This month's Montana Harvest of the Month is the mighty lentil! Montana is the top producer of lentils in the United States, producing nearly 40% of the lentils grown in the United States on 140,000 acres. Lentils are a pulse crop and part of the legume family, along with beans and peas. They grow on a small bushy plant that has thin stems. Each pod contains one to two lentils. Like many other legumes, lentils have root nodules that fix nitrogen, which means they can convert nitrogen in the air into a nutrient in the soil that helps plants grow. Growing lentils as a rotational crop with wheat and other grains decreases the need for adding nitrogen fertilizer.