Agriculture
In the Upper Missouri River Basin
Geographies of Agriculture
Drive north out of Sioux City, Iowa, the highway veers west, following the Missouri River. A Midwestern landscape of corn and soybeans soon gives way to irrigated bottom lands surrounded by pasture then rangelands. A zig-zag grid of state highways and county roads traces the river north then arcing west, bisecting the Dakotas to its headwaters in the northern Rockies of Montana and Wyoming. North of the river, dryland wheat grows from deep glacial soils; to the south, cattle and sheep graze summer grasslands.
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Generations of farmers and ranchers have adapted to the diverse geographies and inevitably variable climate that define agricultural possibilities across this region.
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Following persistent droughts in the 1890s and 1930s, dryland farmers rebounded by adopting drought-tolerant varieties of wheat paired with fallow cropping systems. Ranching operations integrate traditional summer grazing on public lands with new feed crop rotations, grazing crop residues, and feeding co-products from ethanol production.
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Traditions with adaptations have evolved a diversity of agricultural systems, productive and robust to change.
The Upper Missouri River Basin is an important as well as diverse agricultural region.
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Geography, climate and weather patterns, water and soil resources of the Upper Missouri River watershed, define agricultural possibilities within the region.
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Agricultural histories behind crop mixes and production systems recount adaptations to variable, unpredictable water resources within the region as well as policies and agricultural markets tied to national and global food and fuel supply chains.
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Agricultural landscapes of the Upper Missouri River Basin—from croplands and irrigated river valleys to basin and mountain rangelands—form distinctive production regions.
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Regional crops and livestock include corn, soybeans, wheat, and forage crops, as well as a range of regionally important pulse crops, small grains, and oilseeds. Livestock production including feed and forage, dominate agriculture in the region.
Geography
and
Climate
Climate and weather across the UMRB is defined by increasing precipitation from west to east and decreasing temperatures from south to north. Weather events impacting both populations and agriculture in the region include droughts, floods, winter storms, convective storms, as well as heat and cold waves.
Accurate climate forecasts can reduce uncertainty about crop yields and guide long-term planning for crop mixes and irrigation infrastructure with direct economic benefits to producers in the Missouri River Basin region.
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Water available for agriculture, in the form of precipitation; rivers and streams; dams and reservoirs; and underground aquifers, define agricultural potential throughout the UMRB.
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Average annual precipitation ranges from almost 30 inches in northwestern Iowa to less than 8 inches in lower parts of the Bighorn Basin of Wyoming.
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Five main-stem dams on the Missouri River as well as hundreds of smaller dams encompass the largest system of reservoirs in the US.
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The Northern Great Plains aquifer system covers most of the UMRB region.
Strategies for adapting to uncertain sources and increasing demands on water resources range from regional planning to field-level irrigation technologies.
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Soils across the region can roughly be described as glaciated till and a variety of unglaciated soil types. Deep, rich soils with high moisture holding capacity formed as glaciers retreated northward as little as ten thousand years ago. Soils in unglaciated portions of the UMRB are thinner and less productive, although pockets of fertile soils extend beyond the glacial extent.
The Upper Missouri River basin extends upriver of confluence of the Missouri and Big Sioux rivers in Sioux City, Iowa, north across the Canadian border into Alberta and Saskatchewan, west to the Crown-of-the-Continent headwaters in Montana, and south to the front range of Wyoming, along the Nebraska-South Dakota border (Figure 1). It includes portions of the Prairie Pothole region of North and South Dakota and the Sandhills of northeast Nebraska.
The watershed contains a diversity of larger agricultural regions, including the Northern Great Plains, the Western Corn Belt, Interior Lowlands, and Northern Rocky Mountains.
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Just over 70 percent of land within the watershed has a designated agricultural use, 44 percent as cropland, 27 percent as pasture, and 1 percent as agricultural woodland (NLCD 2011).
Figure 1. The Upper Missouri watershed overlaid by National Land Cover Database land cover and tribal lands (NLCD 2011); inset shows geographical location. (Created by Anna Clark.)
In the US, the Upper Missouri watershed encompasses most of Montana and South Dakota, southwest North Dakota, northeast Wyoming, and small parts of Idaho, Nebraska, Iowa, and Minnesota. Total land area for the 193 counties that intersect with the watershed boundary is just over 225 million acres (US Census 2017). The Upper Missouri River Basin watershed accounts for 8 percent of the US total land area and 12 percent of total cropland (NLCD 2011). In the remainder of this paper, this US portion of the Upper Missouri River Basin is referred to as the UMRB.
Agricultural possibilities within the UMRB are defined by climate, water, and soil. Distinct agricultural systems have adapted to local resources and conditions over time. The regional mix of crops and livestock produced throughout the region as well as wider agricultural production systems that have evolved here are described below.
Climate and Weather Patterns
Climate across the UMRB is defined by increasing precipitation from west to east and decreasing temperatures from south to north. These trends also hold true when moving from lower to higher elevations in the western mountains.
Average annual temperatures vary from around 50 degrees in northern Nebraska and southern South Dakota to below freezing in the high mountains of Wyoming and Montana (Figure 2) (Derner et al. 2015). Average annual precipitation can vary dramatically within years and across years and decades.
Precipitation and temperature coincide in the UMRB with cool moist growing areas in far-eastern South Dakota, cold dry regions across northern North Dakota and Montana, and cool dry regions across most of central Montana, central Dakotas, and northern Wyoming.
Figure 2. Annual 30-year normal mean temperature in UMRB states (PRISM 2018).
Weather events impacting both populations and agriculture in the region include droughts, floods, winter storms, convective storms, as well as heat and cold waves.
In 2011, while the southwestern Great Plains experienced intense drought, the upper Missouri River was flooding. Long-term average temperatures are increasing in the UMRB. In North Dakota average temperatures over the past 130 years have increased faster than any other state (Ojima et al., eds. 2015, 41-45; Derner et al. 2015).
Projected climate changes include increased temperatures and more variable basin runoff as moisture falling as rain instead of snow increases winter and decreases summer runoff with potential impacts adequate spring and summer water supplies for irrigation and hydropower, and winter flood control challenges (USDOI-BR 2016). More precipitation is expected in all seasons except summer and longer, hotter growing seasons are expected, alongside an increased likelihood of extreme weather events, including prolonged drought (Derner et al. 2015).
Information on regional decadal climate variability can guide agricultural management decisions. Accurate climate forecasts can reduce uncertainty about crop yields and guide long-term planning for crop mixes and irrigation infrastructure with direct economic benefits to producers in the Missouri River Basin region (Fernandez et al. 2016; Mehta et al. 2016; Derner et al. 2015; and others).
Water
Water available for agriculture, in the form of precipitation, rivers and streams, reservoirs, and underground aquifers, define agricultural potential throughout the UMRB.
Both irrigation and crop management practices have been developed to extend cropland and crop mixes in dryer areas. Water resources available for agriculture are, of course, not without limits and compete with public, domestic, industrial, and thermoelectric uses. Precipitation varies within and across years with downstream impacts to both ground and surface water reserves. Longer-term changes in both climate and consumption will likely impact water available for agriculture throughout the region in coming decades.
Precipitation
Average annual precipitation (1981-2010) ranges from almost 30 inches in northwestern Iowa to less than 8 inches in lower parts of the Bighorn Basin of Wyoming (Figure 3). Weather patterns commonly move from west to east, consequently western slopes of higher mountain ranges receive the most precipitation. Spring snow runoff is captured by reservoirs and released for irrigation and other purposes throughout the summer. Precipitation from summer storms coinciding with the growing season are often associated with north-moving air masses from the Gulf of Mexico (USGS 2016a).
Changing extremes in precipitation are projected across the region. Winter and spring precipitation are projected to increase in northern Great Plains states as well as the number of days with heavy precipitation. Increased drought intensity and frequency are also predicted. (USGCRP 2014).
Figure 3. Upper Missouri River Basin 30-year Normal Annual Precipitation (1981-2010) (PRISM 2015).
Rivers and Dams
Major tributaries of the upper Missouri include the Madison, Musselshell, Milk, Yellowstone, Cannonball, Grand, Moreau, Cheyenne, White, Niobrara, Junes, and Big Sioux rivers. The Madison River, a cold water system flowing from the northern Rocky Mountains in Wyoming and Montana, forms the headwaters of the Missouri River, which merges with the Musselshell and then the Milk and Yellowstone in Yellowstone National Park. The Cannonball, Grand, and Moreau Rivers join the main stem of the Missouri from the west as if flows south across the Dakotas. The Cheyenne and White Rivers flow east-northeast, mainly through southwestern South Dakota. The Niobrara is a swift-flowing prairie river following most of the length of northern Nebraska border before it flows into the Missouri upstream of Gavin’s Point dam. The Big Sioux and Junes Rivers enter the Missouri further downstream from the north (Galat et al. 2005).
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Built for flood control, irrigation, hydropower, as well as job creation and economic development after the Great Depression, five main-stem dams (Fort Peck, Garrison, Oahe, Francis Case, and Gavins Point) as well as hundreds of smaller dams encompass the largest system of reservoirs in the US (Ferrell 1993) (Figure 4).
Figure 4. Fort Peck, Garrison, Oahe, and Gavins Point Dams; US Army Corps of Engineers (US ACE n.d.).
Currently runoff from snowpack generally occurs in May, June, and July. The amount of runoff is highly variable from year to year.
In coming decades, warming temperatures are expected to influence the timing of runoff and snowpack is expected to diminish.
Faster snowmelt and winter precipitation falling as rain are expected to increase winter runoff; diminished snowpack and earlier melting are expected to decrease spring and summer runoff. These trends relate to surface water available for irrigation, with more stream and river water available earlier in the spring and an increased reliance on stored water throughout the summer (USDOI BR 2016; USACE 2014). Longer-term trends in precipitation, snowpack, and runoff also impact groundwater.
Aquifers
The Northern Great Plains aquifer system covers most of the UMRB region. This system overlays deeper aquifers of the Central Midwest system in parts of southeastern South Dakota and Wyoming. Ground water associated with till and fine-grained glacial lake deposits occurs across northern Montana and North Dakota and the eastern half of the Dakotas, supporting shallow wells in glaciated portions of the Missouri Plateau (USGS 2016b). In 2000, two-thirds of total groundwater withdrawals from the Northern Great Plains aquifer system were for irrigation, one-third for public water supply (USGS 2000, 13).
Ground water is an increasingly important source of water in the region for public, domestic, commercial, industrial, as well as agricultural uses.
Ground water is availability varies considerably across the UMRB, depending on aquifer depth, thickness, and permeability. Artesian pressure has declined significantly in some places due to well withdrawals exceeding recharge. In areas with surface irrigation, losses through canal linings can be a significant source of recharge to aquifers (USGS 2016b).
Groundwater levels also fluctuate seasonally, rising after spring runoff then declining through the summer and at a slower rate through fall and winter months. Both short- and longer-term fluctuations in ground water levels mimic precipitation trends. Increases in well withdrawals for irrigation and other purposes have substantial impacts on aquifers. Water levels in South Dakota, for example, have declined steadily, largely as a result of unrestricted wells (USGS 2016b). Reductions in recharge rates could compound climate impacts, with higher demand for irrigation water paired with increased evaporation from increasing temperatures (Lauffenburger et al. 2018).
Irrigation
Water for irrigated agriculture in the UMRB utilizes both surface and ground water. Gravity flow surface-sourced irrigation systems follow lowlands close to streams, rivers, and reservoirs. Ground water is used for irrigation is important locally in the UMRB, notably in eastern South Dakota and northwestern Wyoming (Figure 5).
Figure 5. Historic irrigated areas in UMRB states, USGS Ground water Atlas of the United States (2016a).
Gravity flow flood (entire surface) or furrow (tilled row) irrigation systems are fed off canals and ditches fed from streams, rivers, and reservoirs. Efficiencies in gravity fed systems can be achieved through laser-guided field leveling, releasing water in interval surges to reduce runoff, and capturing runoff in ponds for reuse (USGS 2016b).
Pump systems most commonly use mechanical-move center-pivot systems. A typical center-pivot irrigates a 130-acre circular area. An end gun may be used to extend this area. Mechanical lateral-move sprayers cover a rectangular area. More efficient Low Energy Precision Application (LEPA) systems, with smaller hanging low-pressure sprayers, save electricity and reduce evaporation. Other efficient applicators include low-flow micro-drip, trickle, or micro-spray. Solid set underground pipes with risers. High-pressure big gun sprayers may be stationary or travelling, but are energy intensive and susceptible to drift and evaporation. Precision irrigation systems are spatially programmed to irrigate only cropped areas (USGS 2016b; Peters n.d.; Sadler et al. 2005).
Over 90 percent of consumptive water use in the western US goes to agricultural uses (ERS 2017). In UMRB counties USGS water use data report 86 percent of total fresh water withdrawals are for crop irrigation and 1 percent for livestock (2015, county data selected from USGS 2018). At the county level, in terms of total consumptive water use per acre of land, intensive areas of irrigated agriculture in the UMRB can be seen along the confluence of the Missouri and Big Sioux Rivers and basins of northern Wyoming and western Montana (Figure 6).
Figure 6. Percent of county area under irrigation in the UMRB, from USGS Estimated use of water in the United States county-level data for 2015 (USGS 2018).
Strategies for adapting to uncertain sources and increasing demands on water resources range from regional planning to field-level technologies. Coordination between federal, state, and local water agencies in research, monitoring, forecasting, planning present opportunities for more efficient water use at the watershed level Re-tooling regional infrastructure, shifting reliance on direct runoff (irrigation canals, ditches feeding flood or furrow irrigation) to water stored in reservoirs and pumped through sprinklers could help farmers adapt to earlier runoff seasons. This could involve increasing storage capacity (raising spillways to expand current reservoirs or building new dams), piping water to reservoirs with available storage, and maintaining and improving canal and ditch infrastructure to reduce loss through seepage (USDOIBR 2014).
At the field level, efficiencies in water use can be realized from switching from surface to pump systems.
Precision, site-specific irrigation allocates precise amounts of water spatially, for example excluding non-cropped areas; limiting application reduce field run-off, dry or waterlogged areas, and avoiding nutrient leaching. Systems may include real-time monitoring of precipitation and temperature or soil moisture (Sadler et al. 2005). Standard center-pivot irrigation systems may be retrofitted with low energy precision applicators (Evans et al. 2016; Evans 2016).
Soils
Soils across the UMRB region can roughly be described as glaciated till and a variety of unglaciated soil types.
Deep, rich soils with high moisture holding capacity formed as glaciers retreated northward as little as ten thousand years ago (Bluemle and Biek 2007). (Elevations in some parts of the northern plains are still rebounding.) Soils in unglaciated portions of the UMRB are thinner and less productive, although pockets of fertile soils extend beyond the glacial extent.
The USDA Forest Service Soil Productivity Index provides a rough measure of soil quality across the UMRB (Figure 7). With the complexities of local soil and measurement conditions reduced to four measures (with blue being the most productive, dark purple the least) a soil map of the region shows more agricultural potential from productive soils across the northern and eastern glaciated parts of the Missouri Plateau and patches of productive soils in the central Plateau as well as in the western basins.
Figure 7. USDA Forest Service Soil Productivity Index presented in four soil quality categories, with 1 (teal) being the least productive and 4 (purple) the most productive soil. These four categories are aggregated from 20 in the original index. (Created by Anna Clark.)
Agricultural Histories
of the Upper Missouri
Commercial Agriculture developed along the Upper Missouri River as European settlers introduced and adapted crops and practices to fit regional challenges. Variability and unpredictability of water across seasons and years is a major driver of crop choice, technology, and agronomy practices in the UMRB.
Agricultural Markets and Political Histories on the Northern Great Plains shaped agricultural production and rural communities in the UMRB. Since the first Europeans arrived, agronomic adaptations to climate and geography have interacted with federal legislation and policy interacting with local, regional, and global agricultural markets.
The Development of Commercial Agriculture
There is not sufficient time or space to describe pre-European agriculture on the Northern Great Plains. It is interesting to note that an agricultural system based on corn pre-dated European settlements, which sustained higher populations than currently live in the region for hundreds of years (Hudson 2004). A fur trader describing a Mandan settlement along the upper Missouri in 1786 observed “near the village in several directions on the plain seems to be one large corn field” (Will and Hyde 1964).
Early European agriculture on the Great Plains was predominantly corn, wheat, and cattle. Corn varieties developed in New England were brought by settlers, however, as European farmers moved into dryer, colder areas to the east and north native corn varieties were also adopted (Will and Hyde 1964). Sod corn tolerated weeds after grasslands were first “broken.” Soft winter wheat was brought from Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Missouri by settlers as a bread-grain crop. Turkey red wheat brought be German Mennonites emigrating from southern Russia became a favored bread grain variety. Hard northern spring wheat remains the most common type grown today. Cattle and sheep were introduced in early settlement years integrated into ranching systems that persist in the western shortgrass plains of Wyoming and the Dakotas (Huston 2004).
Early agricultural technology adapted to fit conditions on the plains included the self-scouring plow, windmills, barbed wire, and straw-burning stem threshers. Alternative fallow—alternating strips of fallow and crops—was almost universally adopted on the semiarid plains following the dust bowl of the 1930s (Greb 1979). Contour plowing, windrows, no-till, and leaving crop residues on fields allowed farmers to control soil erosion from wind (Huston 2004).
Variability and unpredictability of water across seasons and years is a major driver of crop choice, technology, and agronomy practices in the UMRB.
Unpredictable moisture drove crop choices, a preference for wheat over corn on the Northern Plains. Drought-resistant crops—wheat, barley, sorghum—were established in response to persistent droughts in the 1890s and 1930s. Corn, soybeans, and sugar beets spread westward from the Midwest as irrigation became more widespread, however, irrigation was largely limited to streamside locations before the 1960s when deep wells, electric pumps, surface sprinkler systems were developed (Figure 8). This expansion of irrigated croplands allowed for increased production of cattle feed to supply feedlots and a westward expansion of beef packing (Huston 2004).
Figure 8. Flood irrigated field in Yellowstone County, Montana c. 1911, top (Montana Memory Project 2016); center pivot irrigation on a canola field, northeastern Montana, c. 2000 (Agricultural Research Service 2016).
“A major challenge to dryland cropping in the Great Plains is the high level of temporal and spatial climate variability with recurring periods of severe drought.” (Hansen et al. 2012).
Cropping systems developed for the region encompass cultivation practices, crop sequences, and integrated livestock systems aim conserve water and soil resources.
Current issues for dryland crop farming on the Northern Great Plains include integrating pest management for herbicide resistant weeds, diversifying crop rotations, and understanding soil carbon dynamics and residue management (Hansen et al. 2017). A history of cropping system developments for farmers on the Northern Plains can be seen in three decades of research history from the Area IV Soil Conservation Districts Cooperative Research Farm (Liebig et al. 2014). Starting in the mid-1980s research focused on conservation tillage and crop residue management to reduce soil erosion; through the 1990s and early 2000s research on improved wheat production practices including residue and soil conservation, and greater efficiencies in precipitation with more diverse crop rotations. “This research spurred the development of the dynamic cropping systems concept, whereby crop sequence decisions are made annually in order to optimize production, economic, and resource conservation goals” (Liebig et al. 2014, 100A).
Following national trends, the UMRB experienced increases in yield for all major commodity crops starting in the 1930s. USDA crop data show wheat yields rising steadily after World War II, from just over 10 bushels per acre to over 40 bushels by 1999 (Figure 9). However, comparing the periods 1936 to 1990 and 1990 to 2009, the rate of increase for yields has slowed noticeably for corn, barley, oats, and soybeans (Anderson et al. 2018).
Figure 9. Historic US Wheat Yield in bushels per acre, 1870 to 2017 (USDA Economic Research Service 2018).
Agricultural Markets and Political Histories
Alongside agronomic adaptations to climate and geography, a history of federal legislation and policy interacting with agricultural markets, has shaped agricultural production and rural communities in the UMRB (Figure 10).
Figure 10. Timeline of major US agricultural legislation and regional historical events.
In 1862, five years before Nebraska became the first US state to include a portion of the Upper Missouri watershed, Congress passed the Homestead Act, Morrill Land Grant Act, Pacific Rail Road Act, and established a Department of Agriculture—all of which encouraged emigration into the region. During the “Dakota Boom,” starting in the 1870s and 80s, European settlers followed new railways to claim land. By the 1880s these first generations of farmers on the Northern Plains took part in an agrarian populist movement, including the Grange and Farmers’ Alliance, to organize for better access to transportation and marketing and to advocate for labor and land policies (Reid 2017). The following decades saw new markets, diversification in crops, and stable prices, ending with increased demand from World War I. The period between 1910 and 1914 was known as the Golden Age, with high prices and demand for agricultural commodities.
Following World War I increases in the cost of food and allegations of market power motivated Congress to pass The Packers and Stockyards Act of 1921. This antitrust legislation was intended to limit the ability of a few large companies to manipulate market prices. The following year The Capper-Volstead Act was passed exempting farmer cooperatives immunity. Member-owned agricultural cooperatives have played an important role in coordinating input purchases and marketing, especially in the eastern portions of the UMRB.
Farmers in northern Great Plains and across the US experienced a severe rural economic depression starting in the 1920s, with falling domestic and international agricultural prices and rising interest rates paired with high levels of farm debt (Federico 2005). In 1934, 1936, 1939, and 1940 severe heat, drought, and wind erosion compounded falling prices and lack of opportunity to work off the farm in towns and cities.
New Deal work programs, which included the Farm Relief Bill, Agricultural Adjustment Administration, Rural Electrification Act, and Soil Conservation Service, aided farmers with direct payments, supply constraints, commodity price supports, in addition to supporting rural infrastructure and soil conservation. Increased demand from World War II, the end of prolonged drought, and new technologies all contributed to the beginning of a steep rise in productivity per acre from the 1940s through 1970 (NIFA 2014).
In spite of agricultural surpluses and falling prices, in 1963 US wheat farmers voted down a referendum for acreage restrictions paired with priced support (Giglio 1987). In 1964 Congress passed the Food Stamp Act which included voluntary controls on wheat production.
What came to be known as the Farm Crisis had its roots in the 1970s and accelerated a shift towards consolidated farms through the 1980s. Leading up to 1979, a weak US dollar and increased demand for wheat and other farm commodities overseas encouraged increases in production, much of which was financed by farmers taking on debt. In 1972 the Soviet Union, having experienced widespread crop failure, purchased 10 million tons of stockpiled US wheat and other grain at discounted prices, pushing up prices. In the late 1970s, interest rates increased, the dollar strengthened, export demand fell, yet production remained high and the value of farmland increased, encouraging more borrowing.
As the wider US economy moved into recession in 1981, farm prices fell, and consumer prices rose the US reported its highest grain surplus ever in 1982. As loans went into default, small farms were sold off and consolidated. Policy responses included the 1983 Payment in Kind and 1985 Conservation Reserve Programs, which aimed to take farmland out of production, and the 1985 Food Security Act, which increased direct government payments to farmers (Thompson, ed. 2005, 226; Barnett 2000). Concentration and vertical coordination continued through the 1990s, notably in hog and chicken production.
Farm bills in the 1990s removed links between subsidy payments and crop prices in an attempt to decouple production incentives. The Energy Policy Act of 1992 and subsequent legislation created incentives for ethanol production. The portion of corn marketed for ethanol has steadily increased since fuel use was first reported by the USDA in 1980; fuel surpassed feed as the largest use of domestic U.S. corn for the 2010/2011 crop year (USDA ERS 2018, table 5).
Payouts for Food Stamps accounted for 80 percent of spending in the Food Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 and 75 percent of direct payments for commodity crops were paid to 10 percent of farmers. Subsequent bills, including the Agricultural Act of 2014 have attempted to cut back on food assistance and cap farm subsidies.
Agricultural Landscapes
of the Upper Missouri
Agriculture and agricultural systems vary throughout the Upper Missouri region according to the physical environment (elevation, soil types, water availability), transportation networks linking supply and demand for agricultural products, and the geography of traditions and preferences of crop and livestock producers.
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Distinctive agricultural land types occur across the UMRB:
Croplands and mixed crop and pastureland are a quintessential agricultural land type. Planted croplands are the dominant agricultural land type in eastern and northern portions of the UMRB.
Irrigated valleys comprise a discontinuous but distinctive type of agricultural land within the UMRB. Intensive production on irrigated lands is important for local and regional agricultural economies.
Basin rangelands used for extensive seasonal grazing are found in patches throughout the UMRB. Much of this land is public, leased for grazing.
Mountain rangelands are traditionally used by livestock operations with historic grazing leases on adjacent public lands in mountain areas for seasonal grazing on unfenced, non-irrigated rangelands.
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Geographical agricultural regions are defined by the prevalence of these different land types as well as wider spatial differences in climate, soil, and water.
Geographically, within the UMRB four major agricultural regions can be described as the:
Eastern High Plains, and
Within these larger regions, numerous sub-regions and notable agricultural areas have special defining characteristics as well.
Distinctive Agricultural Land Types
Croplands and mixed crop and pastureland are a quintessential agricultural land type. Planted croplands are the dominant agricultural land type in eastern and northern portions of the UMRB. Both irrigated and dry croplands occur in every UMRB county, however, irrigated crops are more prevalent along the northern border of Nebraska and across the central and western Missouri Plateau. Crop and pasture land makes up 25.3 percent of total land area for UMRB counties (NLCD 2011).
Croplands
Irrigated Valleys
Irrigated valleys comprise a discontinuous but distinctive type of agricultural land within the UMRB. Valleys along streams and rivers rely on surface water canal and ditch systems to irrigate hay, alfalfa, as well as some feed grains, and sugar beets (Hudson 2004). Canal and ditch surface-irrigation systems are increasingly extended and augmented by linear and center-pivot pumps. Intensive production on irrigated lands is important for local and regional agricultural economies.
Mountain Rangelands
Livestock operations utilizing seasonal public lands grazing allotments adjacent to a private ranch are still a dominate producer type in mountainous areas. Historically, ranch landholdings were established with home and winter ranches located near water and hay meadows adjacent to summer grazing on government-owned rangelands (Carman, Heath, and Minto 1892, 712). Today’s range operations still often rely on these historic grazing leases to access adjacent public lands in mountain areas for seasonal grazing on unfenced, non-irrigated rangelands.
Geographical Agricultural Regions
Geographically, within the UMRB four major agricultural regions can be described as the Central Missouri Plateau, Northern Glaciated Plains, Eastern High Plains, and Western Basin and Range (following Hudson 2004; Hudson 2002; Padbury 2002; EPA 2016) (Figure 12). While in terms of agricultural production their borders are somewhat arbitrary, these regions follow Level III Ecoregions defined by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (EPA 2016a) (Figure 13).
A broad description of the geography, climate, and agriculture within each of these regions is outlined below.
Within these larger regions, numerous sub-regions and notable agricultural areas have special defining characteristics as well—examples are described within each region.
Figure 12. Major agricultural regions within the UMRB. (Created by Eilish Hanson.)
Figure 13. Environmental Protection Agency Level III Ecoregions in the UMRB. (Created by Eilish Hanson).
Central Missouri Plateau
The Missouri Plateau, which encompasses the majority of the central UMRB is a portion of the Great Plains defined as semi-arid prairie. This region generally follows EPA Level II Ecoregion 9.3, West-central Semi-arid Prairies (EPA 2016). The plateau extends north into Canada and south to the Platte River Valley of the High Plains. Its eastern border is the Coteau du Missouri—low hills stretching north from central South Dakota—and its western border is the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.
This region is described by Hudson (2002) as a sparsely populated area of broad basins surrounding low mountain ranges, hills, and badlands. Agriculture in the region varies from north to south. The central Missouri Plateau is predominately rangeland with irrigated river bottoms, transitioning into southern mixed cropland and rangeland producing feed grains near livestock grazing and feeding operations. In an agricultural context, describing the Northern Glaciated and Southern Unglaciated Plains of the Missouri Plateau separately makes sense.
The Unglaciated portion of the Missouri Plateau stretches south and east from the Missouri River (shown in yellow on Figure 12). It encompasses most of central and southeastern Montana, the southwest quarter of North Dakota (Missouri Slope), the eastern half of South Dakota (West River country and the Black Hills), and the northeast corner of Wyoming (Powder River Basin). The Missouri River roughly marks the eastern limit of glaciated topography.
The unglaciated Missouri Plateau has a diverse geologic history and resulting landforms including tablelands, isolated mountain ranges, and badlands. Soils on the unglaciated plateau vary but are generally inferior to those that developed on glaciated portions of the Missouri Plateau. Moreover, especially along the White River in South Dakota and the Little Missouri River in North Dakota, soils are thinner on easily erodible slopes. Early homesteaders tried to raise crops on the inferior West River and Missouri Slope soils, but most of the area proved to be not sufficient for grain production (Hudson 2004). As a result, agriculture in this region is largely defined by livestock grazing and populations are lower than in glaciated portions of the plateau.
Ranching, rather than farming, predominate in the unglaciated portions of the Missouri Plateau, with over half of the area rangeland or converted pasture; the westernmost portions almost exclusively rangeland (Hudson 2004; Padbury et al 2002, 254-255) (Figure 14). Roughly one quarter of the region is cropland, with arrow strips of irrigated land along the Missouri river, traditionally used to grow alfalfa, sugar beets, and corn (Padbury et al. 2002).
Figure 14. Grasslands in the Little Missouri National Grassland near Dickinson, North Dakota (left), (USDA FS n.d.); cattle grazing in the foothills of the Absaroka Range near Meeteetse, Wyoming (Hall and Hall 2017).
Within the Central Plateau a number of notable sub-regions, including Judith Basin, Jordan Country, the MonDak region, Powder River Basin, and Nebraska Sandhills, have distinctive agricultural characters. Agricultural land use patterns are illustrated for each of these sub-regions by google earth images.
Judith Basin
Judith Basin is a high basin in the plains of central Montana, located between the Little Belt and Snowy Mountains. This portion of the unglaciated Missouri Plateau has soils suitable for dry-farmed grain crops and produces a significant amount of wheat and barley (Hudson, 2004). The Central Montana Agriculture Research Center was created in Judith Basin County by the Montana Legislature in 1908 to teach dry land farming techniques. The center continues to develop cereal, oilseed, pulse, and specialty food-crop varieties adapted to the central Montana climate (MSU Extension n.d.).
Jordan Country
Also deemed The Big Dry and The Big Open, Jordan Country is a largely unpopulated area of rough rangeland, canyons, badlands, and prairie wilderness along the divide between the Missouri and Yellowstone River mainly in Garfield County, north of Miles City, Montana (Hudson 2004; MMRC 2017). Attempts to raise wheat in the Jordan Country were unsuccessful, and the lands reverted to cattle and sheep range by the 1950s (Hudson 2004).
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The MonDak Region
A highly productive area along the lower Yellowstone and the Missouri rivers in eastern Montana and western North Dakota, known as the MonDak region, is dominated by two-year rotations of sugar beets and malting barley. The irrigated MonDak region of eastern Montana and western North Dakota has become a major production area for six-row malting barley (USDA ARS 2016). Although the Yellowstone River has no major dams, large amounts of water are drawn for irrigation—90 percent of all water use in the basin (Galat 2005, 440). With abundant water resources, good transportation, and strong agricultural research institutions, this area will likely see expanded irrigation development.
Powder River Basin
The Powder River Basin is a topographic and geologic structural basin in northeastern Wyoming and part of southeastern Montana. The basin produces large amounts of coal and natural gas. Semi-arid grasslands in the basin support extensive livestock grazing with some irrigated hay meadows along the Powder River, which flows to the north and its tributaries from the Bighorn Mountains (Ostlind n.d.). Agricultural production in this region is dominated by cattle, forage crops, and sheep (USDA COA 2012).
Nebraska Sandhills
The Sandhills of northwestern Nebraska are formed by dune fields stabilized by prairie vegetation and drained by the Loup and Niobrara Rivers (Loope and Swinehart 2000) (Figure 19). Part of the northern Sandhills intersect with the UMRB. The Sandhills sit over the Ogallala aquifer, making permanent and temporary lakes common in low-laying valleys. This distinctive region is a productive cattle ranching area with some of the largest cattle ranches in the US (Huston 2004). The only significant crop is hay, baled from native grass meadows. Limited center-pivot irrigation can be seen along the Niobrara Rivers and on the edges of the dune fields.
Northern Glaciated Plains
Following Montana’s northern border then crossing to south-central North Dakota and north-central South Dakota is a glaciated portion of the Missouri Plateau. Counties described as the Northern Glaciated Plains are contained within EPA Level III Ecoregion 42, Northwestern Glaciated Plains (shown in blue on Figure 12). The glaciated portion of the Missouri Plateau, with its fertile soils and gently rolling topography, is largely defined by wheat production.
Glaciated plains, also known as drift prairie, comprise a relatively young landscape, formed as glaciers retreated northward as little as ten thousand years ago (Bluemle and Biek 2007). Elevations in this area are still rebounding (!) (Bluemle 2005). The northern and northeastern portions of the Missouri Plateau contain hummocky glacial moraines studded with wetlands, known locally as the Prairie Potholes (EPA 2018). Wetlands in this tallgrass prairie are important for migratory birds. More than half of the area has been drained for agricultural use (EPA 2016c) (Figure 15).
Especially in its northern sections, glacial till forms deep, black, grain producing soils. These soils have a high moisture holding capacity that is adapted to two-year crop-fallow rotations and provide nutrients appropriate for growing a variety of small grains, where local climate allows. A large portion of the area is farmland, around half of which is farmed with a fallow rotation (Padbury et al. 2002). Spring wheat (hard red spring wheat and durum wheat) are major crops, along with other cereals (barley, oats), oilseed crops (canola, sunflowers, flax, mustard, canary), and pulse crops (lentils, chickpeas) (Hudson 2004; Padbury et al. 2002; MT DOA 2016). The region encompasses Fargo, Grand Forks, Minot, and Great Falls with Minneapolis serving as the control point of the Northern Spring Wheat farming system (Hudson 2004).
Figure 15. Typical landscapes of the Northern Glaciated Plains: Bitter Creek Wilderness Study Area prairie (left) and alternating spring and winter wheat fields in northern Montana (Nature Conservancy 2018; Billings Gazette 2014).
Within the Central Plateau a number of notable sub-regions, including Judith Basin, Jordan Country, the MonDak region, Powder River Basin, and Nebraska Sandhills, have distinctive agricultural characters. Agricultural land use patterns are illustrated for each sub-region through google earth images.
The Montana Spring Wheat Triangle
Montana's Wheat Triangle, locally called the Golden Triangle (Great Falls Tribune 2015), is an area of particularly productive grain crops bounded by the cities of Shelby, Havre, and Great Falls. At the western edge of the glaciated Missouri Plateau, this was one of the last portions of the Great Plains to be settled, chiefly between 1910 and 1920 (Hudson 2004). A recent satellite view of the area shows striped fields with two-year spring wheat-fallow cropping.
The Durum Wheat Triangle
Durum wheat is used to produce semolina flour, primarily for pasta. North Dakota produces around two thirds of the average US durum wheat crop (NDWC n.d.). The Durum Wheat Triangle in northwestern North Dakota and northeastern Montana, is an important supplier for pasta manufacture in the region as well as for export (NDWC 2008; Hudson 2004) (see Figure 16 below).
Figure 16. Durum Wheat Planted Acres by County, 2017 (USDA NASS 2018). The Durum Wheat Triangle area is shown in red.
Eastern High Plains
The Eastern High Plains region of eastern North Dakota and South Dakota and northeastern Nebraska, east of the Missouri Coteau, is a typical tall and shortgrass prairie with deep, loamy, drained soils. This area is described by EPA Level II Ecoregion 9.2, Temperate Prairies (EPA 2006) (shown in orange on Figure 12). The area is lower and wetter than lands to the west. Just over half of the area is cultivated, typically planted for corn, oats, wheat, and sorghum. Although crop production benefits from higher precipitation and lower elevations from west to east, precipitation in the region varies considerably from year to year and is often inadequate for maximum yields (Padbury et al 2002, 256). Drift prairie transitions to rolling Dissected Till Plains from north to south along this strip of counties—a region with rolling hills crossed by streams flowing to the James River.
The Eastern High Plains is characterized by a mixed system of agriculture with both crop and livestock production (Hudson 2004) (Figure 17). The eastern boundary of this region blends into the Midwest’s Corn Belt. Comparatively diversified agricultural systems in this region compensate for losses in dry years to some extent (Hudson 2004). While cattle is king, hog and lamb production are also important in this area. In terms of area harvested, corn, soybeans, wheat, and hay are major crops (NASS 2016). Much of the area receives enough precipitation in most years for dry farming, however, center-pivot irrigation is increasingly common south of the Niobrara and Missouri Rivers in northern Nebraska as well as along the James River in South Dakota (USGS 2016c; Google Earth Images). Livestock operations, including beef cattle, hogs, dairy, and sheep are relatively concentrated compared to the western UMRB, relying more on feed and less on extensive seasonal grazing (USDA COA 2012). Counties in North Dakota along the eastern edge of the UMRB report honey, spring wheat, canola, and barley as well as soybeans, dry beans, and corn as predominant commodities (Farm Favor 2017). Counties on the eastern edge of South Dakota report a mix of grains, dry beans and peas, corn, and soybeans as the biggest contributors to agricultural production value (USDA COA 2012).
Figure 17. Hay and corn fields typical of a mixed agricultural system on the Eastern High Plains of the UMRB. (Photo from pixabay.com).
Western Basin and Range
Arid intermountain basins, open plateaus, buttes, and scattered mountains surrounded by, higher, wetter, more rugged, forested mountain ranges make up the Western Basin and Range region. Basin vegetation in the region is sparse grass, sagebrush (LandScope America 2018). Mid-elevations are mostly forested. Alpine areas are covered with snow most of the year. This agricultural region spans EPA Level III ecoregions 41 (Canadian Rockies, 17 (Middle Rockies), and 18 (Wyoming Basin) (EPA 2006).
Mountain ranges, rich river valleys, and high arid basins define the southeastern watersheds of the UMRB. This agricultural region is shown in Figure 12 in green. A series of ranges that make up the Rocky Mountains feed western tributaries to the Missouri River. These ranges are divided by river valleys, including the Big Hole Valley, Bitterroot Valley, Gallatin, and Paradise Valleys of southwestern Montana. The expansive Bighorn and Powder River basins of northern Wyoming are flanked by the Absaroka Range and the more isolated Bighorn Mountains, Black Hills, Bighorn and Absaroka mountain ranges. (Note that in an effort to make agricultural regions continuous, counties containing the Bighorns and Black Hills are included in the Southern Glaciated Plains.)
Agriculture in the western basin and range region is characterized by intensive farming following irrigated bottomlands surrounded by extensive livestock grazing. In much of this region, ranches are integrated with grazing leases on adjacent public lands (Figure 18).
Figure 18. Irrigated bottomlands, typical in the Western Basin and Range region, along the Nowood River near Ten Sleep, Wyoming. (Source: livewaterproperties.com.)
Several smaller mountain valleys as well as the high desert Bighorn Basin constitute distinct agricultural areas within the Western Basin and Range. Google earth images illustrate agricultural land use in these areas.
Mountain Valleys of Southwestern Montana
Big Hole, Bitterroot, Gallatin, and Paradise Valleys are examples of mountain valley agricultural areas. Pivot circles follow valley bottoms. Irrigated crops are mainly hay and alfalfa for local livestock operations. Higher elevations limit growing seasons in both mountain rangelands and for crops grown in valley bottoms. (The Paradise Valley in west-central Montana is shown above.)
The Bighorn Basin
Roughly outlined by the Bighorn River watershed, the Bighorn Basin is located mainly in Wyoming, between the Bighorn Mountains to the east and the Absaroka Range to the west. The basin is bisected by the Bighorn River, which originates to the south in the Wind River Mountains and flows into the Yellowstone in Montana. The Greybull and Shoshone Rivers and the Clark’s Fork of the Yellowstone also flow northward into the Bighorn, which exits west of the Pryor Mountains (WSGS 2011). Mormon settlers arrived in the Bighorn Basin around 1900, building irrigation canals and promoting the area for agriculture (see Figure 19 below). Cultivated areas in the basin follow these drainages. Irrigated bottomlands produce forage crops, barley, dry edible beans, sugar beets, and corn as well as bees; extensive cattle and sheep grazing and hay meadows predominate along the foothills (USDA COA 2012; Bighorn County, WY 2009).
Figure 19. Early efforts to promote settlement in the Bighorn Basin (WSHS n.d.).
Regional Crops and Livestock
Natural resources and geography, agricultural history and traditions, define regional crop and livestock production in the Upper Missouri River Basin. This section describes crop mixes within and across the UMRB. Use and demand, agronomy and yield, and production projections for major and minor crops including emerging and potential biofuel crops, and livestock, is then described in more detail.
Crops produced in the UMRB are dominated by corn and soybeans, followed by wheat and forage crops. The majority of crops grown in the UMRB are used domestically for livestock feed, just less than a third are used for food, about a tenth are used as biofuel feedstock.
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Regional crop mixes as well as the total proportion of cropland devoted to field crops varies considerably between the four agricultural regions described above.
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Major crops grown in the UMRB include corn, soybeans, wheat, and forage crops (alfalfa and hay) account for the majority—51 percent—of planted acres in the UMRB. Corn-soybean rotations are common.
Field corn is utilized as feed grain, chopped into silage for livestock feed, processed into ethanol, as well as used in food or industrial inputs. Within the UMRB, longer seasons, new varieties, and continued demand for ethanol are projected to lead to expansion of corn production into eastern North and South Dakota.
Soybeans are grown primarily for a protein source in livestock feed and oil production and, however, they are also used in a wide variety of food products. Following national trends, soybean production has steadily increased in the UMRB.
Wheat production in the UMRB is concentrated in northern counties. Three classes are typically grown in the UMRB: hard red winter wheat, hard red spring wheat, and spring durum wheat.
Forage crops can be categorized by plant type and cropping system, conservation method, as well as planting or production practice. Seventeen percent of cropland in the UMRB is harvested for alfalfa and grass hay.
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Minor regional crops include small grains, pulse crops, non-soy oilseeds, and sugar beets. Collectively these minor crops account for just over 11 percent of cropland harvested in the UMRB. Regionally important minor crops include:
Small grains Pulse crops Oilseed crops
Barley Dry edible peas Canola
Flaxseed Lentils Sunflower
Sorghum Dry edible beans Mustard seed
Oats Chickpeas Safflower
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Emerging Biofuel Crops: In addition to corn, soybeans, sorghum, and canola, which have become more established as regional biofuel crops, several oilseed and perennial grass species are emerging from field trials into limited markets.
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Livestock: Much of the land in the UMRB is better suited to livestock grazing than crop production. Livestock production, including feed and forage, dominate agriculture in the region. Cattle and sheep production are both regionally significant.
Click to explore crops in the UMRB:
Crops and their Domestic Uses
In terms of market value, wheat, hay, corn, and soybeans are included in the top commodity rankings for all UMRB states. Various types of wheat, differentiated by planting practices as well as hardness and color, are the most important cash crop in the UMRB region. North Dakota, Montana, and South Dakota lead US production for spring wheat production; North Dakota and Montana are the top durum wheat producers (USDA ESMIS 2017).Taken separately or together, “corn and beans”—field corn and soybeans, commonly grown in annual rotations—are second and third largest cash crop (NDWC 2008). Hay, including alfalfa, is the third major crop, and top ranked in production value in Wyoming, second in Montana, and third in North and South Dakota.
Table 1 below summarizes total acres harvested in UMRB counties reported in USDA NASS surveys for 2016. Regionally, in terms of land use, soybeans and corn are the most prevalent crops, with 9.5 million acres of soybeans and 9.2 million acres of corn harvested for grain and silage in 2016. Combined corn and soybeans were harvested from 18.8 million acres, or nearly 50 percent of harvested acres in the UMRB. All classes of wheat constitute the second most common crop, harvested from 8.4 million acres. Spring wheat, excluding spring-planted durum, is the most common type. All types of hay, including alfalfa, were harvested from 6.4 million acres. Corn, soybeans, wheat, or hay were harvested from four out of six acres of planted cropland in the UMRB in 2016.
Minor crops produced for feed and food can be categorized as pulse crops, small grains, non-soy oilseeds. Pulse crops, including dry edible peas and beans, chickpeas, and lentils, were harvested from 1.7 million acres; small grains (barley, flaxseed, oats, and grain sorghum) from 1.4 million acres; and oilseed crops (canola, oil and non-oil type sunflowers, safflower, and mustard) from 0.9 million acres in 2016. Combined these pulse crops, small grains, oilseeds, and sugar beets were harvested from two out of four acres of planted cropland in the UMRB in 2016.
Table 1. Total Acres Harvested for all UMRB Counties by Crop, 2016
The majority of crops grown in the UMRB are used domestically for livestock feed, just less than a third are used for food, about a tenth are used as biofuel feedstock (Figure 20).
Figure 20. Total cropland harvested in the UMRB proportioned by domestic US use. (Source: USDA NASS, ERS, and AMS data and information.)
Soybeans and alfalfa grown in the UMRB contribute the most livestock feed when proportioned by US domestic uses. When focusing on total production wheat is the most important food crop grown in the UMRB, although lentils and dry edible beans are locally important crops marketed for food. Corn as well as soy and canola are established sources for biofuels manufacture (Figure 21).
Figure 21. Total crop acres harvested in the UMRB by crop—proportioned by US domestic use. (Source: USDA NASS, ERS, and AMS data and information.)
According to the USDA Office of the Chief Economist, planted acres for major US field crops, including corn, are projected to decline somewhat over the coming two decades, projections of increasing yields keep total production relatively high (USDA OCE 2017, 18-26). Acreage held out of crop production from enrollment in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is assumed to hold near the maximum levels legislated by Congress of 24 million acres, through 2026 (assuming no policy change from the 2014 Farm Act) (USDA OCE 2017, 18).
Crop Mixes Across the Region
The proportion of cropland devoted to field crops as well as the crop mix varies considerably between the four agricultural regions described above. Comparing total acres harvested between geographical regions, the Eastern High Plains stands out, contributing over 40 percent of acres harvested in the UMRB from 16 percent of the land area. This region is also notable for the acres of corn and soybeans harvested—nearly 30 percent of the regional total; 74 percent of reported crop acres harvested in Eastern High Plains counties in 2016 (Table 2).
Counties in the Central Missouri Plateau come in second for the total acres harvested, contributing 32 percent from 44 percent of the total land area. Hay is the most common crop harvested in this central region (43 percent of regional acres harvested), followed by wheat and corn and soybeans combined.
The strip of counties north of the Missouri River that make up the Northern Glaciated Plains region makes up only 10 percent of the UMRB land area but nearly 20 percent of acres harvested. Wheat is the most common crop (63 percent of regional acres) along with a mix of pulse crops, small grains, and oilseeds.
The Western Basin and Range region makes up nearly a third of the total UMRB land area (31 percent) and contributes only 9 percent of harvested acres. In these western counties the most common crop is hay (48 percent of regional acres harvested) followed by wheat (26 percent) and small grains (20 percent). This region’s contribution to regional agriculture is understated, however, by only considering crop acres since livestock—beef cattle and lamb production—predominate.
Table 2. Total crop acres harvested in the UMRB by crop—proportioned by US domestic use. (Source: USDA NASS, ERS, and AMS data and information.)
Major Crops
Corn, soybeans, wheat, and forage crops account for the majority—51 percent—of planted acres in the UMRB. With 12 percent of the total US cropland, the UMRB accounts for 11 percent of corn, 12 percent of soybean, 17 percent of wheat, and 12 percent of total hay and alfalfa acres (Figure 22).
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Figure 22. Total cropland and major crops in the UMRB as a percentage of US totals. (Source: 2011 National Land Cover Database; USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, 2016 acres planted.)
Corn-Soybean Rotations
“Corn and beans” is a familiar phrase for anyone who has spent time in the Midwestern US. With the prevalence of corn-soybean crop rotations, these two crops may be best discussed together. Continuous corn and two-year corn-soybean rotation are increasingly dominant cropping systems in irrigated areas on the eastern Great Plains. Using satellite imagery from 2001 to 2015, a rapid increase in area of corn-soybean rotations is observed in central and western North Dakota, north central South Dakota, and the western edge of northern Minnesota (Figure 23; Shao 2016, 123).
Figure 23. Spatial methods used to quantify changes in corn-soybean planting intensity trends. (Source: Shao 2016, 123.)
In both irrigated and rain-fed production, yield advantages for corn grown following a soybean crop has motivated a shift to more corn grown in rotation. Likewise, because of a significant yield advantage in soybeans following one or more corn crops, soy is nearly always grown in rotation. Fossil fuels required for the same yield are consequently also lower than for monocropping. Other advantages to this system are seen in weed and pest management, and paired with no-till practices soil conservation and soil moisture storage may be realized (Grassini et al. 2016). Moreover, almost all soy in the Corn Belt is genetically tolerant to glyphosate, resulting in near total weed control and the acceleration of no-till practices and narrowed row spacing (though resistant weeds are emerging) (Grassini et al. 2016).
Drivers of yield and efficiency arise from producer adaptations of 1) genetic technology (maize hybrids and soybean cultivars with greater yield potential), 2) agronomic crop management technology to realize that potential (such as split-row planters), and 3) synergies between these (plant density tolerance + reduced row spacing, for example). Genetic improvements are more or less continuous; agronomic improvements tend to be episodic. Positive genetic x agronomic synergies are important but frequently not additive (Grassini et al. 2016).
Genetic drivers of corn yield include new hybrid varieties more tolerant of plant density and other environmental stresses (drought, low nitrogen, low temperatures) and with shorter growth times. For soybeans, genetic advances in yield increase have sometimes come at the cost of lower seed protein content. In addition to these genetic advances, corn-soy rotation is an important agronomic driver. Others include increased and efficient application of nitrogen fertilizer, increased planting densities, and better weed and pest control from genetically resistant corn and soy (Grassini et al. 2016).
Drawbacks to production practices needed to achieve maximum corn-soy yields include high nitrogen fertilizer applications, spring/fall inclement weather, irrigation costs. Results from new drought tolerant soybean cultivars are inconclusive, however, opportunity exists for efficient input application, irrigation technology to fine-tune amounts of water needed but not wasted (Grassini et al. 2016).
In addition to advantages for both crops when grown in rotation, corn and beans are complementary from marketing and use perspectives. Rotating between two crops allows farmers to adjust their rotations to capture relative price and subsidy advantages. As a feed source for livestock, corn-soybean meal is a basic feedstock for pigs, chickens, and sheep. The energy provided by corn and protein in soy complement each other. Further, co-products from corn ethanol and soy biodiesel can be fed to livestock. Distillers’ grains or DDGS, a co-product of ethanol production, can be fed as a replacement for corn and soybean meal fed to livestock and poultry (USDA ERS 2011). Crude glycerin is a co-product of biodiesel refiners that is used as livestock feed (FAO 2012).
Corn
Field corn is utilized as feed grain, chopped into silage for livestock feed, processed into ethanol, as well as used in food or industrial inputs. Within the UMRB, longer seasons, new varieties, and continued demand for ethanol are projected to lead to expansion of corn production into eastern North and South Dakota (Figure 24).
Figure 24. Field corn. (Source: pixabay.com, USDA AMS.)
Corn in the UMRB
From 1980 to 2016, corn acres harvested for both grain and silage in UMRB counties increased by 40 percent from 6.6 to 9.3 million acres. Acres harvested for corn are concentrated in eastern counties (Figure 25). With 12 percent of the total US cropland, the UMRB accounts for 11 percent of total corn acres harvested (see Figure 22 above).
Figure 25. . Total corn acres harvested for grain by county, 1980 to 2016. (Source: USDA NASS Survey data.)
US corn use and demand
Field corn is utilized as feed grain, chopped into silage for livestock feed, processed into ethanol, as well as used in food or industrial inputs. The US is the world’s largest corn producer and exports between 10 and 20 percent of annual corn production. Two uses—livestock feed and ethanol production—account for over 90 percent of US domestic corn, with the remaining tenth used for food, seed, and industrial uses (USDA ERS 2018) (Figure 26).
Figure 26. UMRB harvest proportioned by US Domestic uses of corn harvested for grain. (Source: USDA NASS Survey data and ERS Feed Grains Database)
The portion of US corn used for ethanol production has steadily increased. In recent years, ethanol has surpassed feed using the largest portion of corn (USDA ERS 2017) (Figure 27). Demand for ethanol has contributed to price incentives for US producers to increase corn production. Adjusting corn-soybean crop rotations is one strategy for farmers to increase corn acreages. Other sources for corn cropland include shifts from other field crops, pasture conversion, reduced fallow, and returning acreage to production from expiring Conservation Reserve Program contracts. Expanding growing areas northward into non-traditional growing areas has been aided by new short season hybrids (USDA ERS 2018). Corn is the most common crop planted on unimproved grasslands converted to cropland over the past decade (Lark et al. 2015).
Figure 27. US corn production by use, 1987/1988 through 2017/2018 (projected). (Source: US Feed Outlook 2017, Table 5; USDA World Agricultural Outlook Board, WASDE for projected marketing years.)
Corn for human consumption is wet-milled into syrup, starch, oil, or alcohol and dry-milled into cereal, flour, grits, or brewer’s grits (USDA ERS 2017).Examples of specialty-use corn, commonly grown under contract, include food-grade waxy, high-amylose, popcorn, and non-GMO corn; organic corn for food and feed; and high-HFS corn for ethanol production (Nafziger 2009, corn). Specialty corn growing areas can be localized. Examples in the Northern Great Plains region include organic blue corn grown in the eastern Dakotas (Richland 2018) and popcorn production in northeastern Nebraska.
US corn agronomy and yield
Current corn agronomy research includes CRISPR gene-editing tools used to delete, change, or insert genes from native and non-native species in order to improve or refine corn genetics. Genes from waxy hybrids can be used to mitigate genetic diseases, for example. Other traits being developed include high night temperature as well as frost tolerance. Genetic developments for higher yields are intended to work with evolving crop management practices, including rotation and tillage practices (Pioneer 2017).
Corn yield has increased over the past two decades, primarily due to genetic improvements. Most hybrid seed versions contain stacked traits for maturity, stress tolerance, and pest resistance (Nafziger 2009, Corn). Overall increases in corn production are due to resulting yield increases paired with regional changes in land use. Government policies play an important role in both allowing and incentivizing increases in corn production. Federal agricultural policies in the 1990s removed links between production and payments as well as removed acreage restrictions from planting decisions. Biofuel polices in the late 1990s generated increased demand for corn (Fausti 2015).
US corn production projections
According to the USDA Office of the Chief Economist, demand for US corn is projected to grow steadily over the next decade. Rising yields are expected to boost production and support the growing demand. Planted area, however, is projected to fall as real prices and returns fall over time, in part due to large stock buildups. The share of US corn expected to go to US ethanol production is likewise projected to fall over time. Lower corn prices and increasing production suggest that more corn will be used for feed and residual use and lowering feed prices. As ethanol production drops, production of distillers’ grains—a co-product of dry mill ethanol production used as feed—will also drop, further supporting the use of corn for feed (USDA OCE 2017, 4).
Production and market projections from the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FARPRI) are for reduced US corn production, resulting in a small increase in corn prices for the 2017/18 marketing year; projected prices remain low through 2022/2033 due to large world grain production and stocks (FARPRI-MU 2017, 4).
Climate change projections related to corn production in the Northern Great Plains Region include longer growing seasons, drought, as well as excess soil moisture and drainage issues from downpours, and increased weed pressure. Adaptation strategies include genetic development, soil management, drainage practices, and irrigation efficiency. Longer seasons, new varieties, and continued demand for ethanol are projected to lead to expansion of corn production into eastern North and South Dakota (Derner et al. 2015, 13).
Soybeans
Soybeans are grown primarily for a protein source in livestock feed and oil production and, however, they are also used in a wide variety of food products. Following national trends, soybean production has steadily increased in the UMRB (Figure 28).
Figure 28. Green and mature soybean pods. (Source: USDA ARS images, USDA AMS images.)
Soybeans in the UMRB
Between 1980 and 2016, corn acres harvested in UMRB counties increased by nearly three and a half times or 341 percent, from 2.2 to 9.5 million acres. Acres harvested for soybeans are more concentrated in southeastern counties than corn (Figure 28). The UMRB accounts for 12 percent of total soybean acres harvested in the US, roughly proportional to its total percentage of cropland (Figure 29).
Figure 29. Total soybean acres harvested for grain by county, 1980 to 2016. (Source: USDA NASS Survey data.)
US soybean use and demand
Soybeans are grown primarily for a protein source in livestock feed and oil production and, however, they are also used in a wide variety of food products. Nonfood uses are also numerous; an important one is biodiesel (NCI n.d.) (Figure 30).
Figure 30. UMRB harvest proportioned by US Domestic uses of soybeans. (Source: USDA NASS Survey data, ERS Feed Grains Database, and Ag Marketing Resource Center.)
Most commodity soybeans are first processed to separate and extract oil and meal. Soybean oil is used for vegetable oil for human consumption, a range of industrial products, and biodiesel. Lecithin extracted from soybean oil is an emulsifier and lubricant used in pharmaceuticals, protective coatings, and processed foods. Soybean meal is processed into edible soy protein products, but is mainly used as a protein source in animal feeds (SoyStats 2018).
Specialty types of soybeans include food-grade non-GMO tested, tofu-type (clear hilum), edamame, small-seeded natto-type used for fermented soybeans and soy sprouts,[1] and specialty oil (high saturated fat) and soy milk (high glucose) types; organic soybeans are produced for both food and feed. Low-linoleic varieties have been developed for biodiesel production. Biodiesel production accounted for about one quarter of US soy oil use in recent years (USDA ERS 2017, Table 6). As with corn and other crops, specialty production is often grown under forward contracts (Nafziger 2009, soybeans; UK CES 2013).
US soybean agronomy and yield
Soybean production has steadily increased in the US, largely due to improvements in yield per acre. As with other legumes, soybean plants fix atmospheric nitrogen in the soil, reducing the need for nitrogen fertilizer on subsequent crops (Power 1987). Soybeans are commonly grown in rotation with corn. Soybean-wheat rotations have declined since the 1980s (USDA ERS 2017; USDA ERS 2006).
Soybean varieties are grouped by maturity time. Maturity groups range from triple-aught (MG 000) for very short-season to MG 10 for southern climates that have shorter growing season days but longer growing seasons. Newer classifications use a decimal specification. The UMRB spans varieties roughly from MG 0 or 0.5 along the Canadian border to MG 2.5 along Nebraska’s northern border (Mourtzinis and Conley 2017). Along with expanding soybean production areas northward, short season MG00 and 000 varieties allow producers to double-crop, producing two crops from the same field in one year, as far north as southern Ontario (Pearce 2016).
Hundreds of mostly privately developed soybean varieties are marketed by seed companies. Since release in the 1990s, “Round-up Ready” glyphosate-resistant varieties have become dominant. [2] Around ninety-four percent of US soybeans are herbicide-resistant (USDA ERS 2017). New soybean varieties include stacked traits for pests and disease management, disease resistance, as well as agronomic and regional climactic advantages (AgroNews 2016).
Bacterial soil inoculants, applied to soybean seed or in the soil near planting, are used to aid nitrogen uptake. Soybeans are sown with a seed drill or planter. Drilling allows for no-till practices and narrower row spacing. Split-row planters add 15-inch soybean planter units to standard 30-inch rows used corn. The yield advantage for narrow rows is usually greatest for earlier-maturing varieties used in northern climates or southern double-cropping systems along with crops that are harvested early, such as winter wheat or early pea varieties (Nafziger 2009, soybeans). [3]
Better herbicides and herbicide resistant bioengineered varieties benefit less intensive soil cultivation practices, however, pesticide use is second only to corn. Soybeans fix nitrogen and require minimal nitrogen fertilizer (USDA ERS 2017).
US soybean production projections
Production projections from FARPRI for a record 2017 US soybean crop puts further downward pressure on soybean prices. The result is lower expected soybean acreage in 2018, which allows a modest increase in prices (FARPRI-MU 2017, 2-5).
Over the coming decade, increased demand for soybean meal and oil, and hence crush, is projected. These gains reflect low expected feed prices, increasing livestock production, and steady demand by foreign importers. Soybean oil used to produce biodiesel is projected to support the annual production of over 1 billion gallons of biodiesel annually by mid-century (USDA OCE 2018, 4). China is the largest importer of US soybeans. Potential tariffs on exports to China could significantly impact these projections (Taheripour and Tyner 2018).
Climate change projections related to soybean production on the Northern Great Plains include longer, hotter growing seasons; extreme weather events; and a shift away from summer rain to more winter and spring precipitation. As with corn production in this region, adaptation strategies include genetic development, soil management, drainage practices, and improvements in irrigation efficiency (Derner et al. 2015, 16).
[1] Natto production within the UMRB is concentrated in eastern South Dakota and western Minnesota (Richland IFC 2018, soybean production).
[2] Dicamba-resistant soybean seed, was released by Monsanto for the 2017 growing season, was marketed as a solution to weeds that have become resistant to glyphosate. Problems with dicamba damaging adjacent non-dicamba-resistant soybean fields have been reported (Hettinger 2017).
[3] “I can’t think of any other crop that’s pushing that northern frontier more than soybeans. … The ultimate trifecta is if you can get the two crops and get a crop of winter wheat in. And we’ve done that a couple of years.”—Producer from southern Ontario quoted in Nafziger 2009, soybeans.
Wheat
Wheat production in the UMRB is concentrated in northern counties. Wheat is classified based on its seed coat color (red, white), kernel texture (hard, soft), and growth habit (winter, spring). Three classes are typically grown in the Great Plains: hard red winter wheat, hard red spring wheat, and spring durum wheat (Hudson 2002). Hard red spring wheat is used mainly for bread flour; durum produces semolina flour primarily used for pasta (Figure 31).
Figure 31. Durum wheat, ready to harvest and as cleaned grain. (Source: pixabay.com, USDA AMS Images.)
Wheat in the UMRB
In the US, wheat ranks third in acres planted, behind corn and soybeans. Following this national trend, all types of wheat is the third most common crop in the UMRB. Wheat production is concentrated in northern counties. Spring-planted wheat is common in northeastern counties in the URMB (Figure 32), winter wheat is more common in the northwest, and durum wheat along the Canadian border spanning Montana and North Dakota.
Figure 32. Total spring wheat acres (excluding durum harvested for grain by county, 1980 to 2016. Source: USDA NASS Survey data.
US wheat use and demand
Wheat is primarily grown for food, however, around a tenth of wheat grown in the US is used as feed for livestock in the form of wheat millfeeds or middlings, co-products of processing. Damaged crops may also be baled and fed to animals (FarmFutures 2017). A larger portion of wheat is saved for seed than other major crops in the UMRB (Figure 33).
Figure 33. UMRB harvest proportioned by US Domestic uses of wheat. (Source: USDA NASS Survey data, ERS Feed Grains Database, and Ag Marketing Resource Center)
US wheat agronomy and yield
As you might expect, spring wheat is planted in the spring as soon as fields are free of ice or mud and harvested in late summer. Fields are commonly left fallow for a season for as much as 21 months before replanting (Hansen et al. 2012). Spring wheat is more suited to northern areas with short summers and long growing days. In the UMRB it is more common in northern Montana, North Dakota, and into northern South Dakota (NASS 2016, spring wheat).
Northern spring wheat varieties were brought to the Dakotas from the Genesee Valley of New York through successive generations moving westward starting in the early 1800s. By 1880 the Northern Plains was a principal source of wheat for the US. Hard northern spring wheat is used for white bread flour; harder durum wheat is used for pasta manufacture. Most durum wheat is spring planted.
Winter wheat varieties are planted in the fall, grows to a height of a few inches, lies dormant over the winter, then resumes growth the next spring and his harvested in early summer. It cannot stand harsh winters in northern latitudes. Winter wheat is commonly grown using dryland farming techniques. Less income per acre may be realized for dryland wheat than for feed crops such as corn, but overall it produces a surer return over multiple years. Winter wheat is also grown as a cover crop.
Winter wheat was introduced on the Northern Plains by German Mennonites emigrating from Southern Russia. Hard winter wheat is used mainly for bread flour—much of which is sold for export (Hudson 2002, 262-264). Starting in 1916, the US Great Plains Research station developed and released winter wheat varieties for winter hardiness and early maturity, pest resistance, yield, and quality and quantity (Greb 1979). While wheat is more genetically complex than corn or soy and the practice of saving seed inhibits hybrid development, varieties continue to be developed, mainly be public research facilities.
Winter wheat uses fall, winter, and spring soil moisture efficiently, fits well with no-till or reduced-till systems, can prevent soil erosion, and avoids certain spring wheat pests. Winter wheat is commonly grown in rotation with field peas, canola, barley, spring wheat, oats, rye, or after summer fallow (AWWC 2013). It can also offer enhanced nesting areas for upland birds (Skone et al. 2015).
Roughly half of wheat producers on the Great Plains hire custom threshing crews (Figure 34). Crews move from south to north along defined routes, harvesting and hauling wheat. A large share of the labor for these crews are foreigners working on nonimmigrant visas (Holcomb 2016) On the landscape in wheat producing areas this results in a sparse population with only seasonally occupied farmsteads but higher than average per-capita income (Hudson 2002, 263-264).
Figure 34. Wheat harvesting in Yellowstone County, Montana just after the turn of the century (top) and in 2016 (bottom). (Source: Yellowstone County c. 1911, 2; Billings Gazette 2016.)
Wheat production on the Northern Plains is susceptible to both drought and unseasonably wet weather. Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) is a wheat disease of particular concern in wet years (Bond 2017). Durum wheat susceptible to FHB, which impacted Montana and North Dakota growers in 2016; durum varieties with relative resistance to FHB are being developed (AgInfoToday 2017).
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Problems have been documented with long-term wheat-fallow rotation, including soil erosion, saline seeping, reduced precipitation use efficiency, and decreased soil quality. Fallow periods in traditional spring wheat-fallow rotation has largely been replaced with annual cool season crops that mature in early summer. On the Northern Great Plans pulses (lentil, field pea, chickpea, faba bean) and oilseeds (canola, sunflower) are commonly grown in rotation with spring wheat. Annual forage (alfalfa, forage barley)and green manure crops replacing fallow can also be beneficial in replacing fallow (Hansen et al. 2017).
Alongside steady advances in yield per acre, the total area of wheat planted in the US has decreased over the past 20 years, from a high of nearly 90 million acres in 1983/1984 to around 46 million acres in 2016/2017 (USDA ERS 2017, wheat US acreage)—the lowest wheat acreage planted since records began in 1919 (USDA NASS 2017, acreage) (Figure 35). The UMRB has followed this trend: between 1980 and 2016, acres of all types of wheat harvested in UMRB counties decreased by 70 percent, from 28.2 to 8.4 million acres. This decline is tied to a strong US dollar and increasing production in Russia, disadvantaging the US in export markets (USDA ERS 2017, wheat overlook). Declines in wheat acreage in the Northern Plains reflect better relative returns from improved corn and soybean varieties that can be planted farther north and west (USDA ERS 2016, wheat background). Wetter conditions in recent decades have made wheat more susceptible to disease while allowing for better corn yields (NPR 2014). Price incentives for corn and soybeans from biofuel mandates, consolidated regional feedlots, and export markets have also provided incentives for farmers to decrease acres planted in wheat (Bloomberg 2018).
Figure 35. Historic US Wheat Yield in bushels per acre and acres planted, 1980 to 2017 (USDA Economic Research Service 2018).
US wheat production projections
While smaller US harvests suggest higher prices, global supplies remain large and prices are projected to remain low over the next three marketing years (FARPRI-MU 2017, 2-6). Over the coming decade US farmers are projected to sow less wheat, with total plantings dropping below 50 million acres and remaining at that level over (USDA OCE 2018, 20).
Wheat is vulnerable to higher predicted frequencies, intensity, and duration of drought as well as precipitation; growing conditions that are favorable to corn and soybean expansion also make wheat production vulnerable on the Northern Great Plains. Adaptation strategies include adding summer forages to dryland wheat-fallow rotations, genetic development of adaptive cultivars, and soil management practices (Derner et al. 2015, 19).
Forage Crops
Forage crops can be categorized by plant type and cropping system, conservation method, as well as planting or production practice. Alfalfa and grass hay are the most common forage crops nationally as well as throughout the UMRB region; legumes and grain crops are also be harvested for hay (Figure 36).
Figure 36. Common forage crops in the UMRB: Alfalfa (left) and raked hay (right) and wrapped bales (bottom). (Source: USDA ARS, pixabay.com.)
Forage crops in the UMRB
Forage crops, including alfalfa, wild and tame grass hay, and grain hay are produced throughout the UMRB. Since many forage crops are perennial, area harvested, rather than area planted, is reported (USDA NASS 2012). Acres harvested for hay accounted for 17 percent of total acres harvested in UMRB counties in 2016 (Table 1). Alfalfa is the most common forage crop in the UMRB, it is harvested in every region, (Figure 35) and accounts for 10 percent of total harvested acres. Regionally forage production is an important component of livestock production and feeding operations.
Figure 36. Total alfalfa acres harvested by county reported, 1980 to 2016. (Source: USDA NASS Survey data.)
Alfalfa production systems vary from east to west across the UMRB region:
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In southeast and southcentral South Dakota, northeast Nebraska, as well as along irrigated valleys in the UMRB alfalfa is produced as quality hay for marketing, notably to dairies or for processing into pellets.
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Alfalfa seed production is localized, for example in a small region of northcentral South Dakota, and is generally grown as a dryland crop.
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More predominate in western areas, alfalfa is produced part of cattle or sheep production or for marketing to the local livestock industry (USDA NASS 2012, alfalfa; IPM Crop Profiles, alfalfa).
US forage crop use and demand
Over 53 million acres of all types of hay were harvested in the US in 2016. Nationwide, alfalfa is the fourth largest US crop in terms of acreage and production value, behind only corn, soybeans, and wheat. Montana, South Dakota, North Dakota were the top three ranking states for alfalfa hay acreage (USDA NASS 2017). Of the 135 million tons of alfalfa grown in the UMRB the majority domestic use is for livestock feed; 0.7 percent is sold as seed (Figure 38).
Figure 38. UMRB harvest proportioned by US Domestic uses of alfalfa. (Data source: USDA NASS Survey data.)
Annual alfalfa production in western states is impacted by drought, high temperatures, smoky conditions, and pests such as army worms. Demand is tied to milk prices as high quality “premium” and “supreme” alfalfa is marketed to dairies. Demand for lower quality alfalfa is influenced by the price of forage and feed substitutes such as corn, by-product feeds, and feeder hay, including residual hay stocks from previous years (Fuez 2017). Export markets are increasingly important as well with demand coming from China and Saudi Arabia (Hoyt 2017).
US forage crop agronomy and yield
Forage crops can be categorized by plant types (grasses, legumes, annual grains) and cropping system (primary, secondary, rotation), conservation method (dry hay, haylage/baleage, silage/greenchop), as well as planting or production practice (wild, tame; irrigated, dryland).
Plants harvested for forage include a number of grasses. Regionally important grasses include timothy, ryegrass, and fescue (Barnes et al., eds. 2003, Ch. 15). Annual grains such as corn, sorghum, oats, millet, and barley are grown as primary forage crops and harvested secondary to the grain crop. Likewise, several legumes, such as alfalfa, red clover, and trefoil are grown as primary forage crops while soybean hay is a secondary crop.
Hay is any crop cut, dried, and stored for use as animal fodder. Silage is not dried and is stored with a higher moisture content than hay. Hay is conserved by being dried; silage is conserved by the ensiling process, where primary fermentation from lactic acid producing bacteria lowers the pH value in an anaerobic environment. Haylage dryer than silage (Muhonen 2015). Silage, haylage, baleage, and greenchop are forage products that are conserved through ensiling. Almost any legume or grass, including corn and soybeans, can be ensiled. Silage may be stored in bunker pits, pressed bags, or silo towers (NDSU 2013).
Grasses and forbs cut for hay may be wild or tame, that is, native or planted. Forage crops can also be classified by production practices. Alfalfa is the forage most often grown as an irrigated crop in the UMRB region, although irrigated hay pastures are also common. Annual forage plants are planted as crops, harvested, and replanted the following season. Perennial crops, such as alfalfa, are planted as a multi-year stands (Barnes et al., eds. 2003, Ch. 1). Further, forage crops can be planted alone or as a mix of two or more species, for example timothy grass and clover.
Alfalfa
Throughout the UMRB alfalfa is grown as a perennial crop with a production life of 4 years to 10 or more. Dryland stands are planted spring or fall, irrigated stands anytime between April and October. Irrigated alfalfa is more common west of the Missouri River and along river valleys. Alfalfa is harvested in one to four cuttings per year, depending on the location, with more cuttings in the east and southeastern areas and fewer in the dryer west. The highest quality cutting is when plants are in pre- or early-bud. Alfalfa is traditionally planted after or mixed with oats in order to conserve soil and compete with weeds. Alfalfa is also commonly planted as a mixed forage crop along with native or improved grass. Depending on annual and local conditions alfalfa weevils, grasshoppers, and other insects are significant pests. Weed control is an issue with quality hay production. As a legume, alfalfa does not require nitrogen fertilizer but it can benefit from potassium and phosphate. (ASA 2011; Putnam et al. 2000).
Alfalfa seed production requires insect pollination in order to “trip” the stamen to release pollen and for cross-pollination. While wild bees and honey bees have traditionally been used, alfalfa leafcutting bees (Megachile roduntata) are preferred (NSERC-CanPollin n.d., alfalfa) (Figure 39). In addition to proper irrigation and fertilization, good weed management and spring clipping to remove winter growth are also required for a good seed harvest (Mueller n.d.).
Figure 39. Alfalfa leaf-cutting bees used to pollinate alfalfa grown for seed. (Source: USDA ARS photo library).
Genetically modified glyphosate-tolerant or HT alfalfa were approved for sale in 2010. Adoption rates are slower than for herbicide tolerant corn and soybeans due to multi-year production cycles. In 2013 about a third of newly seeded alfalfa stands were planted with modified HT seeds. In 2014 a modified HT variety that is also more easily digested by cattle also came on the market (Fernandez-Cornejo et al. 2016).
Grass hay
Hay can be cut from native grasses or planted. Normally planted using no-till methods—broadcast or drilled—often after herbicide application (IPMdata, crop profiles).Grass species are commonly mixed and depending on the type may be planted in the spring or fall. Fertilizer may be applied before planting or throughout the spring or fall. Hay may be mowed, raked, and bailed using separate tractor-pulled equipment; self-propelled swathers cut, condition or tedder, and windrow hay in one operation. Grasses mowed before seeds mature store nutrients better. After mowing, rain may cause nutrient leaching. Tedding and raking hay is done help release moisture before baling. Most hay is baled as round bales, which can weigh between 400 and 1700 lbs.
US forage crop production projections
Total US hay area harvested, yield and production are expected to remain relatively steady with a moderate increase in forecast prices over the coming decade. Alfalfa exports are projected to increase for China and Saudi Arabia, decrease for the United Arab Emirates (FARPRI-MU 2017, 11).
Alfalfa production on the Northern Great Plains is vulnerable to drought. The resulting increased reliance on irrigation is paired with predicted dropping groundwater aquifer levels and uncertain surface water available for irrigation. Erosion risk from downpours and weed and pest pressure with warmer growing seasons are also concerns. Adaptation strategies include development of adaptive cultivars, soil management, irrigation efficiency (Derner et al. 2015, 12).
Minor Crops
Collectively small grains, pulse crops, non-soy oilseeds, and sugar beets account for just over 11 percent of cropland harvested in the UMRB (Table 1). Pulse, small grain, and oilseed crop production is regionally significant (Figure 40). More specifically, the UMRB region harvests 72 percent of the total US lentil crop, 63 percent of dry edible peas, and 11 percent of dry edible beans (NASS 2016). Moreover, pulse crops and small grains are increasingly incorporated into diversified crop rotations in northern glaciated counties of Montana and North Dakota.
Figure 40. Percent of total US cropland and crop acres harvested in the UMRB. (Source: NLCD 2011; NASS 2016 survey data.)
Small Grains: Barley, Flaxseed, Sorghum, Oats
In addition to wheat, small grains produced in the UMRB include barley, flaxseed, grain sorghum, and oats and as well as small amounts of millet and rye. These crops are grown for a range of feed and food markets (USDA NASS 2017, small grains summary) (Table 1; Figure 41).
Figure 41. Small grains grown in the UMRB (clockwise from the top left): barley, flaxseed, oats, and sorghum. (Source: USDA ARS, USDA AMS, pixabay.com.)
Barley is marketed for feed as well as food, notably for beer production. Just over half of US barley is used for food, seed, and industrial use (USDA ERS 2017, 17). Within the UMRB barley production is more common in the Glaciated Missouri Plateau, in northern Montana and northwest North Dakota (USDA NASS 2016, barley). Barley planting is projected to decrease from 3.6 million acres in 2015/2016 to 2.8 2018 through 2027 (USDA OCE 2017, 29-31).
Flax, also known as linseed, is a grown for a range of uses, including linen fiber, industrial linseed oil, as well as human food and livestock feed. Linseed oil is marketed as a nutritional supplement to boost omega-3 fatty acids, both for human use and for use in egg, beef, and pork production. (FCC 2017). Flaxseed is grown along the several counties along the northern border of North Dakota (USDA NASS 2016, flaxseed). Flax is drought tolerant and tolerant of infertile soils Flax meal has potential as a biodiesel feedstock, however, at current prices it is not competitive (Biodiesel Co-op n.d.).
Sorghum is a grass with cultivated varieties grown for feed, food, and fuel. Grain sorghums (also called milo) produce food and feed grains and starch; sweet sorghums produce sugar, fodder, and ethanol feedstock. Only grain sorghum is grown in the UMRB. Sweet energy sorghums have recently been developed specifically for cellulosic biomass (Wang et al. 2009; Olson et al. 2012). While sorghum is an important food crop in Africa, Central America, and South Asia, in the US, sorghum is primarily harvested for both grain and silage for animal feed (Carter et al. 1989). About a third of the US sorghum crop is grown for ethanol production (Sorghum Checkoff 2017). Sorghum is usually planted in the spring after row crops, commonly using reduced or no-tillage systems. Sorghum uses less water than other grain or silage crops, however, as drought tolerant corn varieties have improved corn has gradually replaced acreage planted in sorghum. A series of dry years could reverse this trend (Lust 2015; IPMdata n.d., crop profiles, NE sorghum). The USDA projects a decrease from 8.5 million planted acres of sorghum in the US in 2015/2016 decreasing each year to 5.6 million in 2027 (USDA OCE 2017, 29-31). In the UMRB sorghum is more common in central South Dakota as well as along Nebraska’s northern border (USDA NASS 2016, sorghum).
Oats are also grown for both feed and food use, although oat hay and grain feed uses predominate. Just under a third of US oat production is for food, seed, and industrial use (USDA ERS 2017, 17). Oats are projected decrease from 3.1 million planted acres in 2015/2016 to 2.4 in 2027 (USDA OCE 2017, 29-31).
Pulse Crops: Dry Beans, Lentils, Field Peas, and Chickpeas
Pulses are edible seeds of annual legumes. They include plants such as field peas, lentils, dry edible beans, chickpeas, soybeans, fenugreek, fava beans, and other minor plants. The pulse industry in the United States generally refers only to cold-season legumes other than soybeans. Pulse crops with significant harvested acres in the UMRB include dry edible beans (chickpeas, Great Northern beans, pinto beans), lentils, and dry edible peas (including field peas grown as livestock feed) (Table 1; Figure 42).
Figure 42. Pulse crops grown in the UMRB (clockwise from the top left): Great Northern beans, lentils, field peas, and chickpeas. Source: USDA ARS, PulseUSA, Northern Crops Institute, pixabay.com
The US is not a major world producer of pulse crops and US markets are largely tied to the relatively more developed Canadian industry. Cold season pulse crop production in the US is limited to the Pacific Northwest and northern Plains—expanding from the Palouse region of north central Idaho to the east and north, particularly into North Dakota (Janzen et al. 2006). Pulse production has increased in Montana and North Dakota over the past five years as farmers have begun incorporating these crops into rotations, replacing fallow (MTDA 2017; MDA 2018). Growing pulse crops in rotation with small grains fixes nitrogen improving soil quality, interrupts weed and pest cycles, and provides producers with more diverse income streams.
Edible dry beans, including chickpeas are grown primarily in the UMRB region in north central Montana, central South Dakota, and along the Wyoming/Nebraska border (USDA NASS 2017). The United States produces many kinds of dry edible beans. Leading varieties reported from 2006 through 2008 were pinto (42 percent of total US production), navy (17 percent), black (11 percent), Great Northern (5 percent), and garbanzo beans (large chickpeas) (5 percent) (USDA NASS survey data 2006-2008). Reporting for specific varieties in more recent years is not consistent for the UMRB region. Conventional dry bean harvest involves separate passes over a field for undercutting, rodding or windrowing, followed by combining. Direct harvest allows one pass of a combine (UN-L IANR n.d.).
Dry edible peas, also called field peas, are grown for food and birdseed as well as feed—used in forage mixtures along with small grains (NDSU 2009). Food and seed use constitute limited, premium markets and most field peas are used for livestock and poultry feed or green manure crops to improve soil quality. Food quality peas are mainly produced for export (Janzen et al. 2006). Dry edible pea production in the US has increased since the early 2000’s (USDA NASS 2016). Two main types of field peas grown in the US are yellow cotyledon and green cotyledon; specialty types include marrowfat, maple, and Austrian winter peas (Janzen et al. 2006).
Lentils are classified as Chilean (large seeded) and Persian (small seeded), and further differentiated by seed coat color and split versus whole markets. Red are sold split or whole and green typically as whole. Nearly three-quarters of US lentils harvested are grown in the UMRB, mainly in dryer areas of western North Dakota and northern Montana (NDSU 2013; MDA 2018). Lentils are primarily used as a food; only small amounts are used as livestock feed (due to damaged crops or poor quality lentils). US lentils are exported largely to sub-Saharan Africa (Janzen et al. 2006).
Oilseed Crops: Canola, Sunflower, Mustard seed, Safflower
Non-soy oil crops grown in the Northern Great Plains include canola, oil and non-oil type sunflowers, mustard, and safflower (Figure 43). In the UMRB canola and sunflowers are grown mainly in northern North Dakota and the northeastern corner of Montana (USDA NASS 2016. canola; USDA NASS 2016 Sunflower Oil); safflower is grown mainly in eastern South Dakota (IPMdata n.d., crop profiles, safflower).
Figure 43. Canola, oil-type sunflower, yellow mustard, and safflower. Source: saskmustard.com, USDA AMS
Canola is an edible variety of rapeseed. Canola seeds are processed into oil and meal (Canola Council of Canada 2017). Canola oil is marketed for food use and as a feedstock for biodiesel. In 2017 canola oil accounted for about 16 percent of US biodiesel feedstock inputs (USEIA 2018). Canola meal is used as a protein source in animal feed and as an organic bio-herbicide and fertilizer (USC n.d.). Canola meal is the second largest feed meal in in the world after soybean meal (USDA ERS 2017). Genetically-modified herbicide tolerant (HT) canola was deregulated in 1998. Some estimates indicate that by 2013 95 percent of US canola acres were planted with modified HT seed (Fernandez-Cornejo et al. 2016). Global and US canola production has increased rapidly over the past 40 years. In the US, production is concentrated in the Northern Plains, typically planted in rotation with small grains (USDA ERS 2017).
Sunflower varieties include two main types, oil and non-oil seeds, grown primarily for vegetable oil and bird feed, respectively. As with most other oilseed crops, oil-type sunflower seed is processed into oil and meal (shellingmachine.com 2018). Processing facilities serving the UMRB region are located in Enderlin and Fargo, North Dakota. Sunflower meal, silage, and aftermath are also used as feed for dairy and beef cattle as well as sheep, swine, and poultry (NSA n.d.). Most commercially-grown sunflowers are hybrid varieties selected to be self-compatible for pollination, although these hybrids are still assisted by insect pollination and therefore benefit from limited insecticide use and adjacent honeybee hives. Sunflowers also benefit from crop rotations, typically with soybeans and small grains in eastern portions of the UMRB and small grains and other pulse crops in western areas (NDSU 2007).
Mustard seed is a specialty crop grown in the UMRB. Twenty percent of the US mustard crop is grown in the region, primarily yellow mustard grown in Montana and North Dakota (NASS 2016). Other than minor amounts produced for seed, nearly all mustard in the US is grown for use in the food or condiment industries in the form of either seeds or oil (AgMRC 2018). Yellow, brown, and oriental varieties are associated with different food uses. Yellow mustard is used in the meat packing industry as an additive to processed meats. Mustard is commonly planted in rotation with small grains (NDSU 2003).
Safflower is a thistle-like plant with a long taproot, well suited to dryland production. Safflower is marketed as vegetable oil for food use, livestock feed supplement and forage, birdseed, as well as an ingredient for a range of health products and industrial uses (NDSU 2013; IPMdata n.d., crop profiles, safflower; Ekin 2005). While safflower has potential as a biofuel crop, current prices preclude marketing as feedstock (eXtension 2018; Hamamci et al. 2009). Commercial high oil and high oleic acid varieties have been developed for planting on the Canadian prairie; US dual use varieties developed in California and Montana are later-maturing (AAFC 2004).
Sugar Beet
While only representing less than 1 percent of harvested cropland in the UMRB (Table 1), sugar beets are a locally important crop. While primarily grown for refined sugar production, by-products (tops, pulp, and molasses) are used as livestock feed (Figure 44).
Figure 43. Sugar beet growing and harvested. (Source: UMN Northwest Research and Outreach Center, pixabay.com, Nordzucker.com.)
On the Northern Plains, most sugar beets are grown under irrigation, traditionally in rotation with alfalfa, clover, small grains, and potatoes (Nuckols 1951). Growing areas in the UMRB are in the Bighorn Basin of Wyoming and along the Yellowstone River and its tributaries across Montana, north to the Yellowstone-Missouri confluence, and into western North Dakota. Industry centers are in Sidney and Billings, Montana (Hirnyck 2005; Syngenta 2013; USDA NASS 2017).
Beets varieties cultivated for sugar were first introduced in the US in California in the 1870s and expanded into western states in the early 1900s (Cooke and Scott 1993) (Figure 45). Before herbicide-resistant varieties, sugar beet growers relied on the use of green manures, fall plowing, and crop rotation for pest management.
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Genetically modified HT sugar beets were deregulated in 1998 and accounted for over 99 percent of production by 2013, in spite of health concerns (Fernandez-Cornejo et al. 2016; NPR 2016). As with other crops, HT varieties allow producers to apply less herbicide and reduce tilling. Long-term projections for US sugar beet acres planted are from 1,160 thousand acres in 2015/2016, fluctuating and dropping to 1,028 by 2027 (USDA OCE 2017, 38).
Figure 45. Sugar beet field in Yellowstone County, Montana, c. 1911 (top); GPS-guided tractor pulls a beet digger, near Wellington, Colorado, c. 2016 (bottom). (Sources: Montana Memory Project 2016 ; Denver Post 2016.)
Emerging and Potential Biofuel Crops
In addition to corn, soybeans, sorghum, and canola, which have become more established as regional biofuel crops, several oilseed and perennial grass species are emerging from field trials into limited markets (Figure 46).
Figure 46. Potential biofuel crops suited to the UMRB—oilseed Brassica juncea or brown mustard (left) and Switchgrass (right). (Source USDA ARS Image Gallery; UNL Cropwatch.)
Brassica oilseed species (in addition to canola), including carinata, rapeseed, rape mustard, and brown mustard, have potential as feedstock for hydrotreated renewable jet fuel (HJF) and other biofuels. Brassica oilseed crops tend to fit well in small grain cropping systems common in rain-fed wheat producing regions, including the northern Great Plains (Gesch et al. 2015). Crambe has been studied as a Brassica oilseed with potential as a biofuel feedstock suited to cultivation in this region. Crambe can be grown in rotation with a number of crops, including small grains and as a companion crop for alfalfa (Endres and Schatz 2013). Camelina is a drought-resistant cold-tolerant oilseed crop with potential as a feedstock for biodiesel or HJF, as well as other industrial and feed uses. Camelina can be grown as a spring or winter crop. Short-season spring Camelina could replace fallow periods in wheat-fallow cropping systems (Obour et al 2015; AgMRC 2018).
Winter oilseed production integrates oilseed crops into current cropping systems through double or relay cropping, that is, planting a second crop immediately following the harvest of the first resulting in two harvests per year from the same field. Oilseed crops may be integrated with corn-soybean rotations or forage sorghum, for example (Sindelar et al. 2015; Berti, et al. 2015)
Switchgrass varieties have been developed in the US since the 1930s as a forage crop and post-drought re-vegetation. More recently, switchgrass has been selected as a potential cellulosic feedstock for bioenergy. Hybrid varieties have been developed for both dryer upland and flood-prone lowland conditions. Like alfalfa, switchgrass can be grown as a perennial crop with established stands productive for up to 10 years. Commercial switchgrass is sterile and must be propagated by planting rhizome pieces. Weed control during establishment is important. Switchgrass can be harvested and baled with available hay equipment. Production challenges include available land to produce an adequate, consistent annual supply for efficiently sized ethanol plants. While switchgrass fits well into most farming production systems, economic opportunities may be limited to land that is marginal for more profitable crops (Mitchell et al. 2016; Mitchell et al., 2008). Big bluestem is another perennial native grass that has been considered for development as a bioenergy crop in the northern Great Plains region (Zhang et al. 2015).
Livestock
Much of the land in the Northern Great Plains region is better suited to livestock grazing than crop production. Livestock production, including feed and forage, dominate the UMRB. Cattle ranching is particularly important in the basins and ranges of the Unglaciated Missouri Plateau, the Eastern High Plains, and the Sandhill regions. Cattle feeding operations are common in Nebraska and eastern South Dakota (Figure 47).
Figure 47. Cattle on feed in the Nebraska panhandle. (Source: Chappell Feedlot.)
For 2016, NASS reported 10,994,600 cattle and calves and 494,100 sheep and lambs in UMRB counties. This accounts for 12 percent of all US cattle in that reporting period and 9 percent of US sheep (NASS 2016).
Summer forage for livestock in the UMRB includes both range and pastureland. In the Western Basin and Range and Central Missouri Plateau regions of Montana and Wyoming this is commonly native rangelands, around half of which is on public lands. In the Eastern High Plains of North and South Dakota improved pasturelands are more common. These range areas are often large; producers in a 2001 survey reported average operation range areas of 2,900 acres in North Dakota to 13,000 in Wyoming (Hodur et al. 2007).
Following the US as a whole, the majority of cattle and lambs from the UMRB are finished on high energy, high protein feed in feedlots prior to slaughter. While some animals are forage-finished, seasonal fluctuations in availability of quality forage production and marketing as “grassfed” has remained a niche market. [4] Most steers and lambs are sold through private treaty with feedlot or order buyers or at regional livestock auctions.
Both feed costs and consumer demand are used to project livestock production over the coming decade. The US livestock sector is projected to grow over the next 10 years, with larger returns predicted for broiler and hogs and lower returns for cattle. Both domestic and export demand for meats and dairy are expected to remain strong resulting in projected increases in production, in spite of expected higher feed costs (USDA OCE 2017, 38).
[4] The USDA no longer maintains a standard for grass or forage fed livestock (USDA AMS 2016). The American Grassfed Association sets standards for “grassfed” labeling include specific standards for diet as well as confinement, antibiotics and hormone use, and origin (AGA n.d.).
Cattle
Common beef cattle operation types in the UMRB include cow-calf, stockers and backgrounders, feeders, and packing plants (Figure 48).
Figure 48. Steers graze on irrigated pasture on a northern Wyoming cattle ranch. (Source: hallhall.com.)
Cow-calf operations produce feeder calves, which are typically sold after weaning, although calves may also be retained, preconditioned or backgrounded, that is, fed and sold at a higher weight. Ownership is sometimes retained through finishing at a feedlot. One study found cow-calf operators in North Dakota and South Dakota are more likely to retain calves and to feed them for longer periods to a higher weight before sale than Wyoming producers (Hodur et al. 2007).Calving in the UMRB region is typically in March and April, depending on local conditions. Smaller cow-calf operations, with under 300 cows, are common, however, a few very large cattle operations dominate the Sand Hills in Nebraska.
Stockers and backgrounders purchase young animals, feed them to a higher weight, and typically sell them as feeder cattle. This production type is suited to areas with productive summer grasslands and harsh winters. Production systems with more flexible stocking rates than traditional cow-calf may allow producers to adapt to more variable seasonal weather patterns. Augmenting cow-calf herds by purchasing yearlings or contracting grazing in years with additional forage availability (Reeves et al. 2015; Hamilton et al. 2016).
Cattle feeders purchase feeder cattle—feeder calves are steers and heifers that are less than one year old; feeder yearlings are between one and two years—and feed them high protein, high energy feeds prior to slaughter. Beef cattle feedlots are concentrated in the Great Plains (USDA ERS 2017). In Nebraska, the 2012 census reported the majority of cattle on feed (80 percent) were in feedlots with a capacity of 2,500 cattle or more (Holman et al. 2015). Nationally, feedlots with 32,000 head or more of capacity market around 40-percent of fed cattle (USDA ERS 2017).
Beef packing plants that are end markets for UMRB cattle are concentrated in the Great Plains, along I-80 through Nebraska and Greeley, Colorado (Meat Institute 2016, slide 60). In 2016 31 federally inspected livestock slaughter plants were operating in Nebraska, 8 in North Dakota, 6 in South Dakota, and 5 in Montana (USDA NASS 2016, 9). Following wider trends in the agricultural sector, the number of slaughter plants has declined by 40 percent since 1990 as packing companies have consolidated.
Sheep
Commercial US sheep production systems can broadly be described as two types: farm flock and range sheep operations. Farm flocks, more common in the eastern UMRB—the Dakotas as well as northern Montana—are typified by smaller numbers of animals intensively managed on improved pasture and lots (Figure 49).
Figure 49. Sheep grazing on Montana public lands and penned at an experiment station. (Source: Bob Wick, BLM Image Gallery; USDA.)
Sheep producers in the basins and ranges of Montana and northeast Wyoming are more likely to manage one or more large bands of ewes with seasonal lamb production tied to summer grazing resources than producers in other regions of the US. Range operations often rely on historic grazing leases to access adjacent public lands, with herders tending lambs and ewes on unfenced, non-irrigated rangelands. Production practices in these areas are traditionally more focused on wool and lambs are more likely to be sold as feeders than as fat lambs for slaughter. While the lamb backgrounding business model was more common in the past, some lamb feeders still purchase lambs from producers, background them on feed, and then re-sell them to larger feedlots to be finished. The greatest concentration of large-scale lamb feedlots in the US is located in and around Weld County, Colorado. Within the Western US, the majority of lambs are processed either on the Colorado Front Range, at plants in Greeley and Denver, or at a plant in Dixon, California (Nagler et al. 2016; Gardiner 2012; USDA APHIS 2012; NRC 2008).
Further Reading
Bluemle, J., and Biek, B. 2007. No Ordinary Plain: North Dakota’s Physiography and Landforms. North Dakota Geological Survey, North Dakota Notes No. 1 https://www.dmr.nd.gov/ndgs/NDNotes/ndn1.htm
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Carman, E.A., H.A. Heath, and J. Minto. 1892. . Washington: Government Printing Office
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Ferrell, John R. 1993. Big Dam Era: A Legislative and Institutional History of the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program. Missouri River Division, US Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha, NE.
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Galat, D., C.R. Berry, Jr., E.J. Peters, and R.G. White. 2005. The Missouri River Basin, in Rivers of North America, Elsevier: Oxford.
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Hudson, J. C. 2002. Across This Land: A Regional Geography of the United States and Canada. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
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Hudson, J. C. 2004. Agricultural Regions of the Great Plains. In , D. J. Wishart, editor. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press.
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North Dakota Wheat Commission (NDWC). 2008. Grains of Truth. http://www.ndwheat.com/uploads/resources/565/smgrainstruthagwheat_lrg.pdf
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Padbury, G. et al. 2002. Agroecosystems and land resources of the northern Great Plains. Agronomy Journal 94:251-261
Thompson, H.F., ed. 2005. A New History of South Dakota. Sioux Falls, SD: Center for Western Studies.
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United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, Natural Resources and Environment Division (USDA ERS NRED). 2006. Agricultural Resources and Environmental Indicators. Agricultural Handbook No. 705. https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/41882/30065_preface.pdf?v=41143
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United States Department of Agriculture, Office of the Chief Economist (USDA OCE). 2017. Agricultural Projections to 2026. World Agricultural Outlook Board, Prepared by the Interagency Agricultural Projections Committee. Long-term Projections Report OCE-2017-1.
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United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation (US DOI-BR). 2016. Basin Report: Missouri River, available at
United States Geological Survey (USGS) 2016a. Ground Water Atlas of the United States: Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming HA730-I. https://pubs.usgs.gov/ha/ha730/ch_i/I-text.html
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United States Geological Survey (USGS). 2016b. The USGS Water Science School: Irrigation Techniques. https://water.usgs.gov/edu/irmethods.html
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Will, G.F. and G. E. Hyde. 1964. Corn among the Indians of the Upper Missouri. University of Nebraska Press: Lincoln, NE.
Agriculture in the Upper Missouri River Basin
Author
Amy Nagler, Research Scientist
Collaborating Institutions
University of Wyoming
Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics
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WAFERx: Water, Agriculture, Food, Energy Nexus
Figure 11. Cattle drive through Montana's basin rangelands. (Source: BLM Image Gallery.)
Basin Rangelands
Grass and shrub lands throughout UMRB basins used as rangelands encompass a second intermittent agricultural land type. Rangeland is defined by principally native grasses, forbs, and shrubs suitable for grazing or browsing with little or no management (Claassen et al. 2011). Lowland range used for extensive seasonal grazing are found in patches throughout the UMRB. Rough stony range predominates in the Unglaciated Missouri Plateau, along the flanks of mountains in the western portion of Montana (Huston 2004). The Black Hills and Pine Ridge in eastern South Dakota and the eastern flanks of the Bighorn Mountains, stretching north from central Wyoming into south-central Montana, also have widespread rangelands. Much of this land is public, managed by the Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, and state or county agencies (Figure 11).