Pondera County, Montana
Pondera County, MT: non-irrigated cash rent $44 an acre (2026); land and buildings $1,751 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 30073. Figures as of 2026-09-20.
Non-irrigated cash rent in Pondera County averages $44 per acre in 2026, up 23.9 percent from 2016. Irrigated rent runs $86 per acre, now 1.95 times the non-irrigated rate, against 1.28 in 2009, with no clear direction in that multiple over time. Irrigation covers 16 percent of harvested cropland, and none of that water comes from groundwater. Heat and drought caused 52 percent of the $194.9 million in crop insurance indemnities paid from 1989-2025, closed crop years, with the share at 42 percent in 1989-1999, 63 percent in 2000-2009, 30 percent in 2010-2019, and 58 percent in 2020-2025. The county spent 115 weeks in severe drought or worse from 2021-2025, out of 383 weeks over 2000-2025.
MT median $31 · 2nd highest of 40
MT median $98 · tied for 10th lowest of 29
MT median $1,237 · 17th highest of 53
MT median $13.95 · 23rd lowest of 46
MT median 29% · 15th 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.
Land value
Corn yield
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.
Drought and weather
Weeks per year, U.S. Drought Monitor, with half the county or more in D2 (severe) drought or worse.
Land, water and programs
Acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, USDA FSA, by fiscal year.
Next door
| County | Dry rent | Irr. rent | Land value | Claims per $100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pondera County | $44 | $86 | $1,751 | $13.88 |
| Chouteau County | $37 | — | $1,356 | $12.06 |
| Flathead County | $43 | $71 | $9,225 | $5.40 |
| Glacier County | $29 | $74 | $1,478 | $18.68 |
| Liberty County | $30 | $60 | $1,237 | $23.54 |
| Teton County | $42 | $108 | $1,825 | $11.92 |
| Toole County | $31 | — | $1,287 | $25.69 |
| Median next door | $34 | $72 | $1,417 | $15.37 |
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. Pondera 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/pondera-countyEvery 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.