Nolan (left) and Larry Tveit.
The Tveit Land and Cattle Company, Culbertson and Fairview, has earned top honors this year in the Sidney Sugars Incorporated annual Top Ten growers list. Brothers Larry and Nolan Tveit brought in an outstanding sugarbeet crop this year which earned them the number 1 ranking in the 50-246 acre category.
The Tveits, farming together since they both graduated from high school, have an irrigated farm in Culbertson and a dryland farm between Sidney and Culbertson. With the exception of a two-year hiatus, the Tveits have grown sugarbeets for the past two decades and in that 20 years, the brothers have made the top ten list five times and earned the top spot this year for the second time.
The brothers enjoy growing sugarbeets, but they stopped planting the crop in 2007 due to seemingly insurmountable weed issues, but in 2009 they once again began growing beets, thanks to Roundup Ready varieties. “Kochia is the number 1 weed problem for us, and because of weed populations, we didn’t grow beets for two years”’ says Larry Tveit. “Roundup Ready beets allowed us to control weeds. Sugarbeets are a viable crop now because of the price of sugar, so we started growing them again in 2009. If we can grow a crop that brings a return, we will do it.”
The Tveits have an established rotation, and this year, because of the massive flooding experienced by so many growers, luck played a role in their success. “We have land under flood irrigation and land under pivots,” Larry remarks. “We hit the right year in our rotations for sugarbeets as this was the year we planted them on the flood irrigated fields. The land we have under pivots we couldn’t plant this year because it was under water.”
The brothers do not feel they do anything unusual to produce an outstanding crop. They do agree, however, that although Mother Nature, of course dictates the weather, sound management practices do make a difference in success rate. “Any grower can be in the top ten in any given year,” says Larry. “Mother Nature is key; we cannot control the weather we get. However, management is important.”
“Timing is very important,” adds Nolan. “Timing is more crucial in a sugarbeet crop than it is in many other crops. Paying attention to detail is required. If the crop needs sprayed on Sunday, spray on Sunday, not on Saturday or Monday.”
Harvest brings its own set of challenges, from finding help to adverse weather conditions. The Tveits find farming in Culbertson, particularly when harvest time rolls around, slightly different than farming a few miles further south, as those few miles often mean a change in weather conditions and may require a change of harvest plans. “There are different conditions in Culbertson,” says Larry. “It generally gets colder earlier, but this year it was too warm and we were shut down for a week, which caused problems with our harvest crew. However, it is in everyone’s best interest for beets to store well, and we see more pile loss when beets are brought in too hot, so we understood the delay.”
Another key factor in a successful harvest lies in the abilities of the harvest crew. “Having the proper employees is important,” Larry remarks. “A good harvest crew gives you an edge, and it also makes it easier and a little less stressful. If you have good weather, a good crop, and a good crew, it really helps.”
Nolan adds, “It’s getting harder to find people to help. Harvest is always stressful, but it can be fun, too, when the weather cooperates. I think this year, after the heat delay, we had a nearly perfect harvest. This let us get the beets out more quickly with a short crew. The crew made it possible.”
The Tveits do not plan to make any significant changes for next year. They also expect to see sugarbeet crops continue to improve, thanks to better seed. “We’ll follow our normal rotation,” Larry concludes. “The sugarbeet companies are coming out with new and better seed and with more disease-resistant packages. This will help everyone have better crops.”
Congratulations to the Tveits for bringing in a super crop.
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