Growing sugar beets | Agriculture Farming Simulator 2013 Guide

Basics

Sugar beet is the first of two types of plants that require performing an additional process during the harvest. Before we begin collecting them, though, we first need to plant them. Preparing the field is identical to corn - simply use the cultivator. Since we're using the AMAZONE EDX 6000 sowing machine again, planting the sugar beet seeds is easy. Once we've chosen the correct type of seeds (you can switch between them using O), seed the field, fertilize it and speed up time while waiting for the crops to ripe.

AMAZONE EDX 6000 in the starting position.

When the plants are ripe, the whole field will turn green. The first thing to do while harvesting sugar beet is the so-called defoliation, which is the separation of the leaves from the pulps. To do it, use the Grimme BM 300 machine (costs 17650$). Attach it to a tractor and drive over the plants. In this case, we can move at maximum speed - the process will only take a while. As a result we will get a field with ready to be harvested pulps.

Ripe sugar beets. Now we need to separate the leaves and harvest the pulps.

The next step involves collecting proper biomass. We can do it by using another machine - Grimme Rootster 604, which costs 98980$. Attach it to a tractor, turn it on and set out into the field. Harvest at cruise control at 2. When the vehicle is full, unload the sugar beets into a trailer; now you can either store them in a storage building or sell them. NOTE! The current version of the game won't always allow the harvester to unload automatically. When that happens, simply switch to it and lower it (V), and the sugar beets will be unloaded into the trailer.

Harvesting sugar beet with Grimme Rootster 604.

If you want to grow sugar beet on a larger scale, it pays off to invest in Grimme Maxtron 620. It will allow you to perform defoliation and harvest pulps at the same time, which speeds the whole process up significantly, thus increasing the productivity of our work. The only problem is the price - it costs almost half a million dollars.

If you want to harvest sugar beet, then only with Grimme Maxtron 620.

Growing sugar beets

Buying a sugar beets planter.

Growing sugar beets - just like potatoes and corn - is rather expensive at first. You have to start by buying the necessary equipment. Buy the AMAZONE EDX 6000 for 58 000 $.

You have to fill it up, just like every other sower or planter.

Don't forget to fill it up - the cost of filling it up to 100% is around 800 $, at the same place as the other types.

The big width speeds makes for a rather fast process.

Time for planting. The field needs to be cultivated beforehand. The width of the machine is big (6 meters) and you can also hire a worker, so the whole process will be fast and pleasant. The sugar beet grows as fast as the potato - just remember about spraying the field (!). At this point, just like with the potato, you have two options.

Defoliating with this machine is long because of the small width.

Option 1: minimalistic. Buy the Grimme BM 300 for 17 650 $ to perform the defoliating (getting rid of the leaves). The width of this implement is relatively small (3,3 m) and the speed limited to cruise control 2. Unfortunately, you cannot hire a worker to do it for you.

Working with this simple harvester isn't very comfortable, as you cannot hire a worker to do it.

The second step is buying the Grimme Rootster 604 for 98 980 $. It collects 6 rows of sugar beets at once. Unfortunately, it also doesn't let you hire a worker do to your job. The tank's capacity is 6000 l, but it fills up very fast. The profitability of the investment is as follows:

Investment (minimum version): 174 630 $ (58 000 $ for the planter, 17 650 $ for the defoliation implement and 98 980 $ for the combine; the price doesn't include the sprayer);

Return on investment: a dozen or so days;

Conclusion: growing the sugar beet is very profitable, but in order to gain money faster, you shouldn't invest in the cheaper machines.

This combine makes growing sugar beets really worth your time.

Option 2: optimum. If you want to earn a considerable amount of money and plant sugar beets on a bigger scale, you should consider investing in the Grimme Maxtron 620 combine which costs 479 990 $. It doesn't require prior defoliation, it works at speed 2, you can hire a worker to control it and the tank capacity is around 30 000 l.

Investment (optimum): around 513 960 $ (58 000 $ for the planter and 479 990 $ for the combine; sprayer not included);

Return on investment: a dozen or so days (it's a profitable investment in a longer run);

Conclusion: growing sugar beets is very profitable and at the same time very convenient with the proper machines.