2002 MOHTANA AORICULTUKAL STATISTICS 



Generals 



Montana Department of Agriculture 



The Department of Agriculture, through the 

 Director, is responsible for administration of a 

 $13 million annual budget 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 appUcators. 



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, 656 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 is 



responsible for administering programs directed 

 at promoting and enhancing Montana 

 agriculture. The Agriculture Finance program 

 provides grants and lower interest rate loans for 

 rural youth, rural youth organizations, and other 

 qualified farmers and ranchers while the 

 Montana State Hail Insurance Program insures 

 any type of crop grown in Montana from losses 

 caused by hail damage. 



The Marketing Program provides assistance 

 for market development/ enhancement activities 

 through the use of grants, seed capital loan 

 investments, product development, and 

 interaction between department staff and 

 entrepreneurs. Statewide agricultural statistics 

 and projections are developed through a 

 Federal/ State cooperative agreement and then 

 made available in a comprehensive agricultural 

 statistics bulletin and grain movement summary 

 along with other production, price and income 

 reports. Alfalfa seed research and market 

 development efforts are administered through 

 the Montana Alfalfa Seed Committee. The 

 Montana State Grain Laboratory located in Great 

 Falls operates the only official USDA-Federal 

 Grain Inspection Service grain-grading 

 laboratory in the state of Montana. The lab 

 provides unbiased grain grading, analytical 

 services, and oil seed analysis to the state's 

 grain industry. Scientific and practical research 

 in all phases of wheat and barley culture, 

 production, and marketing is administered 

 under the guidelines and policies developed by 

 the Montana Wheat and Barley Committee. 



