Farmland Atlas · county record

Hill County, Montana

Hill County, MT: non-irrigated cash rent $31 an acre (2026); land and buildings $1,066 an acre in the 2022 census; crop insurance loss ratio 0.90 since 1989. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 30041. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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July nights average 53.1 F over 2017-2026 against a 1991-2020 normal of 52 F, with a warming trend of 0.51 F per decade since 1976. The county was in severe drought or worse for 307 of 1357 weeks from 2000-2025, with 97 of those weeks falling in 2021-2025.

Cash rent, non-irrigated

$31/ac

2026 county average
MT median $31 · tied for 19th highest of 40

Land and buildings

$1,066/ac

2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
MT median $1,237 · 16th lowest of 53

Rent as % of land value

2.58%

$28 dry rent ÷ $1,066 land and buildings, both 2022

Corn yield, median

—

fewer than 8 published county corn yields

Claims paid per $100 of coverage

$17.60

2016–2025, closed crop years
MT median $13.95 · 19th highest of 46

Farmland rented

45%

2022 census, rented from others
MT median 29% · 8th highest 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$31/ac

Change 2016 to 2026+7.0%nominal, $29 to $31

Pasture, 2026$11/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$1,066/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price

Census 2012$647/ac

Census 2017$861/ac

Change 2017 to 2022+23.8%+4.4% a year, nominal

Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20222.58%$28 ÷ $1,066; cropland 76% of land in farms

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$17.60

Loss ratio, 2016–20250.92claims ÷ total premium

Loss ratio, 1989–20250.90$341.7 million paid

Years claims exceeded premium10 of 37

Worst year2001ratio 6.46

Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 60% · hail 17% · area plans 7%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, 2000–2025307 of 1,357 weeks23% of weeks

Year with the most D2+ weeks202252 weeks

Last five years, 2021–202597 weeks

July average of daily lows, 2017–202653.1 °F1991–2020 normal 52.0 °F

Trend in July lows since 1976+0.51 °F a decadewarming

Rain, April to September9.5 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 91% 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, 20221%

Farmed no-till, 202274% of cropland1,036,993 ac

Cover crops, 20221% of cropland11,464 ac

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

CRP enrolled, 202530,152 ac3.7% of harvested cropland + CRP

CRP expiring FY2026–20282,879 ac10% of enrolled acres

CRP average rental payment, FY2025$25/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer

Cattle and calves, 202214,834−11.8% since 2017

Farmland rented from others, 202245%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

County	Dry rent	Irr. rent	Land value	Claims per $100
Hill County	$31	—	$1,066	$17.60
Blaine County	$29	$74 2024	$849	$23.97
Chouteau County	$37	—	$1,356	$12.06
Liberty County	$30	$60	$1,237	$23.54
Median next door	$30	$60 1 co.	$1,237	$23.54

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. Hill 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/hill-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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