Agriculture in Broadwater County is Resilient
 | Author:
Allison Kosto, MSU Broadwater County Extension Agent
MSU Broadwater County Extension Agent |
Agriculture in Broadwater County is Resilient Allison Kosto, MSU Broadwater County Extension Agent Between the weather, drought, market conditions and rising costs, being in the agriculture industry feels like a roller coaster. However, according to the 2022 Montana Agricultural Statistics Report, which was published in the fall, the agriculture industry is resilient and is still doing well despite the challenges. The report is published by the USDA National Agricultural Statistic Service (NASS) and the Montana Department of Agriculture with data gathered throughout the year from producers, agencies and technicians.
For the first time in Montana’s history, agriculture dropped from the top spot as the state’s best industry in 2021, falling behind the travel industry, which increased by 64.1%, likely a result of the post-pandemic travel boom. However, the agriculture industry was still strong resulting in $4.3 billion in production, down only 9% from the previous year. This drop was because there was a major decrease (34%) in crop production in 2021 due to the drought. However, Montana continues to lead the nation as the top producer of chickpeas and lentils and second in the nation in barley, dry edible peas, canola, flaxseed, safflower and durum wheat. On the other hand, livestock production and animal products were up 5% over the previous year.
At the local level, Broadwater County had cash receipts of $16.4 million for livestock (slight decrease) and $37.8 million for crops (increase). The county has about 296 farms (increase) with a total of 466,920 acres (decrease) in farmland. The average farm size is 1,577 acres. This trend matches the rest of what the nation is seeing, a decrease in farm size.
According to the report, Broadwater County harvested 12,700 acres of winter wheat in 2020 and 11,800 acres in 2021. Broadwater saw a major reduction in spring wheat going from 14,800 harvested acres in 2020 to 8,900 in 2021. This is likely a reflection of the drought when many growers planted fewer acres in the spring. There was no barley data for Broadwater County in 2021 indicating not enough growers reported. However, in 2020 the county ranked third in the state in barley production by producing 101.6 bushels per acre.
Broadwater County has historically been a top producer in hay production. However, the current agriculture statistics report does not provide county-specific hay production data. The state produced 3.6 million tons in 2021, including 2.6 million tons of alfalfa hay. This was significantly down from previous years, another tragedy of the drought.
In livestock production, Broadwater County continues to see a slight reduction in cattle and calf inventory from 23,000 in 2020 to 20,500 in 2022. A similar trend was seen statewide with a decrease in production to 2.2 million cattle and calves. Sheep numbers in the county held steady at 2,200 which also matched the state trend. Hog numbers, on the other hand, increased to 400 animals in the county. Hog numbers increased statewide as well.
Broadwater County is one of the smallest counties in the state based on area. Therefore, our county may never rank among the highest in number of acres planted or harvested, but it continues to be one of the most productive. We also have some diversity as a top producer in seed potatoes and forage seed crops. We even have a dairy, sod farm and farm-to-market production.
Our high production rates can be partially attributed to our fertile valley and network of irrigation canals supplying our crops. Both the Toston and Canyon Ferry Reservoirs were created for irrigation and are still vitally important today. Local farmers remain on top of current technology and integrate innovative techniques to conserve and sustain the farmland for the next generation.
You can find more agricultural statistics from NASS at https://www.nass.usda.gov/mt. The MSU Extension Office in Broadwater County remains committed to serving local agriculture producers and providing educational resources and programming on a variety of topics to provide better decision-making tools. Contact our office at 406-266-9242 or broadwater@montana.edu.
