Montana Department of Agriculture 



The Department of Agriculture, through the 

 Director, is responsible for administration of a $13 million 

 annual tjudget with 108 employees. The Director oversees 

 the department's three divisions and six bureaus. The 

 function of each division is summarized below. 



Central Management Division performs technical, 

 fiscal and administrative support functions for the 

 department. Responsibilities of the division include 

 activities for internal operations of the department. 



Agricultural Sciences Division is responsible for 

 the registration of 7,025 pesticide products; the training, 

 certification and licensing of 1,510 commercial and 

 government applicators, 1,677 operators, 447 pesticide 

 dealers, and 8,200 private applicators. 



The division provides evaluation of pest 

 management problems and programs; training and 

 licensing of government and commercial pesticide 

 applicators and dealers; and analytical laboratory and 

 consultative services to other agencies and the public. In 

 addition, the division is responsible for the administration 

 and enforcement of regulatory laws controlling the 

 production, manufacturing, and marketing of agricultural 

 commodities exported from or distributed within Montana. 

 The division investigates consumer complaints; performs 

 technical expertise and licenses for 480 nurseries, 655 

 feed dealers, 234 fertilizer dealers, 320 seed dealers and 

 105 grain merchandisers. The division also registers 

 2,698 pet food products, 1,200 fertilizers, and 5,030 bee 

 yards. 



The passage of the Montana Agricultural Chemical 

 Ground Water Protection Act (1990) charges the 

 department to protect ground water and the environment 

 from impairment or degradation due to the use of 

 agricultural chemicals. The Vertebrate Pest Management 

 program provides on-site demonstrations, educational 

 materials and technical bulletins to assist producers in 

 reducing damage caused by field rodents, birds and other 

 large mammals. The Weed Management program is 

 responsible for administering statewide efforts aimed at 

 control and/or eradication of noxious and other 

 undesirable weeds. The Noxious Weed Seed Free Forage 

 Program provides a certification mechanism that allows 

 producers to market various forage crops as being noxious 

 weed seed free. 



The Agricultural Development Division (ADD) is 

 responsible for administering programs directed at 

 promoting and enhancing Montana agriculture. Within the 

 Division are four bureaus, the Rural Development Bureau, 

 the Wheat and Barley Bureau, the Agriculture Marketing 

 and Business Development Bureau, and the Montana State 

 Grain Laboratory Bureau. 



Councils and Boards attached to the Agriculture 

 Development Division include the Montana Alfalfa Seed 

 Committee, Agriculture Development Council, Montana 



Potato Advisory Committee, Wheat and Barley 

 Committee, State Hail Insurance Board, and Agriculture 

 in Montana Schools. 



Statewide agricultural statistics and projections 

 are developed through a Federal/State cooperative 

 agreement with the National Agriculture Statistics 

 Service administered through the division. This 

 information is made available through a comprehensive 

 agricultural statistics bulletin and grain movement 

 summary along with other production, price and income 

 reports. 



The Rural Development Bureau serves 

 Montana through the Agriculture Finance Program, the 

 Commodity Check-Off Enabling Act, the State Hail 

 Insurance Program, and Montana Agricultural Statistics 

 Service. The Bureau is charged with assisting producers 

 and entrepreneurs in enhancing our agricultural 

 industry and the Montana economy. 



The Agriculture Finance program is responsible 

 for making grants and lower interest rate loans for rural 

 youth, rural youth organizations, and other qualified 

 farmers and ranchers. The Agriculture Finance Program 

 also provides funds for Rural Community Development 

 Grants, Building Our American Communities, and the 

 Young Ag Couples Conference. 



The State Hail Insurance Program insures any 

 crop grown in Montana from losses caused by hail 

 damage. The Program was established in 1917 to 

 provide producers with basic hail insurance coverage to 

 protect producers input costs. 



The Agriculture Marketing and Business 

 Development Bureau is responsible for market 

 enhancement and development through direct market 

 development activities, grants, and seed capital loan 

 investments in new and innovative products or process, 

 marketing, and product development. Marketing and 

 agri-business development personnel work closely with 

 individuals and organizations to promote and enhance 

 our agriculture industry. 



The Montana State Grain Laboratory Bureau 



is located in Great Falls and operates the only official 

 USDA-Federal Grain Inspection Service grain grading 

 and inspection laboratory in the state of Montana. The 

 lab provides unbiased grain inspection, grading, 

 analytical services, and oil seed analysis to the state's 

 grain industry. 



The Montana Wheat and Barley Bureau is 



responsible for marketing, promoting and encouraging 

 intensive scientific and practical research in all phases 

 of wheat and barley culture and production under the 

 guidelines and policies developed by the Wheat and 

 Barley Committee. 



2005 Montana Agricultural Statistics 



General 5 



