Farmers harvest profits

If only the region's wheat farmers could bottle this year's growing season.

"They'd take that bottle and open it every year," said Dave Torgeson director of the Minnesota Association of Wheat Growers.

Bumper harvests of spring wheat and other grains, record-high slaughter cattle prices, decent late-season crops and government aid are putting more money in area farmers' pockets this year, agriculture officials say.

"Net farm income should be up significantly from last year," said Andy Swenson, a farm management specialist at North Dakota State University.

Minnesota farmers harvested a record-yielding spring wheat crop this year.

North Dakota wheat farmers enjoyed the same fortune, harvesting their second-largest yielding crop ever.

Wheat farmers in both states basically harvested three bushels of wheat where they normally harvest two.

North Dakota, the nation's largest producer of spring wheat, harvested a crop worth about $1.3 billion, said Neal Fisher, administrator of the state's Wheat Commission.

"NDSU research shows that a crop that size will generate about $4.5 billion in economic activity," Fisher said. "That pumps out as much as $500 million in these local economies, which is badly needed."

The region's wheat crops are high quality and should be easy to market overseas, he said.

"You can't poke a hole in this thing," Fisher said. "It's probably one of the best quality crops we've had, certainly in the last 10 years."

Wheat farmers in west-central Minnesota were beginning to wonder if they could still grow quality spring wheat, Torgeson said.

"It was one of those crops that producers deserved and badly needed after the battle they've had over the last decade with abnormal growing conditions and disease problems."

Producers of durum wheat and barley enjoyed similar yield and production increases, the North Dakota Agricultural Statistics Service reports.

Ditto for sugar beet farmers.

Every time the region's sugar beet farmers seemed to be in trouble, they'd get the rain, clear skies or cool temperatures they needed, said David Berg, American Crystal Sugar Company's president of agriculture.

The cooperative's owner-shareholders harvested about 496,000 acres of beets, averaging 20 tons to the acre, Berg said.

Last year, a severe freeze in May and widespread flooding cut the company's production to about 17.6 tons per acre. The co-op's five-year average is about 19.5 tons per acre.

"We feel very good about this harvest," Berg said. "It turned out very nicely for us."

Still, not all farmers are better off this year, farm officials said.

Drought in eastern Minnesota and southwestern North Dakota robbed crops of potential yield. Excessive rain and hail storms damaged other crops.

"How farmers did in Minnesota this year depends on who you ask," said Sharon Clark, deputy commissioner at the state Agriculture Department.

In the Red River Valley, heat stress also siphoned yields from late-season crops like corn and soybeans.

Page, N.D., farmer Matt Mechtel said his corn and soybean crops turned out respectable despite hail and heat damage.

"It was a real stressful growing season," Mechtel said Friday.

A recent rally in soybean prices, earning farmers about $7.50 a bushel, is offsetting modest yield losses, he said.

On the receiving end of the biggest price rally are the region's cattle ranchers.

A ban on Canadian cattle imports and a short supply of slaughter cattle are among several reasons ranchers are enjoying record-high prices this fall.

In May, the U.S. banned Canadian cattle imports to protect against mad cow disease.

Slaughter cattle are selling for an average of about $103 per hundredweight. A year ago, cattle sold for about $70 per hundredweight.

"The cowboys have smiles on their faces right now," North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson said.

"These guys are having a year that they've been waiting for for a long, long time," he said.

Readers can reach Forum reporter Jeff Zent at (701) 241-5526