BILLINGS — Bad weather last fall and declining prices have Montana’s farmers planning to plant fewer acres of wheat this growing season.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says Montana farmers seeded 100,000 fewer acres of winter wheat and plan to seed about 250,000 fewer acres of spring wheat while increasing durum acres by 145,000. The Billings Gazette reports wheat plantings are expected to decline by a total of 205,000 acres. However, the 5.78 million acres of wheat to be planted is still more than the 5.4 million acres planted in 2013.
The USDA’s Prospective Plantings Report, released Tuesday, indicates state farmers plan to plant a record 570,000 acres in dry edible peas and 180,000 acres of lentils. Both crops return nitrogen to the soil, decreasing fertilizer bills for future wheat crops.
Barley acres are expected to remain the same at 920,000.