Richland County Tops in
Agriculture
Agriculture is the major industry in Richland
County and it is here that the county truly lives up to its name, ranking among
the top counties across the state in many key production categories*
including:
1st in Sugar Beet Acreage and
Production
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1st in Oats Production |
3rd in Dry Bean Production
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8th in Durum Wheat Production |
10th in Other Spring Wheat
Production
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Other major Ag products and livestock produced
in Richland County include corn, alfalfa, hay, swine and sheep. Grain
shipments from the county's four elevators located in Sidney, Fairview, and
Lambert totaled 5-6 million
bushels. *figures are for 1996, the latest
available
Major Ag Players in Richland
County
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 Busch Agriculture Resources,
Inc.: It is the promise that comes with every beer brewed by
Anheuser-Busch and the secret to the company's success. As every
brewer know, quality beers can only be made with quality
ingredients. Helping the world's largest brewer fulfill its promise is
Busch Agriculture Resources, Inc., the company's agriculture subsidy and
supplier of quality malted barley, hops and rice used in brewing of
Anheuser-Busch beers.
To support this objective, Busch Agricultural
Resources, Inc., will complete construction of a 1.5 million bushel
storage and handling facility in Richland County during the fall of
2003. This facility will handle up to 15 million bushels of high
quality malting barley produced by MonDak growers. The facility will
have 5-7 full time employees, will load up to 150 unit trains annually and
will have state of the art handling and quality analysis
equipment.
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Lower Yellowstone Irrigation
Project (LYIP): the LYIP, the
backbone for the ag industry in the Lower Yellowstone Valley, supplies
irrigation water to 56.000 acres through a network of 325 miles of canals,
laterals, and drains. Originally build by the Bureau of Reclamation
in 1907-1909, the Project is now operated by the local water users.
The LYIP has responsibility to operate and maintain the facilities serving
about 400 constituents. The LYIP employs 22 people and has an
operating budget of $1.6 million.
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 Sidney Sugars,
Inc.: Sidney Sugars in Sidney
is a major employer in Richland County providing full time employment for
approximately 150 people and part time employment for 280 more with an
annual payroll of approximately $5.7 million. Another $50 million is
paid out to local farm families for sugar beets grown on 47,500 acres of
irrigated land. The refinery also ships 200,000 tons of sugar, pulp
and molasses by rail and 75,000 tons by truck.
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Sidney Livestock Market
Center: The Sidney Livestock Market Center attracts ranchers
from 11 Eastern Montana counties to its modern livestock sales barn
facility. Continuously updated, the center features a sales ring
scale of computerized office for faster service. The market center
was 6th in total cattle sold in 1996 (behind only Billings' two outlets,
Butte, Great Falls and Miles City).
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Research and Other
Support
Both State and federal research scientists
work in Sidney, the county seat, at the Montana State University Eastern
Agricultural Research Center and the USDA-ARS Northern Plains Agricultural
Research Laboratory/Pest Management and Agricultural Systems Research Unit,
focusing on both irrigated and dryland agricultural research. The USDA
offices located in Sidney include:
Grain Movement
Approximately 200 unit trains originate in
Richland County annually, moving 15-20 million bushels of grain from Richland
County and the surrounding area in 2003. This is a grand increase with the
introduction of Busch Agriculture Resources, Inc. In 1996, there were 19
unit trains and 9 million bushels of grain taken out of Richland
County.
Oil Production
Richland County is rich in natural resources
including oil where it ranks 2nd in the state in both new and ongoing production
according to the Montana Oil and Gas Annual Review 1995, Volume
39.
Honey Production and
Pollination
The Fairview area in Richland County produces
2 million pounds of honey per year. These honey bees also pollinate 6,000
acres of California almond trees that produce 12 million pounds of almonds per
year.
