Crop year 2027 · sign-up deadline Dec 1, 2026
PRF insurance in Montana: 2027 county values and rates
Pasture, Rangeland, Forage (PRF) is USDA’s rainfall-index insurance for grazing land and hay ground. USDA’s 2027 files offer it in 56 Montana counties, on 769 grids. The policy pays when precipitation in the grid over two months you choose comes in under a set share of normal.
Open the PRF calculator for Montana
- Counties with PRF
- 56
- Grids
- 769
- Grazing, county base value per acre
- $10.30 $8.10 to $15.60
- Hay, non-irrigated, per acre
- $95.00 $63.00 to $147.00
- January to February cap
- 25%
- Sign-up deadline
- Dec 1, 2026
The first figure is the middle county; the small ones are the lowest and highest. Protection per acre is the county value times your coverage level times a productivity factor of 60 to 150.
Montana is one of six states with the native sod rule: native sod broken in recent years gets 65% of the protection and 50 points less of USDA’s share (Crop Provisions, section 4(g)). The values below are for land the rule does not touch.
What each pair of months costs in Montana
At 90% coverage, across the 769 grids that touch a Montana county with PRF. The premium is the full rate per $100 of protection; USDA pays 59% at 70%, 59% at 75%, 55% at 80%, 55% at 85%, 51% at 90%.
| Months | Normal precipitation, middle grid | Premium per $100, middle grid | Years under 90% of normal, of 75, middle grid | Grids offered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January to February | 1.11 in | $17.39 | 35 | 769 |
| February to March | 1.33 in | $14.75 | 33 | 769 |
| March to April | 2.27 in | $14.57 | 34 | 769 |
| April to May | 4.01 in | $14.02 | 34 | 769 |
| May to June | 5.07 in | $12.81 | 33 | 769 |
| June to July | 4.13 in | $14.94 | 34 | 769 |
| July to August | 2.81 in | $19.56 | 36 | 769 |
| August to September | 2.62 in | $19.35 | 37 | 769 |
| September to October | 2.40 in | $18.75 | 35 | 769 |
| October to November | 1.73 in | $16.73 | 34 | 769 |
| November to December | 1.20 in | $18.72 | 36 | 769 |
Across Montana’s grids, $1 of full premium at 90% coverage would have paid back a middle $0.87 over 1951 to 2025 at 2027 rates (8,459 grid and month pairs), close to the national middle of $0.87. On the full premium, no month or grid stands out. The months to insure are the ones when a dry spell costs you grass or hay.
PRF in every Montana county
USDA’s county base value per acre for 2027, the number of grids that touch the county, and the most of a policy that can go in January to February. A county’s name opens its page with the grids and their record; Open sets acres, months and coverage in the calculator.
| County | Grids | Grazing | Hay, non-irrigated | Jan-Feb cap | Calculator |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beaverhead | 44 | $12.10 | $120.00 | 25% | Open |
| Big Horn | 39 | $8.80 | $73.00 | 25% | Open |
| Blaine | 34 | $11.30 | $109.00 | 25% | Open |
| Broadwater | 15 | $10.30 | $95.00 | 25% | Open |
| Carbon | 21 | $8.80 | $73.00 | 25% | Open |
| Carter | 25 | $8.10 | $63.00 | 25% | Open |
| Cascade | 24 | $10.30 | $95.00 | 25% | Open |
| Chouteau | 33 | $11.30 | $109.00 | 25% | Open |
| Custer | 29 | $8.10 | $63.00 | 25% | Open |
| Daniels | 11 | $9.60 | $95.00 | 25% | Open |
| Dawson | 21 | $9.60 | $95.00 | 25% | Open |
| Deer Lodge | 11 | $15.60 | $147.00 | 25% | Open |
| Fallon | 13 | $8.10 | $63.00 | 25% | Open |
| Fergus | 36 | $10.30 | $95.00 | 25% | Open |
| Flathead | 42 | $15.60 | $147.00 | 25% | Open |
| Gallatin | 22 | $12.10 | $120.00 | 25% | Open |
| Garfield | 33 | $9.60 | $95.00 | 25% | Open |
| Glacier | 23 | $11.30 | $109.00 | 25% | Open |
| Golden Valley | 12 | $10.30 | $95.00 | 25% | Open |
| Granite | 16 | $15.60 | $147.00 | 25% | Open |
| Hill | 25 | $11.30 | $109.00 | 25% | Open |
| Jefferson | 16 | $12.10 | $120.00 | 25% | Open |
| Judith Basin | 18 | $10.30 | $95.00 | 25% | Open |
| Lake | 17 | $15.60 | $147.00 | 25% | Open |
| Lewis And Clark | 32 | $10.30 | $95.00 | 25% | Open |
| Liberty | 14 | $11.30 | $109.00 | 25% | Open |
| Lincoln | 29 | $15.60 | $147.00 | 25% | Open |
| Madison | 29 | $12.10 | $120.00 | 25% | Open |
| Mccone | 26 | $9.60 | $95.00 | 25% | Open |
| Meagher | 23 | $10.30 | $95.00 | 25% | Open |
| Mineral | 15 | $15.60 | $147.00 | 25% | Open |
| Missoula | 27 | $15.60 | $147.00 | 25% | Open |
| Musselshell | 19 | $10.30 | $95.00 | 25% | Open |
| Park | 26 | $8.80 | $73.00 | 25% | Open |
| Petroleum | 17 | $10.30 | $95.00 | 25% | Open |
| Phillips | 37 | $11.30 | $109.00 | 25% | Open |
| Pondera | 19 | $11.30 | $109.00 | 25% | Open |
| Powder River | 28 | $8.10 | $63.00 | 25% | Open |
| Powell | 19 | $15.60 | $147.00 | 25% | Open |
| Prairie | 16 | $8.10 | $63.00 | 25% | Open |
| Ravalli | 22 | $15.60 | $147.00 | 25% | Open |
| Richland | 18 | $9.60 | $95.00 | 25% | Open |
| Roosevelt | 22 | $9.60 | $95.00 | 25% | Open |
| Rosebud | 44 | $8.10 | $63.00 | 25% | Open |
| Sanders | 31 | $15.60 | $147.00 | 25% | Open |
| Sheridan | 14 | $9.60 | $95.00 | 25% | Open |
| Silver Bow | 12 | $12.10 | $120.00 | 25% | Open |
| Stillwater | 20 | $8.80 | $73.00 | 25% | Open |
| Sweet Grass | 16 | $8.80 | $73.00 | 25% | Open |
| Teton | 20 | $11.30 | $109.00 | 25% | Open |
| Toole | 14 | $11.30 | $109.00 | 25% | Open |
| Treasure | 10 | $8.80 | $73.00 | 25% | Open |
| Valley | 35 | $9.60 | $95.00 | 25% | Open |
| Wheatland | 16 | $10.30 | $95.00 | 25% | Open |
| Wibaux | 10 | $8.10 | $63.00 | 25% | Open |
| Yellowstone | 24 | $8.80 | $73.00 | 25% | Open |
What changed in PRF for 2027
- A new precipitation record. From the 2027 crop year the index comes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) in place of the Climate Prediction Center. The grids did not move (USDA RMA, April 30, 2026). USDA’s 2027 record starts in 1951, and every past year on this page and in the calculator is from it.
- January to February is capped at 25%. No more than 25% of a policy’s value can go in that interval (RMA bulletin PM-26-053). USDA’s 2027 files set that cap in all 56 Montana counties.
- Grazing land needs livestock on it. Acres insured for grazing need livestock you have an insurable interest in, equal to at least 25% of an average stocking rate for those acres, with the records kept three years (PM-26-053). RMA’s stocking rate questions: “Failure means no indemnity is due and full premium is owed” (RMA). Hay ground is not under this rule.
PRF dates for 2027
- Dec 1, 2026: sales closing. New policies and changes are due at your agent.
- Dec 1, 2026: acreage report, with any lease signed and in hand.
- Sep 1, 2027: premium billed, no earlier than this. Premium owed comes out of any payment first.
USDA’s share of the premium needs form AD-1026 on file with the Farm Service Agency. PRF pays on a precipitation index for the grid, not on your production. How PRF works · Before you sign · New for 2027 · How payouts compare with the premium
PRF questions in Montana
When is the PRF deadline in Montana for 2027?
The sales closing date is Dec 1, 2026, the same across the country. The acreage report is due Dec 1, 2026, and the premium is billed no earlier than Sep 1, 2027.
How much does PRF cost per acre in Montana?
It depends on the grid, the months, the coverage level and the county’s value. USDA’s county base value for grazing land in Montana runs from $8.10 to $15.60 an acre, and for non-irrigated hay from $63.00 to $147.00. USDA pays 51% to 59% of the premium. The calculator gives the figure for your grid, acres and months.
Is PRF offered in every Montana county?
USDA’s 2027 files list PRF in 56 Montana counties, across 769 grids. Each county row in the table above opens the calculator on that county.
What changed in PRF for 2027?
Three things. The precipitation index now comes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information in place of the Climate Prediction Center, on the same grids, with a record that starts in 1951. January to February is capped at 25% of a policy’s value, in all 56 Montana counties. And grazing acres need livestock you have an interest in, equal to at least 25% of an average stocking rate, or no payment is due and the full premium is still owed.
Has PRF paid more than it cost in Montana?
On the full premium, about the same as everywhere: across Montana’s grids at 90% coverage, $1 of premium would have paid back a middle $0.87 over 1951 to 2025 at 2027 rates, close to the national middle of $0.87. That average is made of a few big years and many small or empty ones, and none of it says what next year will do.