Farm Census

Glacier County, Montana

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

361 farms1,115,475 acres in farms$117 million in farm sales

Among US counties with published figures, Glacier County ranks seventh for barley.

Since 2017 it has had the steepest drop in farm numbers among the 1,675 counties that had at least 500 farms in 2017.

Grains and oilseeds: 44.8%Grains and oilseeds44.8%Cattle and calves: 26.7%Cattle and calves26.7%Withheld groups: 8.3%Withheld groups8.3%Poultry and eggs: 8.2%8.2%Hogs and pigs: 7.4%Hogs and pigs7.4%Milk: 4.2%Milk4.2%Horses and mules: 0.4%Grains and oilseeds: 44.8%Grains and oilseeds44.8%Cattle and calves: 26.7%Cattle and calves26.7%Withheld groups: 8.3%8.3%Poultry and eggs: 8.2%8.2%Hogs and pigs: 7.4%7.4%Milk: 4.2%Milk4.2%Horses and mules: 0.4%
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, sheep and goat products and other animal products.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$52.3 million15th of 49
Cattle and calves$31.1 million21st of 51
Poultry and eggs$9.6 million1st of 28
Hogs and pigs$8.6 million4th of 30
Milk from cows$4.9 million3rd of 5
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$470,00017th of 48

What the fields held

Glacier County harvested 261,492 acres of cropland in 2022, 15th of 56 counties in Montana. Wheat covered acreage equal to 43% of that, barley 22%.

CropAcresShare of US
Wheat112,3990.30%
Barley56,4382.3%
Hay and haylage51,6880.10%
Canola1,7000.08%
Oats233under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: potatoes and vegetables.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms58.2%

Glacier County ranks 33rd of 56 counties in Montana on this measure.

  • 424,584 acres of cropland, 38% of farmland
  • 671,270 acres of pastureland, 60% of farmland
  • 34,279 acres of woodland, 3% of farmland
  • 17,646 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

Farms in Glacier County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 536 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 3,090 acres, 25th-largest of 55 in Montana. The most common size class is 2,000+ acres, with 34.6% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 43.2% of the total.

1–93%10–4913%50–17915%180–49917%500–9999%1,000–1,9999%2,000+35%
Glacier County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Beef cows24,8590.09%
Horses and ponies1,8210.08%
Laying hens238,9790.06%
Cattle and calves35,695under 0.1%
Hogs and pigs22,354under 0.1%
Sheep and lambs811under 0.1%
Milk cows928under 0.1%

Withheld: broilers sold, turkeys and goats.

Who farms here

Decisions on Glacier County's 361 farms are made by 688 producers. Their average age is 60.1, 0.8 years above the Montana average. Women are 38.4% of them.

Under 357%35–448%45–5414%55–6428%65–7428%75+14%
Glacier County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms637−43.3%
Land in farms, acres1,185,873−5.9%
Average farm size, acres1,862+66.0%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$107 million+9.4%
Barley, acres54,216+4.1%
Wheat, acres145,185−22.6%
Hay and haylage, acres48,425+6.7%
Beef cows, head31,320−20.6%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Glacier County accounts for 2.6% of farm sales in Montana and 1.5% of the farms in Montana. Rank Montana counties for barley.

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