Statistics

Drought can affect wildfire, agriculture production, tourism, wildlife and many other areas important to Montana. The Montana Governor’s Drought and Water Supply Advisory Committee has put together the Drought Impact Reporter - a live, ongoing questionnaire for reporting local drought impacts.

Click to take the Drought Impact Reporter Survey.

 The information gathered will be used to investigate trends and impacts and will help inform potential responses in times of drought. This short questionnaire can be completed more than once to report impacts in another location or to report changing conditions. Information on wet conditions is helpful too, so please submit reports anytime of year, wet or dry.

As of March 1, Montana growers intend to plant 135,000 acres of corn for all purposes in 2020, up 20,000 acres, or 17 percent from last year's plantings, according to the March 1 Agricultural Survey conducted by the Mountain Regional Field Office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA. The area expected to be seeded to oats, at 75,000 acres, is up 5,000 acres from a year ago. Growers intend to plant 1.01 million acres of barley in 2020, up 90,000 acres from last year's actual plantings. If realized, this would be the highest barley planted acreage since 2003 when 1.15 million acres were planted.

All wheat acreage is expected to total 5.47 million acres for 2020. Winter wheat seeded last fall for harvest in 2020 is estimated at 1.60 million acres, down 400,000 acres from the 2019 crop. Growers intend to seed 570,000 acres of Durum wheat this year, up 20,000 acres from last year. Growers intend to seed 3.30 million acres of spring wheat this year, up 400,000 acres from last year. If realized, this would be the highest spring wheat planted acreage since 2002 when 3.75 million acres were planted. Hay producers in the State intend to harvest 2.80 million acres this year. This is down 200,000 acres from the acreage cut for hay in 2019. Montana canola producers intend to plant a record high 175,000 acres in 2020, up 25,000 acres from 2019. Flaxseed producers intend to plant 80,000 acres in 2020, down 19,000 acres from last year.

The area planted to sugarbeets is expected to be up 700 acres from last year's actual plantings to 42,500 acres. All garbanzo beans (chickpeas) area planted is expected to total 139,000 acres, down 60,000 acres from 2019. The acreage of small chickpeas is expected to total 56,000 acres and the acreage of large chickpeas is expected to total 83,000 acres this year.

Lentil acres planted for 2020 are expected to total 315,000 acres, up 20,000 acres from last year. All dry edible pea area planted, which includes Austrian winter peas, is expected to total 495,000 acres, down 35,000 acres from last year.