Eye on Agriculture - Bottineau Planting Plans

There s an air of optimism for farmers in Bottineau County this planting season Last week s rain was a welcome sight but unlike many areas in the region Bottineau County was sitting a little better in the soil moisture column than most Tim Semler Bottineau County Extension Agent Of course compared to Minot we caught some snowpack this winter and had just a little bit of recharge and maybe an inch of water from the snow And that got us going and the guys out seeding are telling me that they are seeing their barley and such sprouted and starting to go Bottineau County Agent Tim Semler says farmers have changed some of their planting plans on the tail end of the ag market and input cost run up Tim Semler Bottineau County Extension Agent We ll probably see more wheat and durum less Canola probably more sunflowers and peas will probably be about the same Semler says because of the input cost increase many farmers are dealing with much higher operating costs in some cases nearly twice the amount than just a few years ago Tim Semler Bottineau County Extension Agent The average investment per acre this year to get a crop to harvest is about 200 dollars per acre and people have a hard time believing that because it was not more than four or five years ago that we were looking at around 100 dollars per acre for inputs for up in this region but that has escalated steeply and it took off really high this year as well It s a large investment but a necessary one for farmers to do their jobs Semler says now with warmer weather and a chance of more rain spring planting is shifting into high gear and should well underway as we move into the month of May In Bottineau Shaun Sipma KX News