Photos: Harvesting sugar beets in the Red River Valley

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Sugar beet rows on David Kragnes' farm outside of Moorhead, Minn. on Monday, Oct. 8, 2012. First, the green leaves are cut off the top of the sugar beet. The rows at left are unharvested; the rows in the middle have been 'topped.' (MPR Photo/Nathaniel Minor) (Read the story) link to this photo

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David Kragnes' wife Peggy operates a sugar beet topper. (MPR Photo/Nathaniel Minor) (Read the story) link to this photo

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The harvester, at left, picks, cleans and transfers the beets to a truck that drives next to it. (MPR Photo/Nathaniel Minor) (Read the story) link to this photo

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The harvester and truck drivers must communicate constantly as they drive side-by-side. (MPR Photo/Nathaniel Minor) (Read the story) link to this photo

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Farmer David Kragnes' tractor uses GPS coordinates to follow the same path he used when the beets were planted in the spring. (MPR Photo/Nathaniel Minor) (Read the story) link to this photo

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Farmer David Kragnes describes harvesting sugar beets to a reporter on his farm. (MPR Photo/Nathaniel Minor) (Read the story) link to this photo

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Farmer David Kragnes has harvested beets for 46 years. He started when he was 15 years old. (MPR Photo/Nathaniel Minor) (Read the story) link to this photo

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Farmer David Kragnes holds a sugar beet stem. He said hard frost turns the stem and leaves into a mixture of "dental floss and snot." Weather conditions have been ideal this year though, he said. (MPR Photo/Nathaniel Minor) (Read the story) link to this photo

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A pulled sugar beet rests on David Kragnes' harvester. (MPR Photo/Nathaniel Minor) (Read the story) link to this photo

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A truck carrying harvested sugar beets from David Kragnes' farm heads toward the American Crystal Sugar processing plant in Moorhead. Over two weeks this fall, about 900 million tons of beets will be hauled to factories in the Red River Valley where they're washed, sliced and cooked to extract the sugar. (MPR Photo/Nathaniel Minor) (Read the story) link to this photo