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of the country's largest malting facili-
ties. Farmers around Bozeman grew
peas—so many that by the turn of the
20th century, most of the country's
peas came from Gallatin County. The
community honors this with its annual
Sweet Pea Festival (more below). Ac-
cording to the 2022 Census of Agricul-
ture, there are 1,009 farms in Gallatin
County, and the crops bringing in the
most money are grains, oil seeds, dry
beans and dry peas. Second in value
are vegetables, melons, potatoes and
sweet potatoes. Forty-four Montana
counties produce these items, but Gall-
atin County is number 1. It is also first
for "Other crops and hay" and "Milk
from cows." And you thought it only
produced high tech and tourists.
