Farmer says agriculture will continue here

By RICHARD HANNERS / Northwest Montana News Network

One of Flathead Valley's few remaining large-scale farmers says agriculture is not going to disappear anytime soon from the valley.

Bruce Tutvedt's grandfather started farming in the valley after coming here from Norway in the 1920s. He now operates the family farm with his father.

The farm employs four to 10 people and includes a feedlot and cow-calf operation along with fields of peppermint, wheat, barley and alfalfa.

"It's home to some of the best bird and deer hunting in the Flathead," he said.

By early September, Tutvedt was wrapping up the mint harvest on 270 acres, producing about 10,000 pounds of mint oil. The agricultural sector has generally seen a significant improvement, he said but livestock operations here are decreasing.

"We're down to a few hog growers in the valley, we lost the Meadow Gold creamery, and we're down to two smaller dairies with cows," he said.

Overall, the number of large-scale farms has dropped from 35 a few years ago to about 30 now, Tutvedt said. In the past, they were mostly diversified, with grain and livestock, but the trend is toward more cropland. But only one seed potato farmer is left of seven that worked in the valley.

"Mint farms are down from about 25 to four now," he said. "Quite a bit of canola is being grown in the valley now because of the orange blossom midge, which eats spring wheat."

Rotating crops helps avoid such impacts, Tutvedt said. The canola seed is sent to Lethbridge to be crushed to make oil for humans and mash for livestock feed.

A few weeks after the mint harvest was in, Tutvedt was harvesting spring wheat on 110 acres at Farm To Market Road and Church Drive. His three-year-old $250,000 John Deere combine utilizes cutting-edge technology — a computer monitor shows the layout of the field, and GPS navigation takes over after he turns the machine around at the end of a pass. The monitor also gives a bushel-yield and moisture readings.

About 85 percent of Montana-grown wheat is shipped out-of-state, Tutvedt said. His bakery-grade wheat will go to Portland, Ore.

"All the straw is returned to the field using no-till methods," he said. "That way, all the carbon and moisture is captured."

The future of farming in the Flathead could be determined by two factors — reluctance by successive generations to take over the family farm and increasing land prices that keep new farmers from moving here.

Tutvedt said changing some government regulations could help farmers. A $7,000 water rights fee recently stopped one local farmer who wanted to relocate his diversion point for irrigation, he noted.

Tutvedt said he'd also like to see more government research focused on things that will work in the Flathead, such as spring wheat that will fetch a baking-quality premium price.

The high price of hay has created a niche market for farmers selling to wealthy horse owners, but many horse owners are not wealthy.

"There's a lot of horses for sale right now," he said.

Tutvedt says agriculture will continue to have a place in the Flathead. While the construction of an industrial park along Highway 35 in Creston broke his heart, he says the giant Two Rivers and Riverdale neighborhood plans between Whitefish and Kalispell could benefit farming.

Long-term planning provides farmers with the predictability they need to keep on farming, he said.

"Otherwise, they might find themselves accelerating sales of land in subdivisions, creating sprawl," he said.