Millers prepare to seed peas, lentils in northwest ND

By SUE ROESLER, Farm & Ranch Guide
Thursday, April 26, 2007 6:27 PM CDT

Floyd and Debbie Miller farm north of Williston, N.D.

WILLISTON, N.D. - At the Floyd and Debbie Miller farm located about 20 miles northwest of Williston, and six miles from the Montana border, seeding is just around the corner.

Floyd has tuned up all the planting equipment and set it up, ready to go in a nearby field.

“I'm getting the machinery ready - the grain cleaner, the air seeder - and we'll probably have time to take in a few auctions yet,” Floyd said.

He has renovated a schoolhouse, Floyd's country school that sits on his land, into an outside “shelter” for machinery where a Gleaner combine, tractor and mower easily fit. Floyd and his brother, Rodney, who farms with him, buy equipment at auctions, and repair them.

Currently, he said, they have four working combines on the farm, three L2 and one L3.

Floyd operates two-thirds of the acres and Rodney, who also works full-time off the farm in the oilfield, operates a third of the acres. They seed with a Concord Air Seeder and an attached anhydrous tank all in one pass. Two-thirds of the farm is no-till and about a third is minimum till, Floyd adds.

Last week, Floyd hauled durum to the elevator near Williston where it will be stored as he waits to see what the weather will do.

“If drought is on the way prices will go up, and if not, then I should have already sold it,” he said with a laugh.

The region usually receives from 12 to 14 inches of rainfall in a normal year, said Floyd.

“Last year, it was so wet in the spring, that we didn't finish seeding until the 6th of June. We did not get rain again until Aug. 17 - not good for the crops, but real good weather for putting up small square bales for horse hay,” Floyd said.

For the Millers, peas and lentil seed will be the first to go in the ground “as soon as the crocuses” pop up in the fields. That happened last week, and Floyd said he will begin in a day or two. When the dandelions and wild oats sprout, they seed safflower and malting barley. Durum will be seeded during a two-week window after the lilacs bloom on the family farm, Floyd said.

Rodney takes two weeks vacation to help seed as it usually takes Floyd from five to six weeks to finish all the acres.

The crocus, dandelion and lilac planting scheme has worked well for Floyd and Rodney since they bought the farm from their dad in 1989, and before that, for their dad as well.

The Millers also plant specialty hay for horses and store the bales in the large, old red barn that was moved onto the farmstead 40 years ago. The half-alfalfa/half-grass hay needs to be kept dry because horses can't tolerate mold. Floyd said he sells it to local producers who raise horses.

“The first barn burned down,” Miller said.

The Millers have deep roots in the northwestern North Dakota region, and celebrated the farm's 100th anniversary last year. Some 135 relatives scattered all over the country attended the anniversary celebration, Floyd said.

His grandfather, John Miller, homesteaded the farm after having been a gypsum miner in the east. John's doctor advised him to stop mining because of lung problems, so he headed west to farm.

Grandpa and Grandma Miller arrived at the present farm, a relinquished homestead, in the fall of 1906. There was a 10 by 12-foot shack on the property and with four children, they survived over the winter and began planting the next spring.

The oldest child, Floyd's eldest uncle Charlie Miller, was eight-years-old at the time and had to quit school to help his dad add on to the house to make it big enough to accomodate six people.

Prior to 1914, his grandparents built a two-story house which still exists on the farm today.

For all these years, the Miller farm has been dedicated to mostly durum acres. The number one durum-producing region of North Dakota is in the Williston area, where Floyd and his brother farm.

“We raise 90 percent of the durum in the northwest corner of North Dakota,” Floyd said. “It's good durum and makes good pasta.”

As a major durum farmer, Floyd serves on the Hard Spring Wheat board as vice president. The board puts together the annual show the first week in February, attended by many North Dakota and Montana HRSW and durum producers.

Floyd keeps the majority of his crop in the bin, especially with current premiums for durum about $1 a bushel. However, the market is always a gamble.

“I'll sell some and wait and see - usually try to sell some each quarter,” he said.

Floyd said he always wants to have crop on hand in case of a drought. Durum seed needs to be 58 pounds/bushel or heavier for seeding.

Last year, Floyd harvested 10,000 bushels at 61 pounds/bushel, so he has good quality seed on hand now.

His malting barley is marketed to the Anheuser-Busch plant in Sidney, Mont. His safflower goes to Culbertson, Mont., to the Montola plant. The plant makes safflower oil, and is also planning to begin producing bio-diesel this year.

The Millers, as well as many of the families in the Williston region, are busy this week rebuilding their church. On Feb. 17, the rural church “burnt to the ground,” Floyd said.

Families wanted to rebuild the church as soon as possible, and lumber was purchased and the walls went up last week.

“We had a groundbreaking, a rebuilding blessing, two weeks ago,” Floyd said.Floyd is a Drum and Bugle Corps Marching Band member and will march during Band Day at a parade in downtown Williston at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 12.

Floyd and Debbie have two grown sons and a daughter-in-law, Calvin Miller of Portland, Ore., and Casey and Ashley Miller of Williston. Casey and Ashley have two children, both the apple of their grandparents' eye, C.J. and Tru.

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