Throughout his farming career, which has spanned from France to Canada to the U.S., Franck Groeneweg’s goal has been making his family’s farm operation better. This drive started early, when an agronomy teacher at Groeneweg’s agricultural college in France emphasized how soil organic matter serves as the engine for successful cropping.

He can still remember poignant discussions about humic complexes, what practices fuel soil organic matter increases and the like. This would sometimes just leave him with more questions — but the important role of organic matter has always stuck in the back of his mind.

Groeneweg’s global journey to fulfill his farming passion, which started on the family’s potato and wheat farm 100 miles south of Paris, eventually landed him in Saskatchewan, where the family farmed for 18 years.

Around 2019, Dean and Hope Folkvord, founders of the Wheat Montana brand, decided to close their outlet stores and sell their farm near Three Forks, Mont. They met their ideal buyers in Franck and Kari Groeneweg. After the deal was consummated, the family began to implement a continuous cropping system on the farm, where they now sell wheat flour, flax seed, canola oil, wheat flour and chickpeas.

The system he’s implementing for Living Sky Grains is a major departure from the wheat-fallow rotations used in the area for more than a century. It’s also a risk, as the Wheat Montana was one of the most recognized in the state and already had some regenerative practices implemented.

In addition to winter…