A private-equity-backed firm is investing in Washington state water and hopes to create a massive water market that spans much of the state. Find the story here.

A pair of new winter wheat varieties soon to be released by Montana State University breeders are designed to help address two issues that plague wheat farmers across the state, sawflies and stripe rust fungus, while improving crop yields. The Bobcat and Flathead varieties will be released this fall from the Montana Foundation Seed Program, Read More…

The Montana State University Pesticide Education Program, with assistance from the Montana Department of Agriculture, is offering a pest management tour for pesticide applicators at eight locations across southwestern Montana from Oct. 7 to Oct. 10. Speakers will present on a variety of topics, including managing rodents; invasive grass management; weeds and wildfire; crop insect Read More…

Spring wheat production in Montana is forecast at 85.00 million bushels, up 6 percent from the July 1 forecast but down 11 percent from the 95.88 million bushels produced last year, the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service reported. Estimated acreage for harvest, at 2.50 million acres, is down 320,000 acres from the 2.82 million acres Read More…

Farmers and ranchers have long been in search of ways to limit the need for tillage and chemical herbicides on farmland, and two researchers in Montana State University’s College of Agriculture are working on a project that may provide a solution. With help from the Western Sustainable Agricultural Research and Education program, which is being Read More…

A local water rights group is encouraging anyone with a senior water right to pay close attention to their mailbox, according to a release from the Association of Gallatin Agricultural Irrigators, or AGAI. “You must be involved in the process to protect your water right,” AGAI organizers said. In case right holders are not aware, Read More…

The Montana Water Court could soon reach a turning point once all its old water rights cases are settled. But experts say that won’t be the end of the state’s water disputes. That’s why some lawmakers and lobbyists support mandating an interim study that will examine the future of the Montana Water Court and finding Read More…

Sreekala Bajwa, an expert in precision farming and the new vice president of agriculture at Montana State University, holds a sweeping vision for new role. “My vision is — and I’m still learning — is to really learn, talk to people and find out what the challenges are and where the opportunities are that we Read More…

HELENA — The old Western adage that “whiskey’s for drinking, water is for fighting over” is repeated so often it’s almost become a cliché. But water is always a hot topic in the Treasure State, and a classic Western water fight is playing out in the Legislature over a bill that would address who can Read More…

Late January storms saved the Gallatin River basin from dismal snowpack levels, but there is still a lot of time before the water season ends, according to the National Resources and Conservation Service.