The Golden Triangle: As we approached north-central Montana, I had a nearly clear view of the Belt Mountains. For the past several years, more days than not, they have been shrouded in smoke from forest fires. It was a lovely welcome as we entered the famous “Golden Triangle”, a region known for its abundant wheat production. This stop really is the best of both worlds for this prairie lover and boasts wide open fields and beautiful mountain views that frame the horizon.
Earlier this spring, it was uncertain if this location would even need harvesters. This is another area affected by drought and some wheat wasn’t even up. For reference of how devastating this could have been, yield goals are generally 70-100 bushels per acre coming off of fallow.
Similarly to other places we’ve cut this year, a few timely rains and cool temperatures worked a miracle. Some of the wheat fields have gone over 100 bushels an acre which is incredible to see. There is a lot of straw AND a lot of grain in those fields! Combines are having to run extremely slow as to not bog down the machines.
The only thing dampening spirits is the knowledge of the poor wheat market and abundance of grain in the system. Also, spring crops will not be as strong this year since the rains weren’t quite as timely in their respective life cycles. However, they will cut, and we will move on to spring wheat, barley, canola and field peas following the completion of winter wheat.
The large fields we are in are a combination of flat and gently rolling terrain. However, along some of the edges, it can be quite steep where cultivated fields turn to grassy coulees. A coulee is what some may call a ravine or maybe even a small canyon. I have included pictures of some of these slopes, but a camera image just doesn’t do it justice. I can almost guarantee the combine driver was gripping the steering wheel with white knuckles on a few of these!
