Wheat was once the dominant crop of North Dakota and adjacent areas -- so important that it was known as “King Wheat.” In recent decades, however, the western and northern push of soybeans and corn has cut into wheat acres, with corn and soybeans often promising greater economic returns reports The Bismarck Tribune.
“But that’s changed, not only in spreading out harvest, but also because soil health has become a buzzword. Wheat does a lot for soil health, and it will help for generations,” Brad Thykeson, who, in addition to farming, is director of the North Dakota Farm Service Agency, told the Tribune.
The value of spreading out harvest — wheat is harvested much earlier than many other crops, including corn and soybeans — was particularly obvious this fall. Uncooperative weather, including significant snowfall in some areas, has complicated and delayed harvest, especially of soybeans.
Soybeans are close to the ground, so harvesting them in snow is challenging. That could cause some farmers, who struggled to harvest beans this fall, to plant more wheat in 2019.
Read the full report here.
