Yellowstone County, Montana
Yellowstone County, MT: non-irrigated cash rent $28 an acre (2026); land and buildings $1,216 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 127.5 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 30111. Figures as of 2026-09-20.
Irrigated cash rent in Yellowstone County runs $132 per acre against $28 per acre non-irrigated, and irrigation covers 24 percent of harvested cropland as of the 2022 census. Non-irrigated rent is up 31 percent from 2016 to 2026. Heat and drought is the largest cause of crop insurance indemnities over 1989-2025, at 39 percent of $60.1 million paid, and its share moved 19 percent, 53 percent, 30 percent, 38 percent across 1989-1999, 2000-2009, 2010-2019, and 2020-2025. July nightly lows have warmed at 0.79 F per decade since 1976, and the 2017-2026 average of 57.9 F sits above the 1991-2020 normal of 56.3 F. The county spent 44 weeks in severe drought or worse from 2021-2025. Census land value rose 21.2 percent from 2017 to 2022.
MT median $31 · tied for 12th lowest of 40
MT median $98 · 5th highest of 29
MT median $1,237 · 25th lowest of 53
MT median $13.95 · 10th lowest of 46
MT median 29% · 20th lowest 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
Bushels per acre, USDA NASS county yields, all practices. The dashed line is the median of the published years.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yellowstone County | $28 | $132 | $1,216 | $8.73 |
| Big Horn County | $28 | $102 | $649 | $8.71 |
| Carbon County | $33 | $116 | $1,923 | $3.37 |
| Golden Valley County | $29 | — | $977 | $16.90 |
| Musselshell County | $23 | $85 2023 | $1,077 | $23.17 |
| Rosebud County | $25 | $106 2024 | $716 | $14.01 |
| Stillwater County | $20 | $103 | $1,747 | $9.17 |
| Treasure County | $8 2025 | $131 | $996 | $5.62 |
| Median next door | $26 | $110 | $996 | $9.17 |
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. Yellowstone 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/yellowstone-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.