Sugar beet harvest has started here in Bay County and all across mid-Michigan. This is the 107th year that beets have been harvested and processed in Bay City and much has changed in the last 100 years.

This year, growers will harvest nearly 3.5 million tons of beets and deliver 140,000 truckloads to our plants and receiving stations. Years ago, horsedrawn wagons brought in beets. Today, 20, 30, and even 40-ton truckloads haul the crop to the factories. At this time of year, there is an increase in truck traffic. We ask for your patience and awareness of this additional traffic. Also, remember that these truckloads of sugar beets are the fuel that drives the economic engine of Bay County's fifth-largest employer. The sugar beet crop pumps nearly $350 million into the economy of mid-Michigan and provides employment to 1,700 people. Without truckload after truckload of beets, there would be no sugar industry.

Once the crop is delivered, we process by ''cooking'' it and separating out the impurities. A sugar beet is a vegetable, no different than cabbage, broccoli or cauliflower, and when it is processed, or cooked, an aroma is generated - just like cauliflower on your stovetop.

A sugar beet has a very high concentration of sucrose (sugar), 15-20 percent. The majority of the root, however, is water, making up nearly 75 percent of the plant. During the processing season, not only do we make about 1 billion pounds of sugar, we also ''make'' many, many gallons of water. Much of this water is evaporated during the process and can be seen as a white water vapor plume when driving by our facilities. Oftentimes, that vapor is thought to be smoke; it is not.

The water that is not evaporated contains a certain amount of sugar and vegetable matter. In order to properly treat this water that is not evaporated, we have water treatment plants located on our factory sites. In Bay City, our water treatment facility is equivalent in size to that of one used by a municipality of 250,000 citizens. We understand that if this facility is not operated effectively, it may emit disagreeable odors. In addition to employing our own environmental managers to ensure good operations, in 2002 we contracted the services of Environmental Management Corp., a national leader in operating wastewater treatment facilities for industries and many municipalities. This had been done to optimize the performance of our treatment system and avoid odor upsets.

An ongoing challenge to our facility that has been operating in Bay City continuously for the past 107 years is the changing landscape surrounding our factory as a result of rezoning. What used to be an isolated operation with open fields surrounding us now has been developed into residential neighborhoods. Having so many people choosing to live near our factory has had financial consequences. Over the last 10 to 15 years, Michigan Sugar Co. and our predecessor, Monitor Sugar Co., have invested over $40 million at the Bay City facility to upgrade processes and to reduce odors in order to be good stewards of the environment, as well as good neighbors.

Does any equipment work perfectly 24 hours per day, 365 days a year? No. When our equipment breaks down, malfunctions or is shut down for repairs, we sometimes will experience additional odors. If you smell an unusual or disagreeable odor, the fastest way to understand a problem, and help us remedy it, is to call our office at (989) 686-0161, and ask for Ray VanDriessche, director of community and government relations. He will either be able to explain to you the probable cause and duration of the problem or he will follow up with the factory and get back to you with how the issue is being resolved.

Much has changed during the last 100 years in our process and it continues to change each and every year. Last year, Michigan Sugar Co. installed a $14 million ''steam pulp dryer,'' which dries our pulp in an environmentally friendly manner while reducing our fuel consumption by nearly one third. One thing, however, which has not changed in the last 100 years is that a sugar beet is still a vegetable and when a vegetable is cooked, it has an aroma.

The 1,200 family farmers who collectively own Michigan Sugar Co. and the 1,700 employees of our cooperative work hard to make Michigan Sugar Co. a viable and environmentally responsible part of the communities in which we operate.

- Mark S. Flegenheimer is president and chief executive officer of Michigan Sugar Co., headquartered in Monitor Township.