Farmland Atlas · county record

Golden Valley County, Montana

Golden Valley County, MT: non-irrigated cash rent $29 an acre (2026); land and buildings $977 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 30037. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Cash rent, non-irrigated

$29/ac

2026 county average
MT median $31 · 14th lowest of 40

Land and buildings

$977/ac

2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
MT median $1,237 · 9th lowest of 53

Rent as % of land value

—

not shown: about 17% of cropland is irrigated (2022 census), so dry rent over the all-land census value is not a yield on anything

Corn yield, median

—

fewer than 8 published county corn yields

Claims paid per $100 of coverage

$16.90

2016–2025, closed crop years
MT median $13.95 · 20th highest of 46

Farmland rented

22%

2022 census, rented from others
MT median 29% · 12th lowest of 56

Cash rent

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$29/ac

Change 2016 to 2026+50.0%nominal, $19 to $29

Pasture, 2026$13/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$977/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price

Census 2012$564/ac

Census 2017$670/ac

Change 2017 to 2022+45.8%+7.8% a year, nominal

Dry rent ÷ census value— about 17% 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$16.90

Loss ratio, 2016–20250.81claims ÷ total premium

Loss ratio, 1989–20250.98$25.8 million paid

Years claims exceeded premium5 of 11

Worst year2012ratio 1.19

Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 57% · hail 24% · freeze 6%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

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, 2000–2025348 of 1,357 weeks26% of weeks

Year with the most D2+ weeks200253 weeks

Last five years, 2021–202552 weeks

July average of daily lows, 2017–202653.7 °F1991–2020 normal 52.2 °F

Trend in July lows since 1976+0.68 °F a decadewarming

Rain, April to September11.1 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 102% of it

Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.3 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202217%

Farmed no-till, 202246% of cropland50,442 ac

Cover crops, 20221% of cropland1,257 ac

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

CRP enrolled, 20255,584 ac8.8% of harvested cropland + CRP

CRP expiring FY2026–2028201 ac4% of enrolled acres

CRP average rental payment, FY2025$20/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer

Solar and wind operating, 20253 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860

Cattle and calves, 202214,448−12.4% since 2017

Farmland rented from others, 202222%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

County	Dry rent	Irr. rent	Land value	Claims per $100
Golden Valley County	$29	—	$977	$16.90
Fergus County	$35	$76 2024	$1,279	$14.70
Musselshell County	$23	$85 2023	$1,077	$23.17
Stillwater County	$20	$103	$1,747	$9.17
Sweet Grass County	—	$70	$1,499	—
Wheatland County	$22	—	$1,197	$23.77
Yellowstone County	$28	$132	$1,216	$8.73
Median next door	$23	$103	$1,248	$14.70

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. Golden Valley 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/golden-valley-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.

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