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Chouteau County is the number one wheat-producing county in the state, depending almost entirely on agriculture for its economy, but recent storms that caused sprouting damage could reduce the price of winter wheat by 25 to 50-cents per bushel.

Tom Allen, Chouteau County extension agent, noted, "It can add up pretty quick on a 60-bushel acre crop if you lose 50 cents per bushel. That money can add up quick."

While this year's harvest season was a little wetter than those past, Allen says it wasn't bad enough to severely impact most farms in the area.

Great Falls saw an extra 1.74 inches of rain, Fort Benton had an increase of just over an inch, and Havre was near an inch and a half above average.

Over in nearby Teton County, farmers near the town of Choteau had bigger problems than just rain.

Farmer Kevin Johnson said, "This year you could see a fair amount of stems cut and heads layin' on the ground."

Johnson says some parts of his 1,200 acres were 95% damaged from hail, adding, "This year I experimented with some lentils. They looked pretty good but then they got hit pretty hard by hail so the yield is kind of a disappointment."

Johnson's wheat has all been cut; he just has about 350 acres of barley and lentils left, and said that he got lucky this year with very little damage from sawflies and sprouting.

Johnson is waiting until the crops dry from this week's rain storm before he finishes his last few days of harvest.

Allen says this week's rain slowed Chouteau County farmers, but he expects they'll be back in the fields finishing up by the end of the week.