Fargo

Brian Smith
Town and Country Realty
Phone: 701-239-2231
E-mail: bsmith750@aol.com
Working with both buyers and sellers in the Fargo-Moorhead area as well as the Lakes area. Any price range. Attention to service is my #1 concern. Your call will always be returned ASAP.

Grand Forks

Sandra J. Meyer, GRS, CRI
Belmont, Realtors
Phone: 701-772-8106
E-mail: getsandy@corpcomm.net
20 + years of experience specializing in Relocation, Residential, Farmland, and Military Clients. GRS, CRI, Real Estate Broker.

Minot

Chuck Walker, CRS, GRI
Coldwell Banker 1st Minot Realty
Phone: 701-838-0220
E-mail: dcwak@srt.com
Minot, MAFB, and the surrounding suburban and rural area.

North Dakota lies in the heart of the spring wheat belt, where wheat is planted in spring and harvested in late summer. The state is surpassed only by Kansas in total wheat production. It harvests more durum wheat, which is used in making pasta, and other varieties of spring wheat than any other state. In barley, sunflower seed, and flaxseed the state also ranks first in the nation. Furthermore, it is a leading producer of dry beans, potatoes, honey, oats, and sugar beets. After wheat, cattle provide the second most important source of income for North Dakota’s farmers. The state also produces such crops as hay, soybeans, and corn, as well as dairy products and hogs.

The land bordering the Red River in eastern North Dakota is the richest agricultural land in the state. In addition to wheat growing, a variety of specialty crops are raised, including sugar beets, soybeans, and sunflowers, as well as most of the potatoes grown in the state. In the southeast, corn and oats are important and hogs, as well as cattle, are raised. Corn and hogs, traditionally raised together, are the important products of the Corn Belt, which borders this part of the state. Throughout much of the rest of North Dakota, cash grains, largely wheat but also barley and oats, are usually grown. Flax is grown in many areas. In the Missouri Coteau and in the southwestern part of the state many farmers combine cattle ranching with wheat growing. In south central North Dakota, dairy cattle are numerous.

Mineral fuels account for 97 percent of the value of North Dakota’s mineral output. Petroleum, which was first brought into production in 1951, accounted for three-fifths of the value of North Dakota’s annual mineral output in the late 1990s. It occurs in a large geologic structure, called the Williston Basin, that underlies western North Dakota as well as parts of South Dakota, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.

Lignite, a low-grade coal, has been mined in the state since the 1880s. Output reached 3.3 million tons in 1950 and did not exceed that total again until 1966. Thereafter, production increased steadily, reaching 27 million metric tons in 2000. Only Texas produces more lignite than North Dakota.

Like other mineral fuels in North Dakota, lignite comes from the western half of the state. Mercer, Oliver, and McLean counties account for more than 90 percent of the production. Some of the lignite beds in southwestern North Dakota contain small amounts of uranium.

In national production the state ranks ninth in production of oil although it extracts just 2 percent of the U.S. total. Most of the crude oil is refined at Mandan, although some is shipped to refineries in other states. Williams and McKenzie counties lead all the others in petroleum production.

Natural gas was discovered in North Dakota at the end of the l9th century. Commercial production began in 1929. Most of the gas is taken from the oil wells of the Williston Basin. The largest of the nation’s three coal gasification plants is in North Dakota, located near Beulah. It turns the state’s lignite into a high quality synthetic natural gas, in addition to several chemical byproducts with industrial uses.

Other minerals of importance are sand and gravel, which are made into bricks and other products. Salt is found in the Williston Basin, peat is extracted in Bottineau County, and lime is made at Drayton.

North Dakota’s distance from large consumer centers and sparse population have discouraged the growth of manufacturing. The state ranks 47th in the nation as a manufacturing state, ahead of only Alaska, Hawaii, and Wyoming. Its industries are tied closely to the agricultural activity of the state. The production of industrial machinery, primarily for use on farms, and food processing together account for two-thirds of the total income generated by industry. Machinery production is the leading source of industrial income in North Dakota. The production of dairy products is the leading food-processing activity. Agricultural cooperatives are becoming increasingly popular in the state as farmers band together in an effort to retain a portion of the value added to the raw materials they produce. Closely tied to agriculture are such manufactures as animal feeds and fertilizers. Among the larger establishments in terms of employees are printing and publishing firms and petroleum and natural-gas refineries. Several firms make wood products such as household and commercial furniture and kitchen cabinets. Stone, clay, and glass products supply the construction industry. The state’s largest manufacturing center is Fargo. Other centers are Grand Forks, the Bismarck-Mandan area, and Minot.

Real Estate: North Dakota Relocation