Farmstead Sugar Project
Field beets, including
mangels (also known as
mangel-wurzels, wurzels,
and mangolds), fodder
beets, and sugar beets,
have recently captured
our interest as a new crop
with a lot of potential.  In
2008 we grew 1/4 acre of
mangels for the start-up
distillery Caledonia
Spirits located in
Hardwick, VT.  From
this 1/4 acre plot we grew
approximately 5 tons.  
While mangels are an
excellent livestock feed in
their own right (and we
did feed many to our
cows, pigs and chickens)
we became especially
interested in of-farm
methods to add value to
the sugar present in these
types of beets.
Field beets have a very high water content and have sugar levels
ranging from 4 to 18% and yields ranging from 15 to 30 tons per
acre.  Having given mangels a try, now we are interested in the
potential of fodder beets and sugar beets.  We hope that some
new varieties which have performed well in field trials in
Pennsylvania will do well here too.
    Nationally, sugar beets are exclusively a GMO crop, and are
traded at around $50 per ton.  Facilities to make sugar and ethanol
from them are very large and industrial in nature.  However we
learned from some experts in maple crystal sugar making and
from activist Brian Stienberg's blog that there is no reason that
sugar making can't be carried out on a smaller scale.

Beet sugar was made in the pre-war era at times and in
places when cane sugar was not available.  It is
sucrose-based and crystallizes readily, unlike the sugar
found in sorghum or even maple sap.  The beet molasses is
also a useful by-product.  Additionally, a time-proven use of
the field beet is to supply raw sugars to ferment into grain
alcohol.  Though I doubt cropping beets to make fuel
ethanol will ever be environmentally or economically
sustainable, that is not to say that there is not a good
opportunity for some nice vodka or gin!

For a farm like ours though, crystal sugar seems like a
good way to add value to the crop without the licensing
rigor required of a distillery.  Reducing the beets to a juice,
boiling it down, and precipitating crystals requires a fairly
basic array of skills and equipment.

We have submitted a proposal to NESARE to research the
cropping of non-GMO field beets and their subsequent
processing into crystal sugar.  We aim to develop a model
for farms wishing to make the modest quantity of five tons
of sugar or less per year.
To the right you can see about
eight pounds of mangel after
being passed through a juicer.  
75% of the weight of the beet
becomes a red juice.  The pulp,
to the left, is fluffy and feels like
damp sawdust.  This process,
while different from that used by
large-scale manufacturers,
extracts the vast majority of the
sugars and is readily implemented
by the small producer.
Mangel Man!  Spooky!  Scary!  This
particular mangel was struck by a
cultivator tine while growing, and healed
over the wound in a funny way.  The eyes
are tangerines.
If our proposal is approved we will be going ahead with this
exciting new work with an old cultivar, in hopes of adding a new
food item to the repertoire of the Northeast's small farmers.  
Check this page in early spring for more news about this project!