Farm Census

Stillwater County, Montana

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

464 farms568,671 acres in farms$60.6 million in farm sales

Among US counties with published figures, Stillwater County ranks eighth for sales of sheep and goat products.

Its number of sheep and lambs grew between 2017 and 2022, the largest increase among the 94 leading sheep counties of 2017 with figures in both years.

Cattle and calves: 44.2%Cattle and calves44.2%Grains and oilseeds: 25.7%Grains and oilseeds25.7%Sheep and goats: 16.1%Sheep and goats16.1%Withheld groups: 9.7%Withheld groups9.7%Other animals: 2.6%2.6%Horses and mules: 1.7%1.7%Poultry and eggs: under 0.1%Cattle and calves: 44.2%Cattle and calves44.2%Grains and oilseeds: 25.7%25.7%Sheep and goats: 16.1%Sheep and goats16.1%Withheld groups: 9.7%9.7%Other animals: 2.6%2.6%Horses and mules: 1.7%1.7%Poultry and eggs: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: vegetables and melons, fruit and nuts, nursery and greenhouse crops, hay and other crops, milk and hogs and pigs.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Cattle and calves$26.7 million28th of 51
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$15.6 million28th of 49
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$9.8 million1st of 44
Other animals and animal products$1.6 million7th of 23
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$1.0 million8th of 48
Poultry and eggs$29,00020th of 28

What the fields held

Stillwater County harvested 86,944 acres of cropland in 2022, 30th of 56 counties in Montana. Hay and haylage covered acreage equal to 54% of that, wheat 30%.

CropAcresShare of US
Hay and haylage46,9270.09%
Wheat26,3170.07%
Barley6,0010.25%
Corn for grain800under 0.1%
Corn for silage627under 0.1%
Orchard land4under 0.1%
of which apples4under 0.1%

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

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms49.5%

Stillwater County ranks 40th of 56 counties in Montana on this measure.

  • 143,299 acres of cropland, 25% of farmland
  • 427,123 acres of pastureland, 75% of farmland
  • 7,246 acres of woodland, 1% of farmland
  • 18,669 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

Farms in Stillwater County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 201 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 1,226 acres, 45th-largest of 55 in Montana. The most common size class is 10–49 acres, with 26.3% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 24.1% of the total.

1–93%10–4926%50–17917%180–49920%500–99910%1,000–1,9997%2,000+17%
Stillwater County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Sheep and lambs37,3160.73%
Beef cows16,1030.06%
Horses and ponies1,2100.05%
Cattle and calves29,337under 0.1%
Goats734under 0.1%
Milk cows18under 0.1%
Laying hens715under 0.1%
Turkeys8under 0.1%

Withheld: hogs and pigs.

Who farms here

Decisions on Stillwater County's 464 farms are made by 798 producers. Their average age is 61.0, 1.7 years above the Montana average. Women are 39.6% of them.

Under 356%35–4411%45–5412%55–6424%65–7432%75+17%
Stillwater County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms562−17.4%
Land in farms, acres762,568−25.4%
Average farm size, acres1,357−9.7%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$51.5 million+17.7%
Sheep and lambs, head13,497+100%
Barley, acres3,127+91.9%
Hay and haylage, acres74,286−36.8%
Wheat, acres23,207+13.4%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Stillwater County accounts for 1.3% of farm sales in Montana and 1.9% of the farms in Montana. Rank Montana counties for sheep and lambs.

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