Farm Census

Hill County, Montana

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

701 farms1,854,358 acres in farms$189 million in farm sales

Among US counties with published figures, Hill County leads the country in wheat and ranks tenth for barley.

Its barley acreage grew between 2017 and 2022, the third-largest increase among the 100 leading barley counties of 2017 with figures in both years.

Grains and oilseeds: 82.9%Grains and oilseeds82.9%Cattle and calves: 7.3%Cattle and calves7.3%Hogs and pigs: 5.5%Hogs and pigs5.5%Poultry and eggs: 2.3%2.3%Hay and other crops: 1.2%1.2%Withheld groups: 0.7%0.7%Grains and oilseeds: 82.9%Grains and oilseeds82.9%Cattle and calves: 7.3%7.3%Hogs and pigs: 5.5%5.5%Poultry and eggs: 2.3%2.3%Hay and other crops: 1.2%Withheld groups: 0.7%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: vegetables and melons, nursery and greenhouse crops, sheep and goat products, horses and mules and other animal products.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$157 million3rd of 49
Cattle and calves$13.7 million40th of 51
Hogs and pigs$10.5 million3rd of 30
Poultry and eggs$4.4 million3rd of 28
Hay and other crops$2.3 million27th of 37

What the fields held

Hill County harvested 782,611 acres of cropland in 2022, second of 56 counties in Montana. Wheat covered acreage equal to 72% of that, barley 6%.

CropAcresShare of US
Wheat562,8781.5%
Barley44,2501.8%
Hay and haylage24,374under 0.1%
Corn for grain7,300under 0.1%
Canola2,1000.10%
Oats6260.07%

Withheld to protect individual farms: potatoes and vegetables.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms99.9%

Hill County ranks first of 56 counties in Montana on this measure.

  • 1,405,565 acres of cropland, 76% of farmland
  • 424,786 acres of pastureland, 23% of farmland
  • 25,781 acres of woodland, 1% of farmland
  • 4,447 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

Farms in Hill County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 1,120 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 2,645 acres, 28th-largest of 55 in Montana. The most common size class is 2,000+ acres, with 43.9% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 53.4% of the total.

1–92%10–495%50–17913%180–49915%500–99910%1,000–1,9999%2,000+44%
Hill County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Beef cows10,651under 0.1%
Hogs and pigs25,224under 0.1%
Horses and ponies709under 0.1%
Laying hens105,299under 0.1%
Sheep and lambs1,295under 0.1%
Cattle and calves14,834under 0.1%
Goats22under 0.1%
Milk cows33under 0.1%

Withheld: broilers sold and turkeys.

Who farms here

Decisions on Hill County's 701 farms are made by 1,352 producers. Their average age is 56.4, 2.9 years below the Montana average. Women are 32.5% of them.

Under 3511%35–4417%45–5413%55–6422%65–7426%75+11%
Hill County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms698+0.4%
Land in farms, acres1,615,704+14.8%
Average farm size, acres2,315+14.3%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$131 million+44.6%
Barley, acres17,039+100%
Wheat, acres501,546+12.2%
Canola, acres6,790−69.1%
Oats, acres769−18.6%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Hill County accounts for 4.2% of farm sales in Montana and 2.9% of the farms in Montana. Rank Montana counties for barley.

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