LEGAL REFCRENCES 



The Constitution 5 in Section 1, Article XVIII, provides for 

 the Department of Agriculture. This department is under the 

 control of the Commissioner of Agriculture, who is appointed by 

 the Governor, subject to the confirmation of tae Senate, for a 

 term of four years. The purpose of the Depart.Tient of Agriculture 

 is to encourage and promote the interests of agriculture and 

 allied industries in Montana. The duties and powers of this 

 department are enumerated in Section 3-107, R.C.M. 1047, 



CENTRALIZED SERVICES - Centralized Services is responsible 

 for the coordination of all the activities carried on in the de- 

 partment. This includes fiscal and accounting services for the 

 entire department, and compilation and distribution of agricultural 

 information. The administration of the Rural Rehab Trus Assets 

 (Section 3-2801, 3-2803, R.C.M. 1947) is also a function ,.: the 

 Administration Program. This program is financed by Genv.i'al Fund 

 appropriation . 



AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS - Agricultural Statistics is a co- 

 operative program carried on by the Montana Department of Agri- 

 culture and the U. S. Department of Agriculturs. The purpose is 

 to prepare county estimates of all crop and livestock items pro- 

 duced in Montana. The information is then published and distri- 

 buted in bulletin form. Funding for this program is derived from 

 General Fund appropriations and matching monies from the Federal 

 Government. 



APICULTURE - The Apiculture Division is a cooperative pro- 

 gram between the Department of Agriculture and the Department of 

 Education - Cooperative Extension Service as provided for in 

 Titles 82 A-303-2 and 82 A-502-1 of the Executive Reorganization 

 Act of 1971. The Department of Agriculture is responsible for the 

 enforcement of the apiary laws as established in Section 82-805, 

 subsections 1 through 4, and Section 82-807 (11), R.C.M., 1947. 

 The law provides for the inspection for and the destruction of 

 diseased colonies, quarantine of diseased apiaries, and registra- 

 tion of all apiary locations. Appropriations for the Apiculture 

 Division are obtained from the General Fund. 



COMMERCIAL FEED & FERTILIZER - This program, under the 

 direction of the Commissioner of Agriculture, administers the 

 Commercial Feed and Fertilizer Laws (Section 3-1701 through 3-1728 

 and 3-2001 through 3-2024, R.C.M. 1947). These laws provide for 

 the registration, analyzation, and labeling of commercial feeds 

 and fertilizers distributed in the State of Montana. The program 

 is supported by the appropriations of fees collected for the admin- 

 istration of this program. The fees collected are deposited into 

 the Earmarked Revenue Fund. 



