Farmland Atlas · county record

Judith Basin County, Montana

Judith Basin County, MT: non-irrigated cash rent $34 an acre (2026); land and buildings $1,350 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 30045. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Judith Basin County runs $34 per acre, up 23.6 percent from 2016 to 2026. Land value under the census sits at $1,350 per acre, up 45.3 percent from 2017 to 2022, or 7.8 percent a year. Heat and drought drove 51 percent of crop insurance indemnities since 1989, and that share moved from 30 percent in 1989-1999, to 63 percent in 2000-2009, 27 percent in 2010-2019, and 64 percent in 2020-2025. July nightly lows averaged 50.3 F over 2017-2026, against a 48.8 F normal for 1991-2020, with warming of 0.7 F per decade since 1976.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$34/ac
2026 county average
MT median $31 · 13th highest of 40
Cash rent, irrigated
$45/ac
2020 county average
too few 2020 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$1,350/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
MT median $1,237 · 23rd highest of 53
Corn yield, median
—
fewer than 8 published county corn yields
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$12.63
2016–2025, closed crop years
MT median $13.95 · 18th lowest of 46
Farmland rented
38%
2022 census, rented from others
MT median 29% · 12th highest of 56

Cash rent

$0$10$20$302010201520202025$26$34 dry

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$34/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+23.6%nominal, $28 to $34
Irrigated, 2020$45/ac
Pasture, 2026$15/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$1,350/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$893/ac
Census 2017$929/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+45.3%+7.8% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— cropland is 33% of land in farms (2022 census), so the census value is mostly pasture, woods and buildings, not cropland

Corn yield

County corn yield— fewer than 8 published county corn yields

Crop insurance record

200120062011201620213.320.821.00: claims equal premium

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$12.63
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.88claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.85$64.7 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium6 of 25
Worst year2001ratio 3.32
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 51% · hail 22% · freeze 11%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202515520

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, 2000–2025333 of 1,357 weeks25% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200352 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202568 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202650.3 °F1991–2020 normal 48.8 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.70 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September13.5 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 93% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.8 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20227%
Farmed no-till, 202250% of cropland114,885 ac
Cover crops, 20221% of cropland2,051 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202168334,8701,700

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

CRP enrolled, 20251,700 ac1.1% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20280 ac0% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$30/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 20250 MW solar · 120 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202262,999−12.6% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202238%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueClaims per $100
Judith Basin County$34—$1,350$12.63
Cascade County$46$100$1,234$11.82
Chouteau County$37—$1,356$12.06
Fergus County$35$76 2024$1,279$14.70
Meagher County——$1,316$11.77
Wheatland County$22—$1,197$23.77
Median next door$36$100 1 co.$1,279$12.06

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. Judith Basin 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/judith-basin-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.