Oregon Public Broadcasting

Wheat is one of Oregon's most important crops -- farmers grow about a million acres per year in the state.

The sales amount to $175-million annually, mostly to foreign countries.

But usually, when you're talking Oregon wheat -- you're talking about eastern Oregon.

Not this year.

An Oregon State University researcher estimates Willamette Valley farmers are growing 120,000 acres of wheat - that's five times what they grew last year.

The reason is simple: wheat is a more lucrative crop  than in the past.

Melissa George Kessler is with the National Association of Wheat Growers, in Washington D.C. She cites a number of reasons the price is so high.

Melissa George Kessler: “The short answer is there is no short answer. There have been a confluence of factors, from production problems around the world over the past few years, to low stocks, increased demand for foods. There's a lot of factors.”

For years, wheat has fetched less than $4 a bushel. But in the past year, the price has shot up as high as $10.

Right now, farmers can collect $8 a bushel.

Though Kessler points out farmers are spending more, too -- fuel and fertilizer costs have gone up.