Montana’s Principal Agricultural Commodities
Barley – Montana ranks No. 2 in the nation for the production of barley grown for grain. Barley was planted on 920,000 acres, and grain harvested had a production value of $238.04 million in 2014.
Cattle and Calves – Ranking No. 11 in the nation for this commodity, Montana cattle producers earned $2 billion in cash receipts in 2014. The state had inventory of 2.5 million head of cattle and calves on Jan. 1, 2015.
Dry Peas – This pulse crop adds nitrogen to soil and provides an excellent cover crop for farmers. Setting record numbers, farmers harvested dry peas on 504,000 acres and earned a $99.79 million production value in 2014.
Hay – Montana hay farmers earned $668.43 million in 2014, thanks to 2.73 million acres they harvested across the state. Alfalfa was sold at $128 per ton.
Hogs – Ham is the most popular sandwich meat served at home, so it’s no surprise Montana producers earned $78.08 million in cash receipts with an inventory of 176,000 hogs in 2014.
Honey – Honey was a sweet success for Montana in 2014 – 14.26 million pounds of honey were produced. The state, which earned $29.23 million from honey production, boasted 162,000 beehives that same year.
Milk – The average American consumes almost 25 gallons of milk each year. Montana’s dairy cows produced 301 million pounds of milk – or approximately 35 million gallons – in 2014, which had a $66.22 million production value.
Potatoes – Packed with vitamin C and potassium, potatoes had a $46.29 million production value in Montana in 2014. Potato farmers harvested 11,300 acres of this top crop.
Sugar Beets – The state is a top producer of sugar beets thanks to farmers who harvested 1.43 million tons of the crop in 2014. Sugar beets earned a $49.25 million production value in 2013.
Wheat – Wheat farmers harvested 5.65 million acres for a $1.30 billion production value in 2014. Montana ranks No. 3 in the U.S. for most wheat produced.
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