Farmland Atlas · county record

Flathead County, Montana

Flathead County, MT: non-irrigated cash rent $43 an acre (2026); land and buildings $9,225 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 30029. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Cash rent, non-irrigated
$43/ac
2026 county average
MT median $31 · tied for 3rd highest of 40
Cash rent, irrigated
$71/ac
2026 county average
MT median $98 · 7th lowest of 29
Land and buildings
$9,225/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
MT median $1,237 · highest of 53
Corn yield, median
—
fewer than 8 published county corn yields
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$5.40
2016–2025, closed crop years
MT median $13.95 · 5th lowest of 46
Farmland rented
29%
2022 census, rented from others
MT median 29% · 28th lowest of 56

Cash rent

$0$20$40$60$802010201520202025$31$43 dry$64$71 irrigated

Dollars per acre, USDA NASS county survey. A break in a line is a year with no published survey; nothing is drawn across it.

Non-irrigated, 2026$43/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+19.7%nominal, $36 to $43
Irrigated, 2026$71/ac
Pasture, 2026$16/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$9,225/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$4,994/ac
Census 2017$6,389/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+44.4%+7.6% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— about 27% of cropland is irrigated (2022 census), so dry rent over the all-land census value is not a yield on anything

Corn yield

County corn yield— fewer than 8 published county corn yields

Crop insurance record

Claims paid divided by total premium (the farmer share plus the federal subsidy), each closed crop year since 1989. 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$5.40
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.52claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.58$3.7 million paid
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 42% · freeze 16% · excess moisture 12%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202504210

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, 2000–2025257 of 1,357 weeks19% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200142 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202573 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202648.4 °F1991–2020 normal 46.9 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.71 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September14.3 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 91% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.1 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202227%
Drained by tile, 2022under 1% of cropland232 ac
Farmed no-till, 202217% of cropland12,325 ac
Cover crops, 20221% of cropland901 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202102050

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

CRP enrolled, 20250 ac
CRP expiring FY2026–20280 ac
Cattle and calves, 20229,695+14.9% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202229%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueClaims per $100
Flathead County$43$71$9,225$5.40
Glacier County$29$74$1,478$18.68
Lake County$43$93$2,120$12.88
Lewis and Clark County$36 2025$86$1,762$13.10
Lincoln County——$4,690—
Missoula County$35 2025$69 2025$2,276—
Pondera County$44$86$1,751$13.88
Powell County$28 2025$80$1,783—
Sanders County$22$62$1,180—
Teton County$42$108$1,825$11.92
Median next door$42$86$1,783$13.10

Counties that share a stretch of boundary. An older rent carries its year and stays out of the median.

Cite this page

AGSIST Farmland Atlas. Flathead County, Montana. Figures as of 2026-09-20, from USDA NASS, USDA RMA, USDA FSA, the U.S. Drought Monitor and NOAA. https://agsist.com/farmland-atlas/montana/flathead-county
Every figure is a county average from the sources named below. Ranks count counties with 10,000 acres or more in farms, in the same survey year for rent, within the state. 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.

Rent: USDA NASS Cash Rents Survey, county. Land value: Census of Agriculture, operators' estimate of land and buildings. Yield: NASS county corn yields, trend fitted here over 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. 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 dash means the record does not carry the figure or the source withheld it; the reason is printed beside it.