Montana: The Expansion of Agriculture

After the coming of the railroads, farmers arrived by the trainload to develop the lands of E Montana. They planted their fields in the second decade of the 20th cent. The initial bounteous wheat yield did not last long; the calamitous drought of 1919 and the consequent dust storms seared the fields, and in the 1920s the farms began to disappear as rapidly as they had been established.

When the Great Depression began in 1929, Montana was already accustomed to depression. In subsequent years vigorous measures were taken to aid agriculture in the state, and by the late 1940s federal dam and irrigation projects—on the Missouri, the Yellowstone, the Marias, the Sun, and elsewhere—opened many acres to cultivation. Some of the vast grazing lands were brought under planned use, and the development of hydroelectric power continued. Major multipurpose dams in Montana producing power include Fort Peck, Hungry Horse, and Canyon Ferry.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• Economic Diversification
• The Expansion of Agriculture
• The Importance of Mining
• Territorial Status, Sioux Resistance, and Statehood
• Early Inhabitants, Fur Trading, and Gold
• Government and Higher Education
• Economy
• Geography
• Facts and Figures

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