Norby Inc. was honored to join Sidney Sugar’s exclusive 20/20 Club during the annual Top 10 luncheon held last Wednesday.
Rocky Norby started farming with his dad Richard in 1974 and enjoyed that partnership until 1997. Rocky’s wife Lori joined the family in 1979. In 1993, Norbys started growing sugar beets along the Missouri River near Culbertson, and rented out their Sidney ground. Matt Stedman started farming with Norby in 2011. “I’m excited for it,” he said. “I love what I do.”
This year, the Culbertson land produced 26.69 tons per acre and 20.06 sugar on 1404 acres, an amazing accomplishment according to Sidney Sugars agricultural manager Duane Peters.
Norby has no explanation for the excellent crop other than almost perfect weather. “We used the same fertilizer and the same seed as usual,” he said. They plant mostly Beta seed along with some Crystal. They were able to plant almost two weeks early and got some frost. “We had five nights under 23, but the beets didn’t die,” Norby said. There was also no hail damage. “The weather was perfect,” he added.
Norby plants for sugar rather than tonnage. Having to haul from the field to the pilers, and then pay freight from Culbertson to the factory in Sidney, it pays to raise sugar, not beets. “It’s more money in our pocket,” Norby explained.
About the 2015 crop, Norby said, “I’d take this crop any day, over and over.”
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