Montana Small Grain Guide History of Grain Production in Montana

In the Beginning Cereal Grains in 1860’s to feed mining boom towns 1870 = 831 farms and 150,000 acres of cultivated land Homestead Boom 1900’s spawned by: advent of “Dry-Farming” methods, low price machinery, and Great Northern Campaign

Homesteaders “Golden Triangle”, then the “Highline”, and “Eastern Mt” 1910 Land Office processed 1000 to 1500 homestead filings per month 13,000 farms in ,ooo farms in ,000 farms in 1920

Good Wheat Conditions lots of well-timed rain averaging 16” per year 1915 & 1916 yields ranged from bushels per acre World War I drove up prices 1917 Lever Act set wheat prices to a $2 min

Bad Conditions % of farms in MT went out of production –drought –locusts –wind –$1.20 drop in price –2.4 bu/acre average 1/2 of all farmers lost their land Land prices cut in half MT only state to lose population in 1920’s

Wheat & Barley wheat cultivated as early as 15,000 B.C. Hard red winter wheat “Turkey Red” brought to US by Russian Mennonite immigrants to Kansas in 1873 Wheat brought to Montana from Utah in 1864 –14,000 acres in 1874 –100,000 acres in 1900 –435,000 acres in 1910 Marquis (spring wheat) from Canada in 1913 –2 million acres in 1915 –4.4 million acres in 1929

Barley originated in western Asia about 5,000 B.C. introduced in the Colonies to be used for brewing popular near large cities Wheat allotments in 1954 made 1,000,000 acres in MT available for other uses, Barley was most attractive alternative ranks 3rd in importance in MT

Agriculture Today by 1980’s, 60% of MT farmers have more than 20 years experience Must balance levels of inputs to maximize PROFIT not yield