by Tom Lutey
Montana wheat is setting the wrong kind of records as grain prices continue to fall nationally.
May wheat prices are now at a five-year low, which could push gross receipts for Montana grain below $1 billion for the first time in several years. Cash prices for hard red winter wheat have been below $5 a bushel. On Monday, the lowest per bushel price offered was $3.92 in southeast Montana. Spring wheat prices were still in the $6 range for the best-quality product.
The drop in grain prices, coupled with a decline in Bakken oil production, probably signals the end to rural Montana’s run as state leader in economic growth.
“What we’re seeing within the state is a reversion back to the older pattern of urban growth, western growth and a little less tilt to the east. Part of that’s oil and part of that’s agriculture,” said Patrick Barkey, Montana Bureau of Business and Economic Research director.
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Source: Billings Gazette
