6 General Montana Agricultural Statistics 1996 



MONTANA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



The Department of Agriculture, through the Director, is responsible for administration of a $6.5 million 

 annual budget with 89 full-time and 10 seasonal FTE. The Director oversees the department's five divisions and 

 nine 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 5,200 pesticide products; the training, 

 certification and licensing of 1,446 commercial and government applicators, 1,138 operators, 502 pesticide 

 dealers, and 8,000 private applicators. The division is also responsible for providing evaluation of pest 

 management problems and programs; training and licensing of government and commercial pesticide applicators 

 and dealers; and providing 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 650 

 nurseries, 530 feed dealers, 215 fertilizer dealers, 315 seed dealers and 195 grain merchandisers. The division also 

 registers some 4,500 commercial feed products, 1,400 fertilizers, and 5,000 bee yards. 



The passage of the Montana Agricultural Chemical Ground Water Protection Act (1990) provides that the 

 department will protect ground water and 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 is responsible for making grants and lower 

 interest rate loans for rural youth, rural youth organizations, and other qualified farmers and ranchers. The State 

 Hail Insurance programs insures any type of crop grown in Montana from losses caused by hail damage. 



The Marketing Program is responsible for market enhancement and development through direct market 

 development activities, grants, seed capital loan investments in new/innovative marketing, and product 

 development. Statewide agricultural statistics and projections are developed through a Federal/State cooperative 

 agreement administered through the division, which are made available through a comprehensive agricultural 

 statistics bulletin and grain movement summary along with other production, price and income reports. Research 

 and market development efforts are promoted for alfalfa seed through the Montana Alfalfa Seed Committee. 



The Montana State Grain Laboratory is located in Great Falls, operating the only official USDA-FGIS 

 state 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. 



The division is responsible for promoting and encouraging intensive scientific and practical research in all 

 phases of wheat and barley culture, production, and marketing under the guidelines and policies developed by the 

 Montana Wheat and Barley Committee. 



