Warm-Season Crop Choices in the Northern Great Plains.

Wheat (Triticum spp.) has dominated dryland grain farming in central Montana and similar regions across the U.S. Great Plains for well over a century. However, decreases in the farm-gate price have incentivized long-time wheat farmers to seek alternatives. Dry pea, lentil, and other cool-season broadleaf crops offer rotation benefits if incorporated into wheat-based cropping systems, but the inclusion of warm-season broadleaf and grass crops offer additional advantages. Our objective is to identify full- and warm-season crop species/cultivars that can be grown as forage and/or grain crops in the northern Great Plains. To do this, 19 different warm-season crops were planted individually and in select 2- and 4-crop polycultures in three environments in central Montana during 2016 and 2017. Results indicate that >10 warm-season crop species and polycultures can be grown for forage in the northern Great Plains. Some of these same species can be grown successfully for grain, although not as consistently as for forage. Our results indicate that warm-season crops can be incorporated into wheat-based cropping systems in the northern Great Plains, particularly on farms where both crop and livestock enterprises are represented.