Fields of Gold: An Interview with a North Dakota Wheat Farmer
Interviewer: Welcome to Farm & Field Today! Today, we are talking with Sarah Miller, a wheat farmer from North Dakota. Sarah, thank you for joining us. Can you start by explaining how North Dakota's geography makes it such a great place to grow wheat?
Sarah Miller: Thanks for having me! North Dakota sits right in the middle of the Great Plains of North America. Much of our land, especially in areas like the Red River Valley, is extremely flat with deep, nutrient-rich soil. Thousands of years ago, ancient melting glaciers left behind thick layers of rich dirt full of minerals. This soil holds moisture very well, which gives wheat plants the nutrients they need to grow strong, healthy roots.
Interviewer: That sounds ideal for crops. How does the local climate affect your growing season?
- glaciers:
- Massive, slow-moving bodies of ice that shaped the land thousands of years ago.
- droughts:
- Long periods of dry weather with little or no rainfall.
- harvest:
- The process or season of gathering mature crops from the fields.
- combine:
- A large farm machine that cuts, threshes, and cleans grain crops in one operation.
- husks:
- The dry outer coverings of seeds or grain.
- climate:
- The typical pattern of weather conditions in a specific area over a long period of time.
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About this interview / q&a passage for Upper Elementary
“Fields of Gold: An Interview with a North Dakota Wheat Farmer” is a interview / q&a reading passage about Wheat Farming and Geography in North Dakota, written for Upper Elementary. It takes about 3 minutes to read (404 words) and comes with an interactive quiz and a printable worksheet with comprehension questions and an answer key.