Environment of Wyoming
Wyoming straddles the Continental Divide, and its abrupt topographic relief includes alternating basins and mountain ranges. Major mountain ranges include the Beartooth, Gros Ventre, Teton, Wind River, Bighorn, Sierra Madre, and Medicine Bow. Internal basins and eastern plains are rolling to flat, and in the east are the Great Plains. Typical vegetation includes sagebrush, greasewood, and saltbush shrubs in the intermountain basins, grasses on the Great Plains, juniper and mountain mahogany in the foothills, and forest and alpine meadows in the mountains. The state lies within the US Environmental Protection Agency's Region 8. Agriculture in Wyoming The state of Wyoming, also known as the Cowboy State, has 30.2 million acres dedicated to farm land alone. Being one of the top agricultural states in the U.S, Wyoming has 11,000 farms with the average farm size being 2,726 acres. “In 2001 agricultural lands in Wyoming produced 652.7 million pounds of beef, 31.2 million pounds of sheep and lamb, 3.0 million bushels of wheat, 7.0 million bushels of barley, 6.4 million bushels of corn, and 1.9 million tons of hay” The top crops grown in Wyoming are hay, barley, wheat, beans, sugar beets, and corn. The largest commodity is by far the beef industry in Wyoming. Farm Land With approximately 30.2 million acres in agricultural production, Wyoming has eight times more land in agricultural production than the national average. About 27.18 million acres (90%) of the total agricultural land in Wyoming is grazing land; and approximately 9% is cropland (Foulke, Coupal, and Taylor 5). The majority of the agricultural land in Wyoming is dedicated to agriculture operations which owns 5,000 or more acres. Livestock In 2008, the beef industry brought in around $599 million. The beef industry is the largest commodity in Wyoming. According to The Western Regional Science Association, in 2001, livestock sales brought in 652.7 million pounds of beef and 31.2 million pounds of sheep and lamb. Sheep ranchers in 2007 brought in 3,124,299 pounds of wool. On a statewide basis Wyoming was ranked fourth on lamb and sheep sales for a total amount of 411,952 head. Also in 2007, inventory was taken and the total hog, horses and colonies of bees was: 107,180 hogs and pigs, 80,476 horses and 45,633 colonies of bees. Crops In Wyoming, the main crops that are grown are: hay, barley, wheat, beans and corn. Bringing in $65 million in 2008, wheat is the largest crop commodity. The second largest crop commodity is barley, bringing in $32 million and $31 million for wheat sales. Nationwide, Wyoming is 8th in barley, 20th in hay and 33rd in wheat production. Approximately 3.0 million bushels of wheat, 7.0 million bushels of barley, 6.4 million bushels of corn, and 1.9 million tons of hay were produced in 2001 alone. Summary Agriculture plays a big role in the state of Wyoming. Land in Wyoming that is related to agriculture takes up about 55 percent of the total land in Wyoming In 2001, agriculture profits were up to $185.6 million in net