THE
IS THE REWARD
Grower of the Year
Paul Rasgorshek of Nampa, Idaho
14 Sugar Producer FEBRUARY 2019
Paul Rasgorshek has no particular interest in hearing how great he is. He doesn't care for your high praise,
your accolades, your "Man, you've done some pretty great stuff."
What Sugar Producer's Grower of the Year is interested in is all the little things he does on a regular basis that
over the years have earned him the respect and recognition of his peers in the sugarbeet industry. Rasgorshek
simply and genuinely loves farming the high desert country of western Idaho, and those feelings wouldn't
change if no one ever heard his name.
"Farming is my life," he says. "It's my job, and it's my hobby."
Rasgorshek was just a kid when his father, Joe, packed up the family and left the hailstorms and dryland
farms of western Nebraska for the Treasure Valley in 1965. But from that tender age, he knew he wanted to be
a farmer.
"When I was younger, it was always my intention to come back and farm," he says. "I guess I was kind of
narrow-minded that way, but it's worked out well for me and my family. It's been fabulous."
By Tyrell Marchant, Photoes courtesy Paul Rasgorshek
