STATE OF MONTANA 



PREFACE 



Each year more finished goods are provided for the disposition and comfort of 

 human beings. The people in the United States are blessed with the capacity to 

 consistently increase production and also with the ability to acquire goods. Machines 

 are invented and used for manufacturing new things and systems are improved for 

 collecting raw materials and distributing the final products. Agriculture plays a 

 vital role in the operation of the Nation's industries by furnishing many of the raw 

 materials and in consuming a large volume of finished goods. Through great ad- 

 vancement in cultural practices and facilities farmers can now produce many more 

 raw products. This increased production capacity requires a finer control to main- 

 tain a proper balance between production and consumption. Information on current 

 supplies and production potentials is primary to the many decisions and plans made 

 each day concerning agriculture and its related industries. 



The Agricultural Estimates Division of the Agricultural Marketing Service, 

 United States Department of Agriculture, is the principal agency for assembling and 

 disseminating information on agricultural production. Data relating to production, 

 supplies and prices of crops and livestock and livestock products for Montana and 

 the United States are published frequently in mimeographed form by the Federal 

 agency office in Helena. To take care of the need for county and district data not 

 available under the Federal program, this bulletin has been prepared under a co- 

 operative agreement with the Montana Department of Agriculture. Funds appro- 

 priated by the Montana Legislature have made it possible to furnish many interested 

 persons in and beyond Montana's borders, with detailed information on the State's 

 agriculture. 



IN THIS ISSUE 



County crop and livestock statistics for recent j^ears are featured in this volume 

 similar to the six previous issues. State crop and livestock data for the years 1948 

 to 1957 are presented for the principal crop and livestock items. This provides a 

 complete, unbroken series of State data in the seven issues, which for the principal 

 commodities, dates back to the 1870's. Items of special and current interest are 

 covered and may be identified by the brief descriptions of contents below. The 

 general layout and arrangement of the tables in this bulletin is quite similar to 

 that in Volume VI. 



Official crop and livestock estimates are prepared principally from sample data 

 reported on mail questionnaires by farmers and ranchers. Data on marketings, 

 shipments, processing, etc., recorded during the marketing year are utilized in the 

 estimating program and may justify a revision of some estimates. With exception 

 of a few items for 1955, the series of State data in this issue for the years 1948 to 1955 

 are the same as in Volume VI. Contents of this bulletin are as follows: 



Climate Data, page 5, for selected stations form a rough pattern of moisture and 

 temperatures by counties. Because of the wide variation of altitude within the 

 borders of most Montana counties, climate can be greatly different between two 

 locations only short distances apart. 



Cash Receipts, page 6, do not include cash values of agricultural products used 

 on farms and ranches. Part of the reduction of receipts from marketings in 1957 

 was offset by a sharp increase in government payments. Cash receipts by com- 

 modities for the period 1944 to 1957, page 7, show the relationship of income from 

 the principal sources. Wheat is a consistent leader, but could give way to cattle 

 and calves in 1958 with higher market prices for cattle and lower prices for wheat. 

 Cash receipts by counties, pages 8 and 9, offer a comparison of 1956 and 1957 income, 

 the division of income between crops, livestock and government payments. The 

 average per farm is much higher in the principal wheat counties where farms have 

 increased in size during recent years. The State's income was parcelled out to 

 fewer farms in 1957 compared with 1956. 



All Crops, acreage and value of crop production, page 6, lists more irrigated and 

 non-irrigated acreage harvested in 1957 than in 1956 but with a reduced production 

 value. Drought held the 1956 acreage down but the acreage allotments have played 

 a part in turning the trend down since the all-time high of 1.7 million irrigated 

 acres and 8.0 million non-irrigated acres in 1953. The full available series of these 

 data are presented to show the percent of total value from irrigated land, which in 



