The return to cooler weather will help the region’s sugar beet harvest, provided fields stay dry, industry officials said Monday.

Both of the region’s sugar beet cooperatives quit harvesting temporarily be-cause of unusually warm weather over the weekend, when temperatures rose into the 80s.

Though warm weather doesn’t hurt sugar beets still in the ground, it can cause harvested beets to spoil.

Temperatures in the 30s and 40s are forecast for the next few days, with a possibility of rain today and Wednesday.

“Cooler temperatures are good, but not if they come with rain,” said Tom Knudsen, vice president of agriculture for Wahpeton, N.D.-based Minn-Dak Farmers Cooperative.

The cooperative’s 500 shareholder-farmers, who planted 100,000 acres of sugar beets, are expected to resume harvest today.

Minn-Dak harvested Wednesday and Thursday of last week before quitting temporarily.

Moorhead-based American Crystal Sugar shareholders harvested from about midnight to 9:30 a.m. Saturday, then shut down until starting up again at 8 a.m. Monday, said Jeff Schweitzer, company spokesman.

American Crystal Sugar is encouraged by the temperatures forecast for the rest of the week, although precipitation would slow harvest, he said.

The cooperative’s 3,000 shareholders planted about 500,000 acres this spring.

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