Farmland Atlas · county record

Wheatland County, Montana

Wheatland County, MT: non-irrigated cash rent $22 an acre (2026); land and buildings $1,197 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 30107. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent here runs $22 per acre, up 53.6 percent from 2016 to 2026. Land value follows the same path, $1,197 per acre in 2022, up 72.7 percent from 2017 to 2022, 11.6 percent a year. July nights average 51.1 F over 2017-2026 against a 49.5 F normal, part of a warming trend of 0.57 F per decade since 1976. The county spent 51 weeks in severe drought or worse from 2021-2025.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$22/ac
2026 county average
MT median $31 · tied for 3rd lowest of 40
Cash rent, irrigated
$67/ac
2021 county average
too few 2021 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$1,197/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
MT median $1,237 · 24th lowest of 53
Corn yield, median
—
fewer than 8 published county corn yields
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$23.77
2016–2025, closed crop years
MT median $13.95 · 8th highest of 46
Farmland rented
28%
2022 census, rented from others
MT median 29% · 26th lowest of 56

Cash rent

$0$10$202010201520202025$12$22 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$22/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+53.6%nominal, $14 to $22
Irrigated, 2021$67/ac
Pasture, 2026$7/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$1,197/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$512/ac
Census 2017$693/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+72.7%+11.6% 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

200520102015202020250.123.600.541.00: 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$23.77
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.99claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.92$38.9 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium5 of 21
Worst year2021ratio 3.60
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 65% · hail 15% · freeze 9%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, 2000–2025345 of 1,357 weeks25% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200253 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202551 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202651.1 °F1991–2020 normal 49.5 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.57 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September11.8 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 97% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.0 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202224%
Drained by tile, 2022none reported
Farmed no-till, 202235% of cropland31,483 ac
Cover crops, 2022under 1% of cropland261 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202131437,5069,780

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

CRP enrolled, 20259,780 ac13.5% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20281,818 ac19% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$25/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 20250 MW solar · 164.7 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202228,888−32.8% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202228%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueClaims per $100
Wheatland County$22—$1,197$23.77
Fergus County$35$76 2024$1,279$14.70
Golden Valley County$29—$977$16.90
Judith Basin County$34—$1,350$12.63
Meagher County——$1,316$11.77
Sweet Grass County—$70$1,499—
Median next door$34$70 1 co.$1,316$13.67

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. Wheatland 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/wheatland-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.