Mohall Ag Show - KXNet - Bismarck/Minot/Williston/Dickinson

Mohall Ag Show

With a fresh promise of cold temperatures just around the corner, it seems early to talk about returning to the fields.

But farmers were doing just that today in Mohall.

The 69th Annual North Central Seed Show and Ag Expo kicks off the 2013 agricultural season.

Renville County farmer Jeff Oberholzer says Renville County recently approved corn insurance so there may be many farmers in the are who start to include corn into the barley, wheat and soybean rotation.

He says many farmers are having to buy seed even before the harvest.

(Jeff Oberholtzer, President of the Renville-Bottineau Ag Improvement Association) "Corn being a commodity that guys want growing up here, there's fewer of the short season varieties so to get the varieties that you feel comfortable growing, they're having to book it earlier just so that they know it's the variety they want and most of those are the popular ones that are getting sold out sooner."

Research is the top priority at the North Dakota Wheat Commission this year.

Administrator Neal Fisher says research is the way for wheat to stay competitive with other crops available.

Prices have gone up in the last few years and he says we may see more of the same.

(Neal Fisher, ND Wheat Commission Administrator) "There are some indications that we might get another rally out of this, in fact, frankly, prices have come up again. There are signs that demand will stay strong which is a very important part of the market process. So I think it looks like we're in for another good year."

Fisher says the cost of production --- including fuel and land value --- is also going up rapidly.

He says producers are concerned about what the break even point will be when demand drops back to normal.