County farm facts

Montrose County, Colorado

Montrose County, CO: non-irrigated cash rent $26 an acre (2020); land and buildings $5,909 an acre in the 2022 census. Bids, weather, crops, land and programs for one county. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 08085. Figures as of Oct 19, 2026; the rows marked with a date load the newest reading when the page opens.

Print County Print
My place (Fast Facts)Email me what changes

As of Oct 16, the census value of land and buildings in Montrose County was $5,909 an acre in 2022, up 91.0% from $3,093 in 2017. That ranks 12th highest of 58 in Colorado, well over the state median of $2,765. Irrigated cropland rent was $138 an acre in 2026, which is 13th lowest of 30 and under the state median of $155. Pasture rent was $5 an acre in 2026.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
n/a
last published 2020, more than three survey years old
Cash rent, irrigated
$138/ac
2026 county average
CO median $155 · 13th lowest of 30
Land and buildings
$5,909/ac
2022: operators' own estimate of what land and buildings were worth · CO farm real estate 2026: $2,360 (land and buildings, state survey)
CO median $2,765 · 12th highest of 58
Corn yield
n/a
fewer than 8 published county corn yields
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$11.28
2016–2025, closed crop years
CO median $13.79 · 14th lowest of 31
Farmland rented
31%
2022 census, rented from others
CO median 30% · 25th highest of 57
Open on the map Compare Colorado cash rent by county

Grain and prices within 50 miles

Corn bid
Soybean bid
Corn basis
Soybean basis
Corn futures
Soybean futures
Lean hog futures
Hay, Colorado price received

Bids are posted elevator prices within 50 miles of the county middle, or of your own field or saved place in this county when this device has one (each row says which), best and nearest, never a buyer's name. Not a contract; call before you haul. Livestock lines show where the 2022 Census counts 1,000 head or more: milk for milk cows, feeder cattle for beef cows, live cattle for cattle on feed, hogs for hogs, hay for all cattle.

Colorado cash bids by town · Bids from your own ZIP or farm, in Fast Facts

Weather and the season

Rain since Jan 1
Drought this week
Hail, last 30 days

Rain so far this year in Montrose County, Colorado

Drought, year by year

20002005201020152020202505228

Weeks per year, U.S. Drought Monitor, with half the county or more in D2 (severe) drought or worse.

D2 or worse for half the county, 2000–2025366 of 1,357 weeks27% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks2018 (tied with 2003)52 weeks
Last five full years, 2021–202585 weeks
2026 so far17 weekshalf the county or more in D2, 40 weekly maps
July average of daily lows, 2017–202657.5 °F1991–2020 normal 55.6 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.75 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September, usual7.5 in1991–2020 county normal, NOAA; the 2017–2026 seasons averaged 5.7 in
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.3 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail
Last spring freeze, first fall freezeMay 7, Oct 10middle dates 1996–2025, NOAA county-average daily low of 32 °F or colder
Frost-free days154middle of 1996–2025
Corn growing degree days, May to September2,413middle of 1996–2025; 2016–2025 averaged 2,492

Crops

Corn harvested
Soybeans harvested

Corn yield

County corn yieldFewer than 8 published county corn yields

Land rent, value, sales

Cash rent

$0$20$40$60$80$100$120$1402010201520202025$32$26 dry$92$138 irrigated

Dollars per acre, USDA NASS county survey. A break in a line is a year with no published survey.

Every published Colorado county rate, side by side: Colorado cash rent by county.

Non-irrigated, 2020$26/ac
Irrigated, 2026$138/ac
Pasture, 2026$5/ac
Rent as a share of corn grossCounty yield mixes irrigated and dryland acres (2020)

Share of gross is a past year, all observed: that year's rent, that year's county corn yield of the same practice and the state price received, USDA NASS. Rent per bushel is withheld here: it needs the county trend, and the trend is withheld (see the corn yield section). The calculator below takes your own yield and price.

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$5,909/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$2,871/ac
Census 2017$3,093/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+91.0%+13.8% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census valueNASS published no non-irrigated cash rent for this county in 2022
Colorado cropland, 2026 state survey$2,960/ac+2.8% from 2025 · USDA NASS Land Values, state average
Colorado farm real estate, 2026$2,360/acland and buildings, state average
Colorado pasture, 2026$1,200/acstate average

The census value is this county's, from 2022. The survey figures are the Colorado average for 2026, from the USDA NASS Land Values report. NASS publishes that survey by state, not by county, so this page does not scale one into the other.

Programs and risk

ARC or PLC sign-up

Benchmarks, payments and the choice for each crop: ARC or PLC in Montrose County.

Insuring pasture or hay? PRF rainfall insurance for pasture and hay in Montrose County: its grids, county values and record are on the county PRF page.

Crop insurance record

Claims paid divided by total premium (the farmer share plus the federal subsidy), each closed crop year since 1989 with at least $1,000,000 of premium; a year under that has no bar and no ratio. Above the dashed line, the county's insurance book paid out more than it took in. 2026, still open, is left out.

Claims paid per $100 of coverage, 2016–2025$11.28
Loss ratio, 2016–20251.13claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.90$11.6 million paid
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025freeze 29% · irrigation failure 19% · heat and drought 16%share of dollars paid

Conservation Reserve Program

198619911996200120062011201620210260

Acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, USDA FSA, by fiscal year.

CRP enrolled, 20250 ac

What farms here look like

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202291%
Drained by tile, 20223% of cropland1,806 ac
Farmed no-till, 20226% of cropland4,007 ac
Cover crops, 20224% of cropland2,603 ac
Solar and wind operating, 20258.8 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202235,892−32.3% since 2017
Cattle on feed, 2022107head, Census of Agriculture
Hogs and pigs, 20221,090head, Census of Agriculture
Farmland rented from others, 202231%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

USDA Census of Agriculture 2022, except wells (state well register) and power (EIA Form 860).

Watch this county

Get an email when the published figures for Montrose County, Colorado change. Usually once or twice a year. You confirm by email first, and every email has a one-tap stop. AGSIST, PO Box 243, Chetek, WI 54728.

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueClaims per $100
Montrose Countyn/a$138$5,909$11.28
Delta County$17 2024$120$7,364$16.96
Gunnison Countyn/a$54$2,924n/a
Mesa Countyn/a$113$8,081$5.79
Ouray Countyn/a$40 2023$2,949n/a
San Miguel County$14n/a$2,179n/a
San Juan County, UTn/an/a$748$21.50
Median next door$14 1 co.$113$2,937$16.96

Counties that share a stretch of boundary. A rent from an older survey year carries its year and stays out of the median; one more than three survey years old shows n/a.

Not on this page yet

Cite this page

AGSIST Farmland Atlas. Montrose County, Colorado. Figures as of Oct 19, 2026, from USDA NASS, USDA RMA, USDA FSA, the U.S. Drought Monitor and NOAA. https://agsist.com/farmland-atlas/colorado/montrose-county
Every figure is a county average from the sources named below. Rent ranks count every county with a published rent in the same survey year, within the state (the same counties as the state rent page); other ranks count counties with 10,000 acres or more in farms. Methods: how each figure is built. Downloads: all counties, CSV.
Sources, dates and arithmetic

"Figures as of" is the date this page's numbers last changed; it moves only when a figure on the page does. Source files and their retrieval dates are listed on the data page.

This product uses the NASS API but is not endorsed or certified by NASS. Averages, trends, ranks and estimates are calculations by AGSIST.

Rent: USDA NASS Cash Rents Survey, county. Land value: Census of Agriculture, operators' estimate of land and buildings. Yield: NASS county corn yields. The headline trend, the one rent per bushel uses, is fitted here over the published years in the 15 years ending this year; the yearly trend card uses every published year since 2008. Loss ratio: claims (indemnity) divided by total premium, USDA RMA Summary of Business, 1989 on, open crop year left out. Claims paid per $100 of coverage: claims divided by liability (the insured value), times 100, same source. Drought: U.S. Drought Monitor, weeks with half the county or more in D2 or worse. July lows: NOAA nClimDiv county monthly minimum temperature. A missing figure is named with its reason (in a table it reads n/a).