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Ag remains state's top industry

BOZEMAN - Nov. 9-10 at Montana State University was dedicated to recognizing Montana agriculture, the largest industry in the state.

In 2000, about 36 percent of Montana's economy derived from agriculture. The next highest income industry in the state (travel), accounted for only 26 percent of the state's economy.

Your succulent steak, baked potato, Sunday omelet, chili and warm wool sweater may all be made from Montana agricultural products. Montana's core crops are cattle, wheat and barley, but we also grow significant amounts of oats, corn, potatoes, dry beans, sugar beets, sweet cherries, alfalfa seed, hay, dairy products, sheep and lambs, wool, hogs and pigs, eggs and honey.

Not only is Montana's economic well-being dependent on agriculture, but much of the beauty and wildlife we enjoy is based on agriculture. Montanans enjoy their state. We're close to both open lands and wild lands.

Our wildlife relies on agricultural land and forage as much or more than it does on wild lands, though that varies by species. Fish, Wildlife and Park statistics from 1993 indicate that about 62 percent of mule deer and white-tailed deer-hunting is on private land, and 33 percent of elk hunting takes place there.

In this context, said an FWP officer, private land is almost synonymous with agricultural land About 63 percent of all Montana land is in agriculture. Montana ranks second only to Texas for the number of acres devoted to agriculture.

Of Montana's 56.7 million acres in farms and ranches, about 37 million acres of that is in rangeland that is shared by wildlife. About 30 percent of the state's ag land is cropped, while 3.5 percent is in woodland.

There are 27,600 farms and ranches in Montana. Most are owned by family farmers, though many family farms have incorporated, confusing the statistics about the percent of family farms compared to corporate farms.

The average Montana farm or ranch has just over 2,000 acres, large by standards in the eastern United States, but not large for land where production is limited by rainfall. Some parts of Montana receive as little as 10 inches of rain a year, while the west slope of some mountain ranges can receive four times that amount.

On both Montana range and cropland, rain is the most limiting production factor and a short growing season adds to the challenge. Rain limits the amount and types of forages for livestock, and similarly limits cropland production. A small amount of cropland is irrigated.

Cash receipts from marketing Montana commodities vary from year to year. On average (though one producer pointed out recently that "Montana doesn't have much 'average'"), between 1995 and 1998, payments for cattle/calves and of wheat were in a dead heat, with cattle/calves making up 37.6 percent of the states cash receipts and wheat providing 36.3 percent.

That can fluctuate with both the weather and the markets. In 1999, cattle/calves produced about 47 percent of the market and wheat just 27.1 percent.

It may be because the number of people on farms and ranches is limited that few people understand the many aspects of agriculture - and the many jobs in agriculture and related fields. MSU College of Agriculture graduates find jobs in everything from land reclamation and resource management to basic medical research, and from insect control to commodity trading and biotechnology.

It is agriculture's many applications and diverse economic impact that MSU works to support through its teaching and programs in the College of Agriculture, Montana Agricultural Experiment Station and Montana Extension Service.