive with freight, so customers are less willing to pay the extra dollar. So we do decrease in volume this time of the year.”

Candy cane beets
What Victory Farms did do this season for the first time was plant Chioggia or “candy cane” beets to round out its regular beet and gold beet crops. “It was our first year growing those and we got a few customers to take those,” he says. “We’re planning on growing those again next year. If we plant the same amount as last year, then we’ll be in good shape for the upcoming year. I don’t see a huge increase or spike in demand for them at this point.”

For more information:
Jordan Bremer
Victory Farms Sales LLC
Tel: +1 616 797-6690
jordanrbremer@gmail.com