Vintage Sugar Beet Harvest 2026 in Denmark - Traktorfolket

Some really cool tractors on display at Traktorfolkets (Tractorpeople) annual sugar beet harvest event in Northern Denmark. Trakforfolket is a small group of passionate vintage tractor and farming people, they meet several times a year to showcase their vintage tractors in the field. 53 participants in this event. The sugar beet harvest, known in Denmark as roehøst, holds a legendary place in Danish agricultural heritage, particularly across the fertile, heavy clay soils of Lolland and Falster. Known historically as det hvide guld, or the white gold, sugar beets were a cornerstone of the regional economy, and the annual autumn harvest was the most demanding period of the farming year. Before full tractor mechanization, harvesting beets was an intensive manual effort involving hundreds of field workers, including the historic Roepolakker—seasonal workers who came from Poland starting in the late nineteenth century. Laborers used specialized hand forks to loosen beets from the soil, cut off the leafy tops with heavy beet knives, and loaded the crop manually into horse-drawn wagons. The post-World War II era transformed Danish farming as American Marshall Plan aid and European manufacturing brought iconic vintage tractors to every corner of the country. Small to mid-sized diesel and petrol tractors quickly replaced draft horses. Mid-century classics such as the Ferguson TEA-20, Massey Ferguson 35 and 135, Fordson Major, Deutz D-series, and Volvo BM models became ubiquitous sights in Danish fields during October and November. Local Danish machinery manufacturers played a central role in designing dedicated harvesting equipment for these tractors. Companies like Tim, Thyregod, Maska, and Dronningborg developed towed single-row and two-row lifters and toppers. Early mechanized harvesting was a multi-step process: the tractor-driven topper first shaved off the leafy green tops, which were collected for livestock feed, while a trailing lifter pulled the beets from the heavy soil, cleaned off excess dirt using rotating chains or sprockets, and deposited them into windrows or elevated them straight into wooden tipping trailers. Once loaded, tractors hauled the heavy wagons to local loading ramps or railway sidings. On Lolland and Falster, an extensive network of narrow-gauge industrial railways known as roebanerne transported millions of tons of beets directly to giant sugar factories in towns like Nakskov, Nykøbing Falster, and Holeby. Today, this rich tradition is kept alive by agricultural preservation groups such as Dansk Veteran Traktor Klub. Every autumn, enthusiasts gather in fields across Denmark to operate restored 1950s and 1960s tractors alongside vintage single-row harvesters, preserving the sounds, smells, and history of the classic Danish roehøst.