Wyoming Framework Water Plan - Living Rivers Home Page

3.0 SETTING
Livestock
As of 2004, there were about 1,400,000 cattle and calves on Wyoming ranches. This is a decline
from 2000 when there were about 1,580,000 head. This decline is primarily due to the severe drought
that the state has been experiencing since 2000. Sheep numbers have been impacted similarly. Breeding
sheep numbers declined from about 460,000 head in 2000 to about 340,000 head in 2004.
Ranchers in Wyoming depend on forage to supplement the hay they feed their animals.
Therefore, during drought, they cannot afford to raise as many cattle and sheep. Although hay and alfalfa
are grown across the state, many areas of the state are net importers of hay. Much of this hay comes from
the more intensely farmed areas of the state.
Most of the grazing land in the eastern portion of the state is privately held minimizing reliance
on public land for grazing. However, in the western portion of the state, public grazing land is very
important. Therefore, federal grazing policy can significantly impact the livestock industry and the
agriculture sector.
Crops
Cropping patterns and livestock production are closely related. Alfalfa and other hay account for
over 75 percent of harvested cropland in Wyoming, and much of this hay is used to feed livestock. Other
irrigated crops include corn, dry beans, sugar beets, barley, winter wheat, oats, and spring wheat. Most
irrigation is by flood, but use of center pivot sprinklers is increasing in some areas. Surface water is the
most common irrigation water source, though groundwater is increasingly prevalent.
Industrial
The chart below shows the employment and annual payroll in the industrial sector and related
sectors in Wyoming. These sectors account for 28 percent of the total employment in the state but
account for 41 percent of the payroll making industry a very important economic sector.
Industry can be broken out into mining, utilities, construction, manufacturing, and transportation
and warehousing. Crude oil and natural gas are produced in most counties throughout Wyoming;
however, the production and employment vary. The top oil-producing county is Campbell followed by
Park. The top natural gas- producing county is Sublette followed by Campbell.
Coal mining is concentrated in five counties: Campbell, Carbon, Converse, Lincoln, and
Sweetwater; in 2004, total coal production was 395,726,000 tons (Equality State Almanac, 2006). Other
minerals produced in Wyoming include trona, bentonite, uranium, sand and gravel, stone, and other
miscellaneous minerals.
Wyoming has numerous electrical generating facilities that make up the utilities subsector.
Water-using electrical generating facilities can be broken out into two groups, hydropower facilities and
coal-fired plants. Table 3-7 provides the number of electric power generating facilities by river basin for
Wyoming.
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