4 AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS 



FOREWORD 



Agriculture is Montana's leading industry and a large part, of the State's economy depends on 

 agricultural enterprises. Montana is endowed with vast acreages of productive farms and range 

 land, and good water resources for irrigation. An abundance of crop and livestock production is one 

 of the rewards enjoyed by farmers and ranchers. The State is blessed with industrious, intelligent, 

 and resourceful rural people who put the results of agricultural research to work. They have 

 learned to produce efficiently and continue to adjust to changes brought about by improved means 

 of transportation, new methods of processing and packaging so as to meet the ever-changing 

 market demands. Montana stands out among States in our Nation as one of the important pro- 

 ducers of foods and other materials, and is especially outstanding in production of high quality 

 wheat, barley, beef cattle and sheep. 



The number of farms and ranches is steadily declining in Montana but their size, as well as 

 the all land in farms is increasing. In an era when a considerable acreage of farm land is being 

 utilized for highway construction, housing and industrial developments, and State and Federal 

 projects, the farm land base in Montana is increasing. This is unique in comparison with many 

 other States whose cropland acreage is shrinking. It indicates that Montana has an expanding and 

 progressive agriculture. Signs of this are evident each year as business establishments are expand- 

 ing and new industries are locating in the State. 



The year 1962 is the Centennial Year of the United States Department of Agriculture and the 

 Centennial phrase "Growth through Agricultural Progress" is also symbolic of Montana's growth. 



One of the responsibilities of agricultural leaders is to make available to farmers and ranchers, 

 and industries associated with agriculture, comprehensive statistical information which is useful 

 in planning future production. The statistics presented in this biennial bulletin fills the bulk of this 

 responsibility. The Statistical Reporting Service is the principal agency which assembles and 

 publishes information on production of crops, livestock and livestock products, inventories, supplies, 

 and prices. This agency compiles the official estimates for Montana and is located in Room 208, 

 McGaffick Steamboat Block, 616 I-felena Avenue, Helena, Montana. In order to fill the need for 

 county and district data not available under the Federal program, the work of this agency is 

 coordinated and carried on cooperatively with that of the Montana State Department of Agriculture. 

 This bulletin has been prepared under the cooperative agreement of the State and Federal Depart- 

 ments of Agriculture. Funds appropriated by the Montana State Legislature have made it possible 

 to prepare and publish county estimates for all major crops and livestock items produced in the 

 State. This detailed information is in constant demand by many interested Montana people and 

 others who are directly and indirectly connected with agriculture. 



The information in this bulletin has been assembled from various sources. For most crops and 

 livestock items the basic data were furnished by Montana farmers and ranchers. Much supple- 

 mental information was obtained from private enterprises including sugar beet companies, mills 

 and elevators, bean companies, seed processors and dealers, slaughter plants, hatcheries, manu- 

 facturers of dairy products, auction markets, railroads and others. State agencies, in addition to 

 those in the Montana State Department of Agriculture which contributed significantly were the 

 Livestock Commission, Livestock Sanitary Board, Railroad and Public Service Commission, and the 

 Board of Equalization. U. S. governmental agencies which furnished extensive record material 

 v\^ere the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service, Soil Conservation Service, Weather 

 Bureau, and the Extension Service. Credit and thanks are due to these and all others who assisted 

 the Statistical Reporting Service in making data available. 



In This Issue 



This bulletin contains much supplemental information in addition to the county and State data 

 on crop and livestock production. It brings together pertinent climatological records, government 

 payments, farm income, protein premiums for wheat, wheat and barley varieties, and much other 

 information. A brief explanatory discussion of the important items in this issue is as follows: 



The Crop and Livestock History for 1960 and 1961 is given on pages 6 to 8. The text describes 

 the weather and other factors affecting crop production and livestock marketings. The summaries 

 also give comparisons with previous years. 



Cash Receipts, pages 11 to 15, exclude cash values of agricultural products used on farms and 

 ranches. Receipts from marketings of crops were sharply reduced in 1961 by the severe drought. 

 The shortage of range feeds and grains in large areas of the State forced some liquidation of live- 



