Farmland Atlas · county record

Sweet Grass County, Montana

Sweet Grass County, MT: non-irrigated cash rent $15 an acre (2019); land and buildings $1,499 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 30097. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Irrigated cash rent in Sweet Grass County stands at $70 per acre for 2026, against a non-irrigated rate of $15 per acre in 2019. Irrigation covers 53 percent of harvested cropland as of the 2022 census, and none of that water comes from groundwater as of 2015. Crop insurance history shows heat and drought as the largest cause of indemnities at 57 percent across closed crop years 1989-2024, with the share rising to 75 percent in 2020-2025 after 47 percent in 2010-2019. July nights have warmed, averaging 51.1 F over 2017-2026 against a 1991-2020 normal of 50 F.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$15/ac
2019 county average
too few 2019 county surveys in the state to compare
Cash rent, irrigated
$70/ac
2026 county average
MT median $98 · 6th lowest of 29
Land and buildings
$1,499/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
MT median $1,237 · 20th highest of 53
Corn yield, median
—
fewer than 8 published county corn yields
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
—
under the premium floor for a figure
Farmland rented
38%
2022 census, rented from others
MT median 29% · 13th highest of 56

Cash rent

$0$20$40$60201620182020202220242026$17$15 dry$57$70 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.

Non-irrigated, 2019$15/ac
Irrigated, 2026$70/ac
Pasture, 2026$8/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$1,499/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$1,075/ac
Census 2017$1,136/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+32.0%+5.7% 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

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.

Loss ratio, 1989–20251.21$4.6 million paid
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2024heat and drought 57% · hail 17% · freeze 8%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202514530

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+ weeks200253 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202550 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202651.1 °F1991–2020 normal 50.0 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.54 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September12.4 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 101% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.5 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202253%
Farmed no-till, 20222% of cropland1,574 ac
Cover crops, 20221% of cropland731 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202112130,732

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

CRP enrolled, 202530,732 ac43.5% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–2028675 ac2% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$16/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 20250 MW solar · 25 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202235,717+6.5% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202238%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueClaims per $100
Sweet Grass County—$70$1,499—
Golden Valley County$29—$977$16.90
Meagher County——$1,316$11.77
Park County$33$92$2,000$5.54
Stillwater County$20$103$1,747$9.17
Wheatland County$22—$1,197$23.77
Median next door$25$97 2 co.$1,316$11.77

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. Sweet Grass 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/sweet-grass-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.