Farm Census

Big Horn County, Montana

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

364 farms3,191,315 acres in farms$131 million in farm sales

Among US counties with published figures, Big Horn County ranks fifth for land in farms.

Its farms are among the biggest in the country: the average farm size is the eighth-largest of the 2,894 counties with at least 100 farms.

Its harvested cropland had the eighth-largest gain from 2017 to 2022 among the 1,579 counties with at least 50,000 harvested acres in 2017.

Cattle and calves: 52.8%Cattle and calves52.8%Grains and oilseeds: 32.1%Grains and oilseeds32.1%Withheld groups: 14.3%Withheld groups14.3%Other animals: 0.4%Horses and mules: 0.3%Sheep and goats: 0.2%Cattle and calves: 52.8%Cattle and calves52.8%Grains and oilseeds: 32.1%Grains and oilseeds32.1%Withheld groups: 14.3%14.3%Other animals: 0.4%Horses and mules: 0.3%Sheep and goats: 0.2%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: vegetables and melons, nursery and greenhouse crops, hay and other crops, hogs and pigs and poultry and eggs.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Cattle and calves$69.1 million5th of 51
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$42.0 million18th of 49
Other animals and animal products$478,00012th of 23
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$370,00021st of 48
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$206,00025th of 44

What the fields held

Big Horn County harvested 209,498 acres of cropland in 2022, 19th of 56 counties in Montana. Wheat covered acreage equal to 40% of that, hay and haylage 35%.

CropAcresShare of US
Wheat83,3420.22%
Hay and haylage73,1950.14%
Barley12,8340.53%
Sugar beets6,8040.59%
Corn for grain3,401under 0.1%
Corn for silage1,016under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: oats, canola and vegetables.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms99.8%

Big Horn County ranks second of 56 counties in Montana on this measure.

  • 342,572 acres of cropland, 11% of farmland
  • 2,781,127 acres of pastureland, 87% of farmland
  • 313,514 acres of woodland, 10% of farmland
  • 41,818 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

Farms in Big Horn County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 909 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 8,767 acres, second-largest of 55 in Montana. The most common size class is 2,000+ acres, with 36.5% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 49.5% of the total.

1–94%10–4910%50–17913%180–49917%500–9997%1,000–1,99913%2,000+37%
Big Horn County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Cattle and calves89,5830.10%
Horses and ponies2,3010.10%
Goats886under 0.1%
Sheep and lambs342under 0.1%
Laying hens541under 0.1%
Hogs and pigs48under 0.1%

Withheld: beef cows and milk cows.

Who farms here

Decisions on Big Horn County's 364 farms are made by 652 producers. Their average age is 57.0, 2.3 years below the Montana average. Women are 39.4% of them.

Under 3514%35–4411%45–5413%55–6423%65–7426%75+12%
Big Horn County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms353+3.1%
Land in farms, acres3,188,139+0.1%
Average farm size, acres9,032−2.9%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$83.6 million+56.5%
Sugar beets, acres4,980+36.6%
Barley, acres11,129+15.3%
Wheat, acres57,213+45.7%
Hay and haylage, acres57,239+27.9%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Big Horn County accounts for 2.9% of farm sales in Montana and 1.5% of the farms in Montana. Rank Montana counties for sugar beets.

Source: USDA NASS Census of Agriculture. How to read these pages.