Farmland Atlas · county record

Silver Bow County, Montana

Silver Bow County, MT: irrigated cash rent $59 an acre (2026); land and buildings $2,572 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 30093. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Irrigation covers 74 percent of harvested cropland here, and 1 percent of that water comes from groundwater, so this county leans on surface water. Drought weeks add up to 377 of 1357 from 2000-2025, with 2004 the worst year at 52 weeks, and 116 weeks came in 2021-2025 alone. July nights average 48.5 F for 2017-2026 against a 1991-2020 normal of 47 F, and the trend since 1976 runs 0.63 F per decade, warming. Land value rose 14.3 percent from 2017-2022, 2.7 percent a year, with land and buildings at $2,572 per acre in the 2022 census.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
—
no dry rent published
Cash rent, irrigated
$59/ac
2026 county average
MT median $98 · lowest of 29
Land and buildings
$2,572/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
MT median $1,237 · 7th highest of 53
Corn yield, median
—
fewer than 8 published county corn yields
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
—
RMA Summary of Business has no rows for this county
Farmland rented
12%
2022 census, rented from others
MT median 29% · 3rd lowest of 56

Cash rent

$0$20$40$60$80201620182020202220242026$73$59 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.

Irrigated, 2026$59/acno dry rent published

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$2,572/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$1,569/ac
Census 2017$2,251/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+14.3%+2.7% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— NASS published no non-irrigated cash rent for this county in 2022

Corn yield

County corn yield— fewer than 8 published county corn yields

Crop insurance record

Premium and payouts— RMA Summary of Business has no rows for this county

Drought and weather

200020052010201520202025115213

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, 2000–2025377 of 1,357 weeks28% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200452 weeks
Last five years, 2021–2025116 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202648.5 °F1991–2020 normal 47.0 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.63 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September11.5 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 91% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.6 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202274%
Drained by tile, 2022none reported
Cover crops, 20222% of cropland146 ac

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

CRP enrolled, 20250 ac
Cattle and calves, 20225,794+57.5% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202212%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueClaims per $100
Silver Bow County—$59$2,572—
Beaverhead County$19$121$1,883$4.02
Deer Lodge County——$2,334—
Jefferson County$23$98$1,954$12.49
Madison County—$127$2,757$4.40
Median next door$21 2 co.$121$2,144$4.40

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. Silver Bow 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/silver-bow-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.