There's been a lot of testing going on, especially with oilseeds such as canola, but no real swing in that direction, according to Ralph Peck, director of the Montana Department of Agriculture. Since the farm bill, all wheat planting has decreased about 5 percent, which experts say is not much of a change. In Montana, the first year after enactment of the new farm law also saw a drop in total wheat acres planted and harvested. Barley, the second most popular planted crop, has shown no change in the numbers of acres planted or harvested nationwide since 1993. Agricultural experts have said that they don't see a tremendous shift from one crop to another.
Farmers know their ground.
In Montana, despite the new opportunities for flexible planting, that still means wheat. Gary Broyels, of Rapelje, Mont., is primarily a wheat farmer, although recently he's put in some barley and alfalfa on what used to be all wheat land. While he said a little enterprise can't hurt, he conceded that wheat always will be the lion's share of what's planted on his 2,000 acre farm. We don't live in the Midwest where you can shift to corn. We're pretty much stuck with wheat and barley.