Based on updated Montana agricultural statistics for 2005, there were an estimated 386,900 head of cattle 

 (all cattle and calves) in the 17-county area (Table 2). Teton County had the most cattle (45,000 head) 

 while Mineral County supported the fewest (700 head). In terms of cattle production, Teton county 

 ranked 19* while Mineral ranked 56* out of Montana's 56 counties. Since 1940, total cattle numbers 

 statewide have increased from 1.2 million to 2.4 million head with a peak of over 3.2 million head in the 

 mid-1970s. 



Table 2. Selected agricultural attributes of the 17 counties in the grizzly bear conservation management 

 planning area. 



'Inventory estimates of all cattle and calves for year 2005, from Montana Agricultural Statistics Service, Volume 1, 2005. 

 -Inventor)- estimates of all sheep and lambs for vear 2002 from Montana Agricultural Statistics Ser\'ice, Volume 1, 2002. 

 'Estimates of acres harvested in 2002, from Montana Agriculture Statistics Services, Volume 1, 2002. 

 ■•InfonTiation provided by Montana Department of Agriculture, pers. comm. Patricia Denke, 2006. 

 ^Withheld to avoid disclosing data for individual farms. 



In 2002, there were an estimated 28,500 sheep (all sheep and lambs) in the 17-county area. Teton County 

 had the largest number of sheep (6,816) while Mineral County had the fewest sheep (71). In terms of 

 statewide sheep production, Teton County ranked 12* while Mineral had too few sheep to merit a 

 ranking. Statewide, since 1940, sheep production has steadily declined from over 4.2 million to about 

 305,500 head. Based on 2002 data, an estimated 1,453,000 acres of crops were harvested in the 17-county 

 area. Crop harvest ranged from 321,043 acres in Teton County to 2,746 acres in Mineral County. 



Since Montana is predominately a cereal grain and livestock producing state, traditional horticultural 

 enterprises account for only about 2.5% of the total agricultural income. While some horticultural 

 enterprises are generally distributed throughout the state, others, such as sweet and sour cherry 



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