Farm operations
103
Avg 566 ac / farm
2022 USDA Census MT · FIPS 30023 Bottom quartile by state sales LIGHT PASTURE-LED
Deer Lodge County, Montana - Farm Data
Agricultural and commodity intelligence for Deer Lodge County. Ranked #54 of 56 counties in Montana.
58,289 acres of agricultural land
- Cropland
- 11.5% 6,711 acres
- Other land
- 88.5% 51,578 acres
USDA NASS · 2022 Census of Agriculture
Deer Lodge County received $4.24 in Census government payments per agricultural acre, 0.6× the Montana county median of $7.13.
According to the USDA NASS 2022 Census of Agriculture.
- $4.24
- government payments per agricultural acre
- $7.13
- Montana county median per acre
- 0.59×
- Montana median per acre
Payments per acre use the same NASS county table for receipts and acreage. Census county totals are not a roll-up of the USDA ERS state payment series.
According to the 2022 USDA NASS Census of Agriculture, Deer Lodge County, Montana is a PASTURE-LED county with federal farm payments per acre that stamp LIGHT; commodity sales sit well below state median and it shows above-typical federal dependence.
Commodity sales
$5.3M
0.071× state median -- Well below state median
Federal payments
$247K
4.7% of sales -- Above-typical dependence
Net farm income
$639K
2022 cash income -- Below-typical net income
F
Farm economy grade: F -- Deer Lodge County's net farm income sits at the 17th percentile among 3,046 NASS-reporting counties nationally (2022 Census). Percentile-benchmarked, not a same-state comparison like the tier label above.
What the Deer Lodge County Farm Data Shows
Deer Lodge County, Montana reads as a PASTURE-LED county with LIGHT federal payment intensity. In the NASS Census vocabulary this portal uses, cropland is under 25% of agricultural land, a mix where livestock forage and disaster titles (LFP/ELAP) usually outweigh row-crop commodity programs; payments per agricultural acre fall in the second-lowest national quintile, $3.41 to $6.98 an acre, which is light federal support for the land base.
The state comparisons on this page use the 56 of 56 Montana counties with published commodity sales, averaging the two central values when the count is even. Payments per acre use the 54 counties that report both receipts and acreage, and net-income peers are the 51 that reported a profit.
Pair the payment peers below before treating any single county as representative of Montana.
Read with Deer Lodge County
Nearest NASS federal-payment peers and $/acre poles for Deer Lodge (LIGHT · PASTURE-LED), replacing the old fixed Related and same-state alphabetical strip.
LIGHT PASTURE-LED
Richmond County, NC · LIGHT
$247K federal receipts is higher by - than Deer Lodge; land stamp MIXED vs PASTURE-LED.
DE Soto County, LA · TRACE
$246K federal receipts is lower by $1K than Deer Lodge; land stamp PASTURE-LED vs PASTURE-LED.
Sabine County, LA · TRACE
$246K federal receipts is lower by $1K than Deer Lodge; land stamp MIXED vs PASTURE-LED.
Pearl River County, MS · TRACE
$246K federal receipts is lower by $1K than Deer Lodge; land stamp MIXED vs PASTURE-LED.
Anderson County (LIGHT $/acre pole)
Anderson sits near Deer Lodge on payments-per-acre ($4.19) while total receipts differ.
Covington County (LIGHT $/acre pole)
Covington sits near Deer Lodge on payments-per-acre ($4.18) while total receipts differ.
Montana ERS state roll-up
Deer Lodge stamps LIGHT · PASTURE-LED inside Montana's NASS county table, open the state ERS payment stack next.
Census payments leaderboard
Open the national ranking of U.S. counties by NASS federal farm program payments to see the counties around Deer Lodge under the LIGHT intensity band.
What to do with this
From Deer Lodge County, Montana, these three pages are the natural next reads:
- See how Montana compares nationally on ERS farm payments and income. Montana state page
- Browse the full county table to compare payment intensity across the country. All counties
- Understand what actually drives county-level farm payments. Read the guide
County figures (2022 NASS Census of Agriculture) are a separate population from USDA ERS state and national payment series and must not be summed together.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many farms are in Deer Lodge County, Montana?
Deer Lodge County, Montana has 103 farms (2022 USDA Census). Average farm size 566 acres; land stamp PASTURE-LED.
What is the total agricultural production value of Deer Lodge County?
Deer Lodge County's total commodity sales are $5.3M (2022 Census of Agriculture), ranking #54 among 56 counties in Montana.
How much federal farm assistance does Deer Lodge County receive?
Deer Lodge County received $247K in federal government farm program receipts (2022), stamping LIGHT on NASS payments-per-acre ($4.24/acre) with a PASTURE-LED land mix.
What is the net farm income in Deer Lodge County?
Net cash farm income for operations in Deer Lodge County is $639K (2022 Census of Agriculture).
State Overview
Montana
56 counties · View state farm data
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service 2022 Census of Agriculture · 2022
Dollar values reflect calendar year 2022 farm operations data.
PlainFarmData is an independent data portal, not affiliated with USDA, FSA, or any government agency. For official program eligibility or application guidance, contact your local USDA Farm Service Agency office.
Intensity stamp LIGHT · land stamp PASTURE-LED (NASS payments-per-acre / cropland share bands).
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified. Verify with USDA NASS Census of Agriculture →
County farm figures on this page are rendered from the USDA NASS 2022 Census of Agriculture, no number is typed in by an editor. Census county totals are not a roll-up of the USDA ERS state payment series. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.