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Flathead Reservation Information, Montana

				The Flathead Indian Reservation is located in northwestern Montana on the western slope of the Continental Divide and encompasses portions of four Montana counties - Flathead, Lake, Missoula and Sanders. The reservation area consists of a beautiful valley surrounded by Flathead Lake to the north and the Cabinet Mountains and Mission Range to the west and east, respectively. The rolling prairie on the western edge of the reservation is mainly used for cattle grazing, while the eastern area is mainly agricultural and forested land. The Flathead Indian Tribe organized in 1935 under the Indian Reorganization Act. The Flathead Reservation is the fourth largest Indian reservation in Montana.
Characteristics	Unit	Total 1/	American Indian Operators 2/	Characteristics	Unit	Total 1/	American Indian Operators 2/
Farms	Number	931	155	Operators	Number	1,442	190
Land in Farms   Reservation Acres in Farms	Acres Acres	889,986 782,173	489,867 482,937	Operator Gender	Male Female	942 500	130 60
Total Cropland	Farms Acres	726 146,820	117 24,598	Primary Occupation	Farming Other	772 670	93 97
Harvested Cropland	Farms Acres	604 83,561	89 14,837	All Operators	Average Age	52.5	51.6
Irrigated Land	Farms Acres	654 89,497	99 14,650	Operators Living on Reservations		1,323	187
All Wheat for Grain	Farms Acres Bushels	35 7,333 290,410	4 370 26,900	Barley for Grain	Farms Acres Bushels	27 2,114 141,805	7 623 37,950
Forage Land	Farms Acres Tons, dry	515 70,665 168,075	81 13,430 28,545
Horses and Ponies Inventory	Farms Number	521 4,156	91 793	Horses and Ponies Sold	Farms Number	117 549	19 65
Cattle and Calves Inventory	Farms Number	520 52,840	93 9,594	Cattle and Calves Sold	Farms Number	489 35,714	82 6,656
1/ Data are for farms and ranches reporting at least some agricultural production on reservations during 2002. 2/ At least one of the reported operators (out of a maximum of three) is self-identified as American Indian either exclusively or in combination with other races.