MaizieD
I fund a video of sugar beet being harvested. The enormous machine cleaned most of the soil from the beet before it was tipped into a wagon to be taken away.
I therefore assume that this machine is not in general use, or, that there was still sufficient residue on the beets for the processors to clean it off and make some money for it.
I was thinking about the impaction of the soil as I watched it, NotSpaghetti. Not only was the machine itself massive, but so was the tractor pulling it, as were the separate tractor and trailer the beet was being discharged into.
And, TBH, I thought that the small amount of leaf being cut off and left on the soil wasn't really going to make a huge amount of difference to the soil fertility or structure. (I say this, knowing how far numerous bags of well rotted stable manure doesn't go on my veg plot...)
We consider sugar beet farming good work for this area.
The machinery/ costs are enormous, but worth farming.
Not everyone agrees.