Limited yield: High costs force Northwest Montana farmers to restrict wheat planting
Farmers harvest wheat in farmland along Columbia Falls Stage. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake FILE)
Winter wheat grows in rows at Montana State University's Northwestern Agricultural Research Center in Creston on Wednesday, March 27, 2024. (Casey Kreider/Daily
Casey Kreider
Maggie Sands lays out spring wheat seeds on germination paper while she and research associate Dan Porter perform germination tests at Montana State University's Northwestern Agricultural Research Center in Creston on Wednesday, March 27, 2024. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Malcolm Manning clears wheat from the header of a combine while harvesting along Columbia Falls Stage on Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Tryg Koch uses a sprayer to apply a pre-emergent herbicide before planting mustard crops along Sonstelie Road on Monday, April 20. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Tryg Koch uses a sprayer to apply a pre-emergent herbicide before planting mustard crops along Sonstelie Road on Monday, April 20. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Johnny Burt uses an air seeder to plant rows of mustard crops along Sonstelie Road on Monday, April 20. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Tryg Koch uses a sprayer to apply a pre-emergent herbicide before planting mustard crops along Sonstelie Road on Monday, April 20. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Tryg Koch uses a sprayer to apply a pre-emergent herbicide before planting mustard crops along Sonstelie Road on Monday, April 20. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
A farmer cultivates a field along Whitefish Stage Road on Tuesday, April 21. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Johnny Burt and Tryg Koch check the seed depth of newly-planted rows of mustard along Sonstelie Road on Monday, April 20. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Johnny Burt gets into a tractor to plant mustard seeds along Sonstelie Road on Monday, April 20. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
A field of winter wheat is seen at the Northwestern Agriculture Research Center’s Field Day in 2025. (Photo courtesy of the Northwestern Agriculture Research Center)
A variety of winter wheat called “Yellowstone” is seen at the Northwestern Agriculture Research Center’s Field Day in 2025. (Photo courtesy of the Northwestern Agriculture Research Center)
A field of winter wheat is seen at the Northwestern Agriculture Research Center’s Field Day in 2025. (Photo courtesy of the Northwestern Agriculture Research Center)
Wheat is Montana’s top agricultural crop. Known for its high quality, the state’s wheat makes its way around the world, eventually becoming a variety of baked goods, noodles and pasta.
But turning the grain into staple foods sold at the bakery and served on the dinner table is facing challenges, as market constraints and the high cost to produce a decent yield have led some Flathead farmers to forgo planting this spring.
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