CRESTON — It’s that time of year in the Flathead Valley when acres upon acres of yellow flowers capture the eye while driving through farmland.
Those yellow flowers are canola blooms, a vital crop in northwest Montana.
(WATCH: Montana Ag Network — Flathead Valley canola in full bloom)
“Very pretty, I always say if we could have a dollar for everybody that takes a picture I could retire,” said Heritage Custom Farming co-owner Tryg Koch.
Koch has been farming in the Flathead for 19 years and co-owns Heritage Custom Farming out of Kalispell.
He grows a variety of crops on 3,000 acres on 100% leased land, including 450 acres of canola.
“Usually, the last week or two of June through the 4th of July and into like the second week of July is a pretty good time to see fields of yellow canola in the flowering stage,” said Koch.
Koch said this season's canola is spring-seeded in May, blooms in June and July before harvest comes around in September.
“It is just fun to be able to take a crop from a tiny little seed and then it grows into something like this; you know, you’re like, 'How is that even possible?'” added Koch
Koch said canola produces small black seeds that are harvested and crushed to produce oil.
He said most of the canola grown in the Flathead gets transported to a port crushing facility in Washington before being shipped all over the world.
“And so, it’s just harvested with a combine just like you would wheat; we dump it into grain trucks and put it in a bin.”
Koch said canola flowers don’t grow well in excessive heat above 85 degrees, which makes the Flathead’s moderate climate the perfect place to grow.
“We grow some beautiful canola fields and there is a lot of it, generally speaking Flathead County has anywhere from 7,000 to 10,000 acres of canola just depending on the year,” said Koch.
