4 AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS 



FOREWORD 



Agriculture is Montana's leading industry. Cash receipts from farm marketings and govern- 

 ment payments totaled $430.1 million in 1963. Montana farms and ranches provided employment 

 for 65,000 persons, and related enterprises furnished employment for many more. 



Agriculture is undergoing constant change. Average farm size is expanding. Investment in 

 the farm enterprise continues to rise. Yields are being pushed to new highs. The relative importance 

 of a single farm unit to the economy of the community, State, and Nation is increasing. 



Complete and accurate information contributes to the success of any enterprise, v\^hether farm 

 unit, private business or corporation. Many people are aware of the annual changes in agriculture 

 but it is the job of the Statistical Reporting Service to measure these changes. The statistics in this 

 bulletin provide the "yardstick" for measuring the relative prosperity of Montana's foremost 

 industry. 



The data in this publication were assembled with the cooperation of public-spirited Montana 

 people who voluntarily provided confidential information concerning their individual operations. 

 While most of the basic information was obtained from farmers and ranchers, much supplemental 

 mformation was acquired from sugar beet companies, mills and elevators, bean companies, seed 

 processors and dealers, slaughter plants, hatcheries, manufacturers of dairy products, auction 

 markets, railroad companies 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. Agencies of the U. S. government 

 which furnished extensive record material were 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. Funds for the printing of this publication were furnished by the Montana State 

 Department of Agriculture. 



The text and statistical data presented in this bulletin were prepared by the staff of the 

 Statistical Reporting Service, United States Department of Agriculture, under the direction of T. J. 

 Kuzelka, Agricultural Statistician in Charge. Staff members who contributed significantly in the 

 preparation of this issue were G. Dean Hasenmyer, Olav Rogness, W. Robert Cotton, Sherman B. 

 Winings and Cecil N. Ullom, Agricultural Statisticians. Grace A. Cross, Statistical Assistant 

 and clerks Roy D. Jones, Ollie K. Mires, Ruth E. Francis, Eleanor A. Teigen and Frances C. Zuehlke 

 had major responsibility for computations and typing. 



Offices of the Statistical Reporting Service are located at 208 McGaffick Steamboat Block, 616 

 Helena Avenue, Helena, Montana. Estimates published by this agency are available to anyone 

 without charge by writing to the Agricultural Statistician, Post Office Box 1726, Helena, Montana, 

 59601. 



In This Issue 



This bulletin contains much information other than county and State data on crop and livestock 

 production. It brings together pertinent data such as climate, government payments, farm income, 

 protein premiums for wheat, varieties of wheat and barley, and other facts. A brief explanatory 

 discussion of the important items in this issue is as follows: 



The Crop and Livestock History for 1962 and 1963 is given on pages 6 and 7. The text 



describes the weather and other factors affecting crop production and livestock marketings, and 

 gives comparisons with previous years. 



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



