The average sowing date was April 4, or more than one week later than in 2014. The spring was relatively cold, dry and sunny. Northern areas were colder than normal while in the south it was significantly drier than average. It was also considerably sunnier than usual but this did not have a positive effect on the beet growth until June as the initial development phase is mainly dependent on the temperature. The growing point date was not reached until June 23, two weeks later than last year.