Economic Impact of Agriculture
McCone County
McCone County is a rural sparsely populated county located in the eastern part of the state near the east end of Fort Peck Lake. Over 79% of land in McCone County is classified as farm land.
Overview
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| Median Farm Size (acres) | 1,694 |
| Average Farm Size (acres) | 3,065 |
Source: Census of Agriculture: Table 1: County Summary Highlights: 2017
Farm Revenue
Farm revenue (which includes the market value of products sold, government payments,
and farm-related income) were $86 million while production expenses were $75 million.
Government payments were 15.6% of farm revenues.
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| Net Farm Cash Income | $11,067,000 |
Source: Census of Agriculture: Tables 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6: 2017
Taxation
The market value of all property in McCone County was approximately $371 million in 2019. The taxable value assigned by the Montana Department of Revenue was $7 million. Agricultural Property (as defined by Montana Department of Revenue as Class 3 property) comprised 53.9% of the county's taxable value.
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2014 |
| Market Value of Property | $371,069,378 | $283,012,353 |
| Taxable Value of All Property | $7,731,578 | $6,740,299 |
| Taxable Value ofAgricultural Property | $4,166,664 | $4,009,797 |
| Ag Taxable Value as % of All Property | 53.9% | 59.9% |
Source: Montana Dept. of Rev. Montana Taxes by County in2018and Montana Taxes by County in2014
Market Value of Crops and Livestock
After adjusting for inflation, the market value of crops increased by 11%, while the
market value of livestock increased by 89%, from 1997 to 2017.
Sources: Census of Agriculture: Table 1: County Summary Highlights: 2017 and St. Louis Fed Producer Price Index
Crops and Livestock
Cattle (44%) and grain (43%) comprised 87% of total crop and livestock sales in 2017.
Source: Census of Agriculture: Table 2: County Summary Highlights: 2017
Farm Size by Acres
The percentage of smaller farms, less than 500 acres, larger farms, 500 acres or more,
remained virtually unchanged from 2012 to 2017.
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by Acres |
2017
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2012
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Farms |
%
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Number of
Farms |
%
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1 to 9
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4
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1
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4
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1
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10 to 49
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14
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3
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12
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2
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50 to 179
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24
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5
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33
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7
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180 to 499
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72
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16
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81
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17
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500 to 999
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65
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15
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65
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13
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1,000 or more
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258
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59
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294
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60
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TOTAL
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437
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100
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489
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100
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Farm Size by Sales
The proportion of total sales from the smallest farms with less than $100,000 in sales increased from 56% to 64%, while the proportion of total sales from the largest farms with sales of $100,000 or more decreased from 44% to 36% from 2012 to 2017.
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by Sales |
2017
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2012
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Farms |
%
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Number of
Farms |
%
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Less than 2,500
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123
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28
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114
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23
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2,500 to 4,999
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11
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3
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9
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2
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5,000 to 9,999
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11
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3
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22
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4
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10,000 to 24,999
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35
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8
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41
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8
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25,000 to 49,999
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54
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12
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33
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7
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50,000 to 99,999
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47
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11
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54
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11
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100,000 or more
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156
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36
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216
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44
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TOTAL
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437
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100
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489
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100
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Source: Census of Agriculture: Table 1: County Summary Highlights: 2017
Tillage and Land Use
The percentage of farms using no till, reduced tillage or cover crops decreased somewhat,
while the percentage of farms using intensive tillage decreased substantially from
2012 to 2017.
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2017
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2012
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Farms |
%
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Number of
Farms |
%
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No tillage
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172
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39
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194
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40
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Reduced tillage
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54
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12
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82
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17
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Intensive tillage
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28
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6
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88
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18
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Cover crops
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7
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2
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22
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4
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TOTAL
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437
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Producer Profile
The county producer population was about the same age as the Montana producer population.
Thirty-six percent of county producers were under 55 years of age, while 35% were
over 65 years of age. Thirty-four percent of the Montana producer population were
under 55, while 36% were over 65 years of age. Sixty-five percent of producers in
the county were males, while 60% of Montana producers were males. Farming was the
primary occupation for 60% of county producers, while farming was the primary occupation
for 50% of Montana producers.
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County
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State
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Producers |
%
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Number of
Producers |
%
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Age
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18 -25
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5
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1
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570
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1
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25 to 34
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68
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9
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3,285
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7
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35 to 44
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77
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10
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5,179
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11
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45 to 54
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119
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16
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7,309
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15
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55 to 64
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192
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26
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13,838
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29
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65 to 74
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155
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21
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11,469
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24
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75 and older
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106
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14
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5,587
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12
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Gender
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Male
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485
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65
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28,563
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60
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Female
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266
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35
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18,673
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40
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Primary Occupation
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Yes
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451
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60
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23,847
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50
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No
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300
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40
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24,314
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50
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TOTAL PRODUCERS
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751
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100
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48,161
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100
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Source: Census of Agriculture: Table 45 Selected Operation and Producer Characteristics
Top Crops by Acre
The top crops were spring wheat, lentils, peas dry edible, hay & haylage, chickpeas,
winter wheat, durum wheat, barley and canola.
Source: Census of Agriculture: Table 1: County Summary Highlights: 2017
Top Livestock
The top livestock were cattle, sheep, and poultry (chickens).
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Cattle
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40,349
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Sheep
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8,279
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Chicken - Layers
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424
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Chicken - Broilers
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36
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Source: Census of Agriculture: Tables 11 (Cattle) and 13 (Sheep) and 19 (Poultry)
Employment Impact
Agricultural production employed 516 workers, or 50% of the county’s labor force. According to IMPLAN, economic impact model, 355 of the workers were directly employed in production agriculture. An additional 147 workers were employed in businesses supporting agricultural production, such as feed and fertilizer dealers, and another 14 workers were employed in other related businesses, such as grocery and drugs stores. For every 10 jobs on farms and ranches, 5 additional jobs are generated in the county.
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Impact Multipliers |
| County Labor Force | 1,022 | |
| Direct Impact | 355 | |
| Indirect Impact | 147 | 0.41 |
| Induced Impact | 14 | 0.04 |
| Total Impact | 516 | 0.45 |
| Agriculture Share (%) | 50 |
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov/#cntyaa and IMPLAN Estimates
Value Added Impacts
Farms and ranches generated $27.9 million of value-added, or 29% of the county’s total
gross domestic product of $96 million in 2017. According to IMPLAN, $16.7 million
was directly contributed by farmers and ranchers. An additional $10.1 million was
generated by businesses supporting agricultural production and $1.1 million was generated
by other related businesses. Each dollar of value-added in agriculture by a farmer
or rancher contributes an additional $0.67 of value-added in other sectors of the
county’s economy.
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Impact Type |
($1 million) |
Impact Multipliers |
| County GDP* | 96.0 | |
| Direct Impact** | 16.7 | |
| Indirect Impact** | 10.1 | 0.61 |
| Induced Impact** | 1.1 | 0.06 |
| Total Impact** | 27.9 | 0.67 |
| Agriculture Share (%) | 29 |
Sources: * St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank, ** IMPLAN Estimates
References
- 2017 Census of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service, Montana, State and County Data, Volume 1, Geographic Area Series, part 26 https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/AgCensus/2017/Full_Report/Volume_1,_Chapter_1_State_Level/Montana/mtv1.pdf
- Department of Revenue “Montana Taxes by County in 2014“ https://mtrevenue.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/2014-Taxes-by-County.pdf
- Department of Revenue “Montana Taxes by County in 2018” https://mtrevenue.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/2018-Taxes-by-County.pdf
- St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank (2017). Current dollar gross domestic product by county
for Montana, retrieved from https://fred.stlouisfed.org/release/tables?rid=397&
eid=1062609&od=2017-01-01# - St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank (2020). Producer price index for all commodities, St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank, retrieved from https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PPIACO
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (2017), Montana labor force, retrieved from https://bls.gov/lau/#cntyaa
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