Favorable Moisture Boosts Outlook for Winter Wheat in Western North Dakota

Sep 09, 2025

By Victor Gomes

Despite making up a small share of North Dakota’s wheat crop, farmers planted about 120,000 acres of winter wheat in 2025, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data released in March. This represents a 4% decrease from the previous year.

Even so, fall is a good time to consider the role winter wheat can play on your farm, whether as a cover crop or as a cash crop, says Victor Gomes, NDSU Extension cropping systems specialist at the Dickinson Research Extension Center.

Moisture conditions this season have been favorable, shares Gomes. Since May 1, much of western North Dakota has received close to 15 inches of precipitation. This contrasts sharply with fall 2024, when dry soils delayed germination and much of the crop did not emerge until spring 2025.

Given this year’s soil moisture, conditions look much better for establishing a strong winter wheat stand, says Gomes.

Source : ndsu.edu

Video: From Conventional to Regenerative: Will Groeneveld’s Journey Back to the Land

"You realize you've got a pretty finite number of years to do this. If you ever want to try something new, you better do it."

That mindset helped Will Groeneveld take a bold turn on his Alberta grain farm. A lifelong farmer, Will had never heard of regenerative agriculture until 2018, when he attended a seminar by Kevin Elmy that shifted his worldview. What began as curiosity quickly turned into a deep exploration of how biology—not just chemistry—shapes the health of our soils, crops and ecosystems.

In this video, Will candidly reflects on his family’s farming history, how the operation evolved from a traditional mixed farm to grain-only, and how the desire to improve the land pushed him to invite livestock back into the rotation—without owning a single cow.

Today, through creative partnerships and a commitment to the five principles of regenerative agriculture, Will is reintroducing diversity, building soil health and extending living roots in the ground for as much of the year as possible. Whether it’s through intercropping, zero tillage (which he’s practiced since the 1980s) or managing forage for visiting cattle, Will’s approach is a testament to continuous learning and a willingness to challenge old norms.

Will is a participant in the Regenerative Agriculture Lab (RAL), a social innovation process bringing together producers, researchers, retailers and others to co-create a resilient regenerative agriculture system in Alberta. His story highlights both the potential and humility required to farm with nature, not against it.