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.
Do Montana ranchers feed beef cattle potatoes?