6 AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS 



MONTANA CROPS AND LIVESTOCK - 1966 



Winter wheat seeding got underway as usual, in late August 1965, but was delayed for 6 weeks by wet weather. 

 Seeding operations extended to the end of October. Precipitation was light during October and November, but mild 

 temperatures and good soil moisture accumulation from August and September kept the crop growing well until about 

 mid- December when light snowfall and colder weather forced it into dormancy. Seedings came through the winter in 

 good condition. Though snowfall was light to moderate, it was generally sufficient to protect against winter hazards in 

 most areas. However, cold spring weather retarded growth. Stands were good, but scant rainfall and wind damage 

 deteriorated condition during late spring. 



Soil moisture was short during most of the 1966 growing season in the southern half of Montana. Also at various 

 times throughout the spring and summer, topsoil moisture was short in other areas of the State with the exception of 

 the north central counties. However, all crops grown in summer fallowed ground made near normal early season 

 growth because of above average moisture accumulated from heavy rains received during August and September 1965 

 which provided a moisture reserve for the 1966 growing season. This reserve of soil moisture, together with the small 

 amounts of rainfall received during the spring and summer of 1966, was sufficient to sustain most crops to maturity. 

 Yields were good in the northern half of the State but output was disappointing on non-irrigated land in southern 

 counties, many of which experienced the driest growing season on record. In some southern counties, numbers of 

 livestock were reduced to better align them with available feed, hay, and water supphes. Growers in all counties 

 designated as "Disaster Counties" by the U.S.D.A. were permitted to pasture and harvest hay from Conservation 

 Reserve acres. These counties were; Beaverhead, Carter, Daniels, Fallon, Musselshell, Richland, Roosevelt, Rosebud, 

 Sheridan, Valley, and Wibaux. Irrigation water was generally adequate throughout the season for the larger projects, but 

 supphes were low or exhausted on some smaller projects. The first killing frost of the season did not occur until the last 

 week of September and some areas did not have frosts until about two weeks later. 



During late winter and the early spring of 1966, the condition of range and livestock remained good. Calving and 

 lambing losses were Ught. Beginning in April, range feed conditions declined contra-seasonally and remained below 

 average until November. 



CROPS: Despite below normal rainfall, Montana's production of most crops exceeded average. The exceptions 

 were winter wheat, oats, rye, flaxseed, and alfalfa hay. Compared with the previous year, the 1966 production was 

 larger for corn, durum wheat, barley, potatoes, dry beans, sugarbeets, alfalfa seed, apples, and cherries. Harvested 

 acreage of the principal crops, at 8,039,800 acres was 3 percent below the 8,306,000 acres harvested in 1965. 



Montana's production of all wheat totaled 99,694,000 bushels in 1966, 5 percent less than in 1965. Yield per 

 acre at 26.6 bushels was the highest in recent years. This was partially the result of more winter wheat in relation to 

 spring wheat, and to a higher percentage of irrigated wheat harvested and less non-irrigated acreage because of greater 

 abandonment in southern parts of the State where some dry-land wheat failed to make a crop. Wheat was harvested 

 from 3,745,000 acres, 10 percent less than a year earUer. Winter wheat yield at 30.0 bushels pei acre was the largest 

 ever attained, but production at 64,290,000 bushels was 5 percent less than the previous year because of a 7 percent 

 reduction in acreage-2,143,000 acres, compared with 2,329,000 in 1965. The durum crop of 3,680,000 bushels was 22 

 percent above the 1965 output. Other spring wheat at 31,724,000 bushels, was down 9 percent from 1965. 



The State's bariey crop of 63,564,000 bushels exceeded 1965 production by 27 percent and was the largest ever 

 produced. Yield at 38.5 bushels per acre was equal to the previous year, but acreage was more than one-fourth larger. 

 Oats output of 7,469,000 bushels was 22 percent below the 1965 production of 9,605,000 bushels. The flaxseed crop 

 of 147,000 bushels was the smallest since 1961 , and rye at 1 26,000 bushels was the smallest in 10 years. 



In spite of set-backs by frosts in the spring, the output of sugarbeets at 1,006,000 tons was the third largest of 

 record. Average yield at 17.1 tons per acre was exceeded only by the 17.8 tons realized in 1963. The dry bean crop, at 

 252,000 cwt., clean basis, was 16 percent larger than in 1965. The estimate of 1,360,000 hundred weight of potatoes 

 was 3 percent more than the previous year. 



Alfalfa seed production was estimated at 4,000,000 pounds, much above the previous year's small crop of 

 2,295,000 pounds. Red clover seed at 182,000 pounds was 35 percent smaller than in 1965. The 1966 all hay crop 

 totaled 3,297,000 tons, 14 percent less than 1965's relatively large crop. 



Total production of sweet and sour cherries at 2,800 tons was sharply above the previous year's small output of 

 only 290 tons. The apple crop at 30,000 bushels was half again bigger than the 20,000 produced in 1965. 



LIVESTOCK: Montana farmers and ranchers had 2,869,000 cattle and calves, including dairy stock, on hand 

 January 1, 1967, one percent above the 2,841,000 head on hand January 1 at the beginning of 1966. This estabUshed 

 a new high and marked the fifth consecutive year of increase in Montana cattle population. 



The number of stock sheep and lambs on farms and ranches on January 1, 1967 was 1,226,000 head, 4 percent 

 less than at the beginning of 1966. 



Hogs and pigs on Montana farms on January 1, 1967 were estimated at 153,000 head, 24 percent more than the 

 123,000 head a year earlier. 



