Farm Census

Rosebud County, Montana

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

360 farms2,873,641 acres in farms$75.8 million in farm sales

Among US counties with published figures, Rosebud County ranks seventh for land in farms.

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

Cattle and calves: 65.8%Cattle and calves65.8%Grains and oilseeds: 23.4%Grains and oilseeds23.4%Withheld groups: 9.3%Withheld groups9.3%Sheep and goats: 0.8%0.8%Horses and mules: 0.5%0.5%Other animals: 0.2%Cattle and calves: 65.8%Cattle and calves65.8%Grains and oilseeds: 23.4%Grains and oilseeds23.4%Withheld groups: 9.3%9.3%Sheep and goats: 0.8%Horses and mules: 0.5%Other animals: 0.2%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: vegetables and melons, hay and other crops, hogs and pigs and poultry and eggs.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Cattle and calves$49.9 million13th of 51
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$17.7 million26th of 49
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$607,00014th of 44
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$347,00024th of 48
Other animals and animal products$179,00015th of 23

What the fields held

Rosebud County harvested 102,561 acres of cropland in 2022, 28th of 56 counties in Montana. Hay and haylage covered acreage equal to 54% of that, wheat 24%.

CropAcresShare of US
Hay and haylage55,7680.10%
Wheat24,7350.07%
Barley8,8750.37%
Corn for silage2,076under 0.1%
Corn for grain1,830under 0.1%
Sugar beets9000.08%
Canola465under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: soybeans, sunflower, potatoes and vegetables.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms89.7%

Rosebud County ranks ninth of 56 counties in Montana on this measure.

  • 196,521 acres of cropland, 7% of farmland
  • 2,669,183 acres of pastureland, 93% of farmland
  • 55,986 acres of woodland, 2% of farmland
  • 22,088 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

Farms in Rosebud County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 1,200 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 7,982 acres, third-largest of 55 in Montana. The most common size class is 2,000+ acres, with 43.3% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 53.6% of the total.

1–93%10–494%50–17914%180–49915%500–9999%1,000–1,99910%2,000+43%
Rosebud County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Beef cows40,7240.14%
Horses and ponies2,1670.09%
Cattle and calves66,3970.08%
Sheep and lambs3,2910.06%
Goats63under 0.1%
Hogs and pigs414under 0.1%
Laying hens407under 0.1%
Milk cows5under 0.1%

Withheld: turkeys.

Who farms here

Decisions on Rosebud County's 360 farms are made by 700 producers. Their average age is 60.2, 0.9 years above the Montana average. Women are 35.7% of them.

Under 358%35–4411%45–5410%55–6426%65–7429%75+16%
Rosebud County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms414−13.0%
Land in farms, acres2,732,466+5.2%
Average farm size, acres6,600+20.9%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$86.6 million−12.5%
Barley, acres4,142+100%
Beef cows, head50,216−18.9%
Hay and haylage, acres50,519+10.4%
Horses and ponies, head2,627−17.5%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Rosebud County accounts for 1.7% 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.