>> When you talk about the field crop stars in American agriculture, wheat is one of the top three players right behind corn and soybeans.

One particular variety, winter wheat, is a crop used in dozens of products that you buy at the supermarket.

And you can thank farmers in North and South Dakota for a large share of the winter wheat produced for America and the world.

Our Sarah Gardner says that these days bringing in a winter wheat crop demands computers as well as combines.

>> Bill Ferguson begins his farming day not in the fields but on his computer, researching crop prices, weather patterns and satellite data critical to bringing in this year's winter wheat crop.

>> And we can use that information to make assessments of how the crops are growing, where the high productivity areas are, where the crop is doing better or poorer than others.

Using that kind of technology is second nature to Bill.

He didn't start out as a farmer, choosing instead to study electrical engineering.

>>And I found that I could apply the same kinds of processes, the same thought process and planning and that we could get more for less by applying those engineering principles to the agronomy of the cropping systems of of this area.

>> Spring and winter wheat are the primary crops for Bill and his wife Joan.

The couple farms on land originally planted by Bill's grandfather.

It was a farm that Bill worked on as a boy.

>> The Fergusons plant some seven thousand acres in southern South Dakota.

Bill and Joan contract with retired local farmers who own a large portion of that land, crop sharing under long term contracts.

>> I spend a lot my time doing book work because we have over thirteen landlords and we do a lot of crop share.

Most of our landlords are crop share.

So, I have to keep track of income and expense for them.

>> In addition to the information from his computer, Bill uses a global positioning system to direct his farm machinery, giving him detailed data on planting and harvesting.

>> He's also invested in new farm equipment that processes the wheat harvest more efficiently.

>> This part of the field to my left has already been harvested and you can see some of the strong visual difference.

But, it still has some of the heads on the straws.

The advantage of that is that is that it's more efficient harvesting because we're not taking all the straw through the machine.

That means it takes less power, less fuel.

>> Bill also saves fuel, and reduces erosion by not tilling his fields before planting new crops.

>> And he enjoys being on the cutting edge, which he has been.

He was the first one to begin no-till farming, and people said, "This guy is crazy."

And now he's been on the cutting edge of precision farming.

>> The water runs around that, goes down here, and this is that area where we saw all that dense red vegetation.

>> That approach to precision farming has Bill back on the computer studying the topography of his property as he plans his crop rotation.

>> This wheat that we're standing in right now was previously growing soybeans.

And what the soybeans did was put nitrogen into the soil.

Takes nitrogen out of the air, and puts it into the soil, uses some of the nitrogen that it produces to create its soybeans.

And that nitrogen that was put into the soil is available for this wheat crop.

>> All of the changes in technology and technique have provided environmental benefits as well.

Pheasants and ducks love to build nests in these wheat fields.

And so by having much more cover, vegetation growing on the landscape, produces a much more ideal habitat for nesting birds.

>> For many farm families the combination of tradition and new technology deliver challenges and opportunities not found elsewhere.

The couple's three children all work off the farm, but Bill and Joan say their rural lifestyle has been everything they imagined it to be.

>> Farming is a great life.

It's been great, for Bill and I are together 24-7.

But, we are also best friends.

And so, it's a good life.

And our children, I think, they had a good beginning.

They have had successful lives.

And we felt privileged that we were able to farm.

>> It's a great life.

Lot of blue skies, golden fields.

It's just a great way to live.

Proud to be an American wheat farmer.

>> Did you know that wheat is used in many non-food products?

Wheat can be found in everything from particle board, to paper, hair conditioners, even the adhesive in postage stamps.