6 General 1989 Montana Agricultural Statistics 



MONTANA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



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

 million annual budget with 81.33 full-time and 10 seasonal employees. The Director oversees the 

 department's four divisions and nine bureaus. The function of each division is summarized below. 



The Centralized Services Division performs technical, fiscal, and administrative support 

 functions for the department. Responsibilities of the division include activities for internal operations of 

 the department. 



The Environmental Management Division is responsible for the registration of 4,700 pesticide 

 products; the training, certification and licensing of 1,257 commercial and government applicators, 878 

 operators, 544 pesticide dealers, and 7,538 private applicators. The division is also responsible for 

 enforcement of the pesticide act and rules; providing technical environmental services to agriculture; 

 providing an evaluation of pest management problems and programs; and providing analytical 

 laboratory and consultative services to other agencies and the public. 



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 larger mammals. 



The Weed Control program is responsible for administering statewide efforts aimed at control 

 and/or eradication of noxious and other weeds. 



The Plant Industry Division is responsible for the administration and enforcement of 

 regulatory laws controlling the production, manufacturing, and marketing of agricultural commodities 

 exported fi-om or distributed within Montana. The division investigates consumer complaints; performs 

 technical inspections and surveys; issues federal-state grade certificates; and provides regulatory 

 technical expertise and licenses for 4,900 bee yards, 650 nurseries, 650 feed dealers, 250 fertilizer 

 dealers, 400 seed dealers, and 325 grain merchandisers. The division also registers some 3,300 

 commercial feed products and 1,000 fertilizers. The division's grain laboratory in Great Falls provides 

 the only official grain grading services in the state. 



The 51st Legislature created the Montana Mint Committee in HB 360. The Plant Industry 

 Division provides administrative support to the committee. 



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 available to rural youth, rural youth 

 organizations, and other qualified farmers and ranchers. The division's Agricultural 

 Assistance program is responsible for providing peer counseling, financial consulting, and debt 

 mediation assistance. The State Hail Insurance program insures any type of crop growing in Montana 

 from losses caused by hail damage. 



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

 market development activities and through grants and seed capital investments in new/innovative 

 marketing and product developments. 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. The division is also responsible for promoting and 

 encouraging intensive scientific and practical research in all phases of wheat culture, production, and 

 marketing under the guidelines and policies developed by the Montana Wheat and Barley Committee. 



