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Montana Agriculture by the Numbers: Wheat, Cattle and More

Agriculture remains one of Montana's largest industries. A look at what the state grows and raises, and where to find current data.

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Wheat harvest at P&J Ranches where Producer Steve Burke (black baseball cap) and other landowners use water from the Ruby Reservoir at the base of the
Photo: USDAgov via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain. Image cropped.

Agriculture is one of Montana’s largest industries by both land use and economic output.

What Montana produces

  • Cattle and calves: consistently among the state’s top commodities by value, raised on ranches statewide.
  • Wheat: Montana ranks among the leading U.S. producers of spring and winter wheat, concentrated in the north-central “Golden Triangle” around Great Falls, Havre and Shelby.
  • Barley, much of it grown for malting.
  • Pulse crops: Montana is among the largest U.S. producers of dry peas, lentils and chickpeas.
  • Hay, plus sugar beets in the Yellowstone and Bighorn valleys, along with honey and cherries around Flathead Lake.

Pressures on producers

Drought, commodity prices, input costs and trade policy all affect farm income from year to year. Many operations are multigenerational family farms, and the average age of producers keeps rising.

Where to find current numbers

USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) publishes Montana crop progress reports, annual production figures and the Census of Agriculture every five years.

For more background, see our explainers on photographer Evelyn Cameron and Montana’s county fairs. Find more stories in our Business section.

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