MGGA Weekly Crop Condition Survey
SEPTEMBER 19, 2023 - Final Crop Survey
Carter County - Michael Hansen
Got started seeding winter wheat on the 15th. First field was borderline to wet which is a relief. Been five years since we have seeded winter wheat into moisture. Fertilizer plant has a broken leg so they have been delivering fertilizer to me from Wolf Point, glad they are footing that bill. The big rain we got the first of September sure has greened everything up. Seeding the canola stubble today, feel like an Iowa corn farmer seeding into a cover crop. Dad finished hauling the last contract of wheat to the flour mill from last year today. Was going to seed winter wheat into the sorghum, but it also enjoyed the rain and is now about as good as when we cut it the first time, so my cowboys said I better not track it all down. Looks like the cows will have a good treat all winter out there. The balers are cleaned up, so they will not be coming out to bale it. All in all, even with the struggles of the dry spring, we still filled all the bins. So I’m afraid any complaints would fall on deaf ears. Hope to have 3/4 of the winter wheat seeded by Friday before the rain they have predicted comes. Although in April, the last time we were seeding and the chance of rain was in the horizon, it was nothing but wind. So anyone’s best guess, but even with that in mind I doubt there will be much sleep had this week. Moisture conditions are good.
Fergus County - Robert Bold
We are just getting started seeding. Having a hard time getting the chem fallow to green up so we can spray. The question is do we wait a few days for the predicted rain or not. After being married for over 16,425 days, Annette & I took a little road trip over the weekend. Have never seen south central Montana, so green this time of the year. Had a piano tuner here last week. In his piano manufactures book, I can't believe how many piano manufactures there once was compared to today. Just the same as agriculture. The list of just tractor manufactures alone that are history. Like my grandpa's first tractor--Chalmers. Later Allis Chalmers. Also gone are Oliver, David Brown, Co-op, Cockshutt, Wagner, Woods-Copeland, M&M, White, Fordson--just the tip of the iceberg. The land mass is still being farmed, just with fewer players. Have a good seeding season and fall! Remember: never before in history has it never again rained. Even though at times it seems like history is in the making. Hope to see everyone at the MGGA Convention in Great Falls. So register now! Moisture conditions are good receiving no precipitation in the past week.
Flathead County - Tryg Koch
This was definitely not a good year for dryland farmers. Yields were well below average and some were almost record lows for guys. Spring seeded crops were by far the worst, especially the oil seeds. But with all that the drills are running and we are at it again. We seeded about 340 acres of some winter canola and will put in 625 of winter wheat. We are baling and raking the fiber hemp, so hopefully we will have a few fields done by the end of the week. We recieved a bunch of rain right at the end of August to spur up a third cutting of hay. Hopefully we can get that done by the end of the week as well. Moisture conditions are fair receiving no precipitation in the past week. Crops are winter wheat, barley, canola, mustard, hemp and hay.
Hill County - Eric Hanson
Finished up seeding winter wheat at the end of last week. It went quick once we got going. Could have spent more time on fixing water ways, badger holes, and picking rocks. Always the case. We had two days near, or at, 90 degrees which was coupled with a relentless wind. That did not help our already dry conditions. But you know what they say about seeding in the dust. What do they say about seeding in continued drought? Seems to be quite a bit of winter wheat going in around the area. Some of ours is already up, and some is still laying in dry dirt. The tale of two seeds begin. The rain in the forecast at the end of this week doesn’t look very promising up here. Once again it will be to the south and east of us. We’ve bounced around from D1-D4 drought up here for the past 3 years. This crop year we happened to have timely rains and cooler weather until mid-way through June, and then the spigot ran dry. We still harvested near average crops, but were just a good rain or two away from something better. We have yet to receive any significant rain this fall. Thus, any replenishing of soil moisture has not happened. Hopefully that turns around. El Niño is ramping up, which historically is not the best for precipitation in our location. But only time will tell, and we will march on with faith and a positive light that moisture will return and we will have a successful 2024 crop year. Moisture conditions are poor receiving no preceipitation in the past week. Crops are winter wheat. Winter wheat is germinating.
Hill County - Trevor Wolery
Good morning to everyone. Hard to believe this is the final crop report for the year, where does the time go? Finished winter wheat planting last Thursday, but the drill may possibly go again later this week for another round or two. Majority of the ww has sprouted and is showing promise, once again needing Mother Nature to lend her helping hand. As always the sprayer will run till the snow blows in. All in all, it was a successful year in Goldstone MT, with success not being measured in monetary value but in family and health. I made some mistakes, but hopefully I can learn from those going forward. Wishing everyone a productive fall and look forward to 2024! Received no precipitation in the past week.
Judith Basin County - Greg Mathews
Bad things continue as the drill will not seed level and after 3 days of trying this and that, maybe have a bent rocker shaft. Will find out Monday and go from there. Will not get seed or fert till I know when and if the drill will be fixed. Looked at a different drill and did not like the prices one bit. For what they want, could have had 3 to 5 drills 10 years ago. Guess I should have not replaced the two hydraulic lines that had pinpoint holes in them. The year as a whole was one for the books and will be remembered for a long time. The rains that were very timely and are still happening. Great fall moisture to seed into, the great early prices for those who sold early, the large hay crop, very little hail in this area, great yields on most of the WW and Barley, great calf prices this fall; as a whole it was a great year even with all the problems that happened and are still happening. Hope everybody the best and hope you all have a great 2024 year. Moisture conditions are good receiving .2" of precipitation in the past week.
Northern Yellowstone/Eastern Stillwater County - Michelle Jones
Well 2024 wheat seeding is finally here. We’ve been in a general weather delay/lack of urgency to start seeding. We missed out on the last forecast rain - so aside from a few showers haven’t had much of note recently. We seeded in very, very dry conditions last year - this year is currently better than that. Safflower sits out in the field still. The last of the 2023 crops out there. We have been hauling some grain to the elevator - cleaning out some bins for the safflower. We’ll meter out wheat from now until next May. I’m relatively bearish on the wheat market and have quite a bit of 2024 already marketed and generally have all of 2023 sold and the vast majority with the basis locked. Overall I give myself a B for marketing on the year. If my 2025 contracts would get picked up, I’d have 2025 contracts sold as well. Rarely am I this bearish - but the scars of the 2014ish downturn run deep. Looking to next year - wheat acres should be pretty steady. Barley acres - we’ll see based on the contract price and contract options. We’ve got quite a bit of hay for sale - and have been gathering it up in the fields the last few weeks. Hauled off all the CRP bales. Overall, 2023 was one to remember...both the highs and the lows. Here’s hoping 2024 can repeat. Moisture conditions are good receiving no precipitation in the past week. Crops are winter wheat, barley and safflower.
Teton County - Mitch Konen
Crops were outstanding for me this year, both in quantity and quality. With close to 6" of moisture from Jan 1 to Jun 1, you couldn't have asked for much better moisture conditions to start a crop. But that is when the work began. Irrigation was the priority for the rest of the summer as we have only received a little over an inch of moisture since June 1. Water ran out in our irrigation system around the 20th of Aug, which limited what we could irrigate for winter wheat production. So we will rely on Mother Nature from here on to replenish the soil moisture and to start a new year of snowpack. Overall, the crops in the area were relatively good from the coffee shop talk. It has become drier than a popcorn fart and the fire danger is high with all of the grass growth on the short-grass prairie and road ditches from the early rains. I did get quite a few bushels hauled to town of barley and wheat at harvest time so on-farm storage capacity was not an issue. By the looks of the local elevators and the ground piles, it was a good year for most. Now if we can just get some trade movement of grain and favorable prices to go along with it, we can get some healing after the last couple of short years due to drought. There is a lot of hay and straw movement in the country to bolster the feed stores of producers as well. Have a good fall and winter as we start off another crop cycle. Moisture conditions are poor receiving no precipitation in the past week. Crops are winter wheat, spring wheat, barley and hay. Winter wheat, spring wheat and barley are harvested.
SEPTEMBER 12, 2023
Carter County - Michael Hansen
Sold the yearling steers this week, absolutely great price on them. Made up for the price of grain this year. Put new tires on the farming tractor. Started cleaning winter wheat. Had a few little showers that shut that down for a couple hours. Other than that just getting ready to start seeding. Moisture conditions are good.
Fergus County - Robert Bold
Getting ready to seed winter wheat. Waiting for something to green up in the chem fallow. Greening up good in the stubble we have harrowed. Hoppers will be a problem with the winter wheat edges. I like history. In the 1700's before the Revolutionary War, Thomas Jefferson was in France. One day he went to the country. There he witnessed poverty among the peasants. He stopped and talked to a peasant women. She told him of her struggles including food. Jefferson asked why she did not go across the road as the land was abundant with stags (deer). She told him that was the King's land and was reserved for his and his nobles. But the king and his nobles made their living from taxing, oppressing and restricting the peasants. She said "the king just has too much land". Jefferson vowed that that would not be the case in America. Fast forward, today, government ownership of land as grown and continues to grow to about 39%. It is primarily controlled by the head of the Executive Branch, his "nobles"--agencies. Their primary income is taxation from the regulated citizens. It seems "the king just has too much land". Just thought I would fill in the crop report space. Hope to be done seeding winter wheat before the 25th. Best fall moisture and seeding conditions in 4 years. Moisture conditions are good receiving .4" of precipitation in the past week.
Hill County - Eric Hanson
Here we go again. Seeding into less than ideal conditions, dry and hot as it can be for this time of year, and not a single drop of rain in the two week forecast. We are almost exactly where we were last year. Perhaps slightly drier. Haven’t had any rain for months. Despite all that, we started making loose furrows on the 9th, hoping to get the seed into any hint of moisture we might have before it’s entirely gone. There’s no smell of sweet, damp earth when checking depth. No moist dirt on the packer wheels. No chance of being stuck anywhere but in this state of confusion. The only thing green in my view of the country is the hood of the tractor, and not much of that color reveals itself from below the dust. It feels crazy. Probably is crazy. We’ve very well gone mad. But crazy people don’t sit around wondering if they are nuts. We’ll be done by the end of the week and we’ll hand the rest off to the good Lord. And the grasshoppers. It’s going to rain one day, and when it does the seed will be there where it needs to be. Moisture conditions are poor receiving no preceipitation in the past week.
Hill County - Trevor Wolery
Days have been running together lately around here. Drill is still rolling and to break up the monotony one can crawl on the sprayer. First planted WW is up and “rowable” with a drive by which is always a sign of relief. Smoke has left and given us back our blue sky with our weather being the typical quiet and dry days of late summer. Moisture conditions are poor receiving no precipitation in the past week.
Judith Basin County - Greg Mathews
Got 0.21 rain this last weekend, was on the edge of the storms. North of here, Moccasin and Lewistown got way more close to 2 inches or more. Still some harvesting going on, may be done this next week. Seeding looks to be on hold waiting for the cheat and volunteer grains, weeds to come after the rains. The country is still green which is a nice change from the dried up look that normally is. Will spray and seed as soon as I can. Hopefully next week. Hope every one has a great week. Moisture conditions are good receiving .21" of precipitation in the past week.
McCone/Dawson County - Trevor Schock
We finally finished up harvest this weekend. The last 30 acre patch that was too green when the rest of the field was cut took most of Friday to finish with a 20 mile move each way. Overall it was a good harvest. Yields had a wide range and showed which areas received precipitation and those that didn't. Also this weekend, after finishing harvest, we received about 0.75" of some much needed rain. The mustard this year averaged from below normal 500 lbs/acre to above normal around 1000 lbs/acre. Yellow peas were about average or a little better at 35-45 bu/acre. The wheat was also really varied, with recrop going anywhere from upper 20s to 40 bu/acre and fallow wheat doing 40-60 bu/acre. We are very thankfull for all of our friends and neighbors that helped us with a snooth harvest. We are now hoping for some more rain and then onto winter wheat seeding. Moisture conditions are fair receiving .75" of precipitation in the past week. Crops are spring wheat, peas and mustard. Spring wheat is harvested. Grasshoppers, pigweed and kochia are problems, but no diseases.
SEPTEMBER 5, 2023
Carter County - Michael Hansen
Well got the heifers preg checked, had a great catch on them. Shipped out the lease yearling steers. Got our steers moved closer to the corral so we could ship them. Completely rebuilt the drill new discs, scrapers, boots, and gauge wheels. Don’t think we could’ve picked a hotter day to do it. As I write this, the truck is building air hauling the last of the canola. Getting a bin empty for clean seed wheat. Which looks like will actually be planted into moisture this year. Our .5 inch of rain that was forecast turned into four. There was only an hour between those pictures, over two inches in that time. Moisture conditions are good receiving 4" of precipitation in the past week.
Chouteau County - Lochiel Edwards
Harvest is complete at Edwardsfarm, and there's not much left on Lonesome Prairie. Yields on our farm were below average, but we consider what we got to be a gift, with no useable rain since June 2. Moisture over the past 12 months totals less than 7 inches, only 5.61 of that came in beneficial amounts. There are reports from some spots on our prairie of 80-plus wheat yields where June rain cells wandered over the fortunate. Harvest was abnormally long for us, with some swathing beginning July 15, then waiting on suckers and winterkill holes on more winterwheat. Spring wheat was not planted until early May, so it took until August to ripen. But the land provided what it could, and we enjoyed a safe and smooth run. Fall seeding is a big question locally, and it will take a pretty good rain to connect up with the summerfallow moisture. So far, a replay of last fall, but there's still time for a nice fall storm. Moisture conditions are poor receiving .04" of precipitation in the past week. Crops are winter wheat and spring wheat. Winter wheat and spring wheat are harvested. Hoppers are a problem, along with drought.
Fergus County - Robert Bold
Had a good trip to Minnesota--and back. The entire west part of South Dakota where I used to see the same fields planted to corn, planted to Kansas crops like sun flowers and milo due to early dryness this spring. Still cutting some spring wheat. Eastern South Dakota looked good. Southern Minnesota farmers are expecting 175 to 180 bu corn vs last year's 225 to 240. They had a dry July. Started raining in August which saved the beans. Expecting 70+ bu beans. Eastern North Dakota crops all looked excellent. One could see the crop potential lessen in Western North Dakota. Hardly any spring wheat harvested. Working aggressively on canola harvest. Winter wheat seeding for us is going to be a challenge with the hoppers. May have to seed late. Received almost an inch of precipitation in the past week, still raining. Crops are winter wheat and barley.
Hill County - Trevor Wolery
Holy Smokes! Smoke was thick yesterday and it appears as I write this it will be again today. Started planting winter wheat last Tuesday and have been at a relaxed steady pace with it. Non measurable precipitation Labor Day morning and still have days of stubble cleanup up yet mixed in between some high school football games and winds. Good luck to everyone with fall work. (Pic doesn’t truly reflect the smoke yesterday). Moisture conditions are poor receiving no preceipitation in the past week. Crops are winter wheat, barley and mustard.
Judith Basin County - Greg Mathews
Finished on Labor Day Weekend, Saturday. WW was very good yields- 65 to 105, protein 11.5 to 12, test weight 61 to 64. Barley was all over the place with yields and test weight. 45 to 85 on yields and 45 to 53 on test weight. Rained a little Sunday evening, 0.09 and a good rain so far Monday morning with over 0.45 so far. The country needed the rain, so the SF and recrop ground will green up and be sprayed before seeding next year's WW. Still some combining going on and the elevators stayed open on Saturday to help them get their grain to town as bin space is in demand and short. Hoppers will be a problem with seeding this fall in areas. Hope everybody is getting the rain over the entire state. Best to all.
Teton County - Mitch Konen
The Greenfields bench is getting closer to being put to bed for winter. Having missed last week's report is a testiment to how busy harvest has been the last two weeks. I finished the barley this last Saturday afternoon. Quick changes to the combine and started on the spring wheat until we had some rain Monday morning. A few more days of cutting remain and crop '23 will be in the books. Barley harvest went really well with excellent quality and quantity, so the beer supply should be plentiful. With the last couple weeks of good weather, I am guessing that 90% of the acreage has been taken. Second cutting hay is close to being finished as well. Canola harvest has been started as well. Moisture conditions are fair receiving .2" of precipitation in the past week. Crops are winter wheat, spring wheat, barley and hay. Winter wheat and barley are harvested, spring wheat is ripe. Grasshoppers are a problem.
