Farmers in Cascade and Pondera counties are using drills to put fertilizer and pea seeds in the ground.
Justin Robicheau reports - watch the video here:
"There's rain scheduled on Wednesday, and we're trying to get as much done as we can before then. So, it's just, a lot more hectic in the spring. So, for spring crops. We're currently planning, yellow peas, which is what's going in here right now. And then after that, we're going to plant some barley," farmer and Montana Grain Growers Association President Steve Sheffels said.
"It's good to have moisture. We've had a couple of rain storms just recently. And so the soil is pretty moist. Prior to that, it was very, very dry and not really very great," Sheffels said.
High fuel costs have caused farmers to make adjustments in their operations.
"We've purchased our fuel for the year already. We tried to get it ahead of, We purchased it, like, day two of the war. And wouldn't normally done that," Sheffels said.
Further north in Pondera County, farmer Ken Johnson is in his 40th year planting crops.
"We're planting green peas and spring wheat. Spring wheat for bread and green peas is a rotational crop that also makes us some money. Hopefully," Johnson said.
Johnson said the rising cost of fuel and fertilizer, along with drought and low commodity prices, made it difficult to plan this year.
"Should we be trying to maximize yield or just be barely enough to get by? You know, it's it's a difficult thing when prices are low, like they are. Or what? What should we be doing? It's very nothing's really you can't count on anything. So it's kind of difficult," Johnson said.
Despite the challenges, producing crops is worth it for Johnson.
"Yeah, it means you get to do feed people, and, the, job changes and year round, we doing different things for. We're very intense on one job for quite a while, and then we switch to something else. So that kind of appeals to me," Johnson said.
