The Montana Pulse Crop Committee has added Tanner Jorgensen, a fourth-generation producer farming near Dagmar in the state's northeastern corner, expanding the board's direct line to growers managing peas, durum and small grains on the northern Plains.

Jorgensen started farming in 2011, when an FFA project led him to rent land from his grandparents. He has built the operation steadily since then. Today the family raises green peas alongside durum, spring wheat, barley and oilseeds — a rotation typical of Sheridan County–area operations, where pulse crops supply both a marketable commodity and agronomic benefits for the cereal crops that follow them.

His appointment gives the committee a producer's read on the pressures currently shaping Montana's pulse sector. Jorgensen cited market volatility, herbicide resistance and disease pressure as core challenges facing growers in the state. He also flagged a communications gap: the need to better explain modern agricultural practices to consumers who sit at the end of the supply chain but rarely see how the crops are produced.

Market access carries particular weight in his framing. Jorgensen sees stronger markets as a key part of keeping family farms viable for the next generation — a statement that reflects the economics of a crop segment where growers depend heavily on export demand and where basis and pricing windows can swing sharply within a single marketing year.

The Montana Pulse Crop Committee operates under the state's checkoff structure, funding research, market development and promotion for crops that include dry peas, lentils and chickpeas. Montana ranks among the nation's leading pulse-producing states, and committee decisions on research priorities and promotion spending feed directly into the input-cost and revenue calculus growers run each season.

Jorgensen's background maps closely to the issues on that agenda. Herbicide resistance raises weed-control costs and narrows chemical options in pulse stands, which compete poorly early in the season. Disease pressure in peas and other legumes drives decisions on seed treatment, fungicide timing and rotation length. All three factors land on the same line of a farm budget, and a committee member who manages them daily brings that margin-level view to the table.

His multi-crop operation also matters for the committee's work. Growers who plant pulses within a durum, wheat and barley rotation weigh pulse returns against alternative crops every year, and programs that improve pulse profitability influence acreage decisions across the farm, not just within one field.

The appointment is effective as the committee plans its next cycle of research and market-development commitments, with Jorgensen positioned to press the case that demand-building and communication with consumers deserve standing priority alongside agronomic research.