Carbon County, Montana
Beartooth front · Red Lodge · Clark’s Fork of the Yellowstone · US-212 / WY border gateway
- Check current snowpack, drought, streamflow, and soil moisture before stocking, hay buying, or destocking.
- See where Carbon County calves moved in 2023 — destinations, seasonal pattern, and shipping windows.
- Look up water rights, parcels, and ownership via Cadastral, DNRC WRQS, and WaterMapper.
- Reach the District 4 brand inspector and verify cattle-buyer bonds before consigning.
Snowpack · SWE
Snow Water Equivalent — water that would result if today’s snowpack melted now.
Water-Year Precip
Total precipitation since Oct 1 — the start of the NRCS water year.
Drought Monitor
Worst drought class anywhere in the county per the U.S. Drought Monitor.
D0 abnormally dry · D1 moderate · D2 severe · D3 extreme · D4 exceptional. Percentages = share of county area at or worse than each class.
Streamflow
Cubic feet per second flowing past the nearest in-county USGS gauge right now.
Soil Moisture
VWC = Volumetric Water Content — the percent of soil volume that is water. Montana Mesonet probe average.
Shallow ≈ 4″ depth · Deep ≈ 20″ depth.
Bands (shallow + deep average): ≥ 30 % moist · 22–30 % adequate · 15–22 % drying · < 15 % dry.
Precip Anomaly
Inches above (+) or below (−) the 1901–2000 average for the latest completed 1-, 3- and 12-month periods (NOAA NCEI, monthly data) — not the water year (see the separate Water-Year Precip tile for that).
1-mo = last 30 days · 3-mo = last 90 days · 12-mo = trailing year.
12-mo bands: > +1″ wet · −0.5″ to +1″ near normal · −2″ to −0.5″ dry · < −2″ very dry.
Reading this dashboard — what these terms mean
Median vs. mean. We use the median (NRCS standard) so a single very-wet or very-dry year doesn’t skew the baseline.
Water year. Hydrology runs Oct 1 → Sep 30. Most of a year’s snowpack accumulation is captured in the same season it melts.
Percentile (streamflow). 50 = exactly typical for this calendar date. 19 = today’s flow is lower than 81 % of all readings ever recorded on this date. 81 = lower than only 19 %.
VWC (soil moisture). Volumetric Water Content. Rough field bands: under 10 % = dry, 15–25 % = productive growing-season range, over 35 % = saturated.
Drought scale. D0–D4 from the U.S. Drought Monitor, weekly Thursday release. The percentages tell you what fraction of county area is at or worse than each band — a county can be 100 % at D2 with 0 % at D3.
Precip anomaly. Inches above or below the 1901–2000 average for the latest completed 1-, 3- and 12-month periods (NOAA NCEI Climate at a Glance, monthly data). Not the water year — the Water-Year Precip tile is the water-year measure. Anomaly is in inches; “% of median” is a ratio. Both useful; anomaly is easier to interpret when comparing a dry summer month to a wet spring month.
Forage Condition. A 0–100 county-scale index of rangeland forage conditions relative to this county’s own historical normal, blending satellite-observed vegetation response, growing-season moisture, drought stress, and usability. Higher = more favorable relative to local normal. Categories: 0–25 Poor, 26–50 Fair, 51–75 Good, 76–100 Excellent. Long-Term Forage Potential is a separate long-run rating, not part of the score. Beta — for regional screening and comparison, not a pasture-level forage inventory or stocking-rate recommendation.
How often this updates. The moisture and drought tiles (snowpack, streamflow, soil moisture, rain, water-year precip, drought class) refresh every morning. The Forage Condition score’s satellite vegetation read — and the separate Hay & Pasture read — refresh weekly (Mondays), because the underlying satellite imagery only updates on a ~16-day cycle. So the water tiles move day to day; the vegetation reads step forward about once a week.
Carbon County in context
Adjacent counties in the the Beartooth-Clark’s Fork corridor. Carbon County shares the Beartooth Plateau snowpack system with these neighbors.
Click any neighbor for its full county dashboard.
Snowpack & Moisture Detail
SNOTEL station-by-station read for Carbon County. The dashboard above gives current aggregate; this section shows where the water actually is.
Carbon County snowpack is critically below median across 2 reporting stations at the last spring reading (June 4, 2026). Snowpack has since melted out for the season, so this section shows how the 2026 snow season ended, not current conditions. Two SNOTEL stations monitor county snowpack. Carbon County watershed snowpack critically below normal (county avg 27% of median); highest at Cole Creek (34%), lowest at Burnt Mtn (20%).
| Station | Elev (ft) | SWE (in) | % of Median | Relevance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burnt Mtn | 5,920 | 0.0 | 20% | Carbon County — elevation 5920 ft |
| Cole Creek | 7,910 | 0.0 | 34% | Carbon County — elevation 7910 ft |
Basin Index: Carbon County watershed snowpack critically below normal (county avg 27% of median); highest at Cole Creek (34%), lowest at Burnt Mtn (20%). Drought Monitor (valid 2026-11-10): Worst class D2 (severe) over 21% of the county. Coverage at or worse than each class: D0 100%, D1 74%, D2 21%, D3 0%, D4 0%. Station snapshot as of November 13, 2026 — live dashboard above is current.
Two-Week Rainfall
Observed (prior 14 days) and forecast (next 14 days) · Carbon County · as of 2026-11-13
| Period | Window | Rain (in) | Normal (in) | % of Normal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prior 2 weeks (observed) | Oct 30 – Nov 12, 2026 | 0.34 | 0.50 | 68% |
| Next 2 weeks (forecast) | Nov 13 – Nov 26, 2026 | 0.33 | 0.50 | 66% |
Observed detail: 3 measurable-rain day(s) in the prior two weeks; largest single day 0.26 in.
Forecast source: NWS/NOAA api.weather.gov (days 1–7) blended with Open-Meteo gridded model (days 8–14). The next-14-day total is model-derived — NOAA quantitative precipitation forecast is precise only through ~7 days, and days 8–14 are a model blend, not an observed gauge reading.
Moisture Outlook: 1, 3, 6 and 12 Months
Expected precipitation against the 1991–2020 normal · Carbon County · NOAA seasonal outlook issued Oct 15, 2026; monthly outlook Oct 31, 2026 · refreshed monthly
| Horizon | Window | Normal (in) | Expected (in) | % of Normal | Lean | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 month | November 2026 | 1.07 | 1.07 | 100% | No clear signal | Moderate |
| 3 months | Nov 2026–Jan 2027 | 2.83 | 2.77 | 98% | Slight dry lean | Low to moderate |
| 6 months | Nov 2026–Apr 2027 | 7.06 | 7.00 | 99% | No clear signal | Low |
| 12 months | Nov 2026–Oct 2027 | 17.57 | 17.05 | 97% | Slight dry lean | Very low |
- Odds, November 2026: 33% chance of a drier-than-normal month, 34% near normal, 33% wetter.
- Odds, Nov 2026–Jan 2027: 36% drier than normal, 34% near normal, 30% wetter.
- Temperature: November 2026 leans warmer than normal (55% chance of a warmer-than-normal month); Nov 2026–Jan 2027 slight lean warmer than normal (36% chance of a warmer-than-normal three months). Warmer weather pulls more moisture out of soil and snowpack.
- Spring growing season (Apr–Jun 2027): these three months normally bring 7.12 in, about 41% of the year’s moisture. NOAA’s early read: 45% drier, 33% near normal, 22% wetter — expected 6.69 in (94% of normal).
How it is built: NOAA Climate Prediction Center outlook odds read across Carbon County, applied to the county’s 1991–2020 precipitation record (NOAA NCEI). Inches are county-wide averages that include mountain ground, so valley and bench ranches usually receive less; the percent of normal carries over better than the inches. Full method and limits → Prepared by Dirk Adams with the assistance of AI.
Water Rights, Irrigation & Land Ownership
The Clark’s Fork of the Yellowstone originates in Wyoming and enters Carbon County near Belfry, flowing northeast through Bridger before joining the Yellowstone at Laurel. Rock Creek drains the Beartooth face directly into the Clark’s Fork near Red Lodge and is the county’s most snowpack-sensitive tributary.
Clark’s Fork water rights in Carbon County include both Montana-adjudicated rights and an interstate compact with Wyoming that governs upstream diversions — Montana ranchers with junior rights on the upper Clark’s Fork should know their standing under the compact in a dry year. Rock Creek above Red Lodge carries senior rights dating to the 1880s mining and ranching era, and is fully appropriated in low-flow summers. The Pryor Creek watershed in the northeastern corner of the county is a separate drainage entirely, flowing north toward Yellowstone County with its own adjudicated right pool. Irrigation infrastructure in the Clark’s Fork valley between Belfry and Bridger is well-developed by county standards, with several cooperative ditch companies managing diversions. Carbon County’s higher elevation means runoff peaks later than the valley floor — April and May gauge readings are less meaningful than June flows for final season planning.
Federal Grazing Leases
BLM and U.S. Forest Service permitted grazing on public-land allotments · Carbon County
| System | Allotments | Permitted use | Public acres |
|---|---|---|---|
| BLM | 90 | 12,984 AUMs | 157,085 |
| U.S. Forest Service | 9 | 7,803 head-months | 56,169 |
AUMs (BLM) and head-months (USFS) are both animal-unit-months — one animal grazing for one month, the standard measure of authorized use. Acres are BLM public acres and USFS GIS acres on the mapped allotments.
Statewide maps: BLM allotment map · Forest Service allotment map. Excludes Montana DNRC state-trust grazing leases.
Land Resources
Three independent estimates of how Carbon County’s land is used — shown side by side, never blended
Every acreage figure below comes from an independent source that measures the land a different way. We show them side by side — and never blend reported acreage, satellite pixels and tax classifications into one unexplained number. Total county area 1,310,580 acres · land in farms 738,590 acres (56% of the county).
🗺 Open the interactive land map for Carbon County →
See crops, range, irrigated fields, public land and ownership parcels drawn live on the map.
Principal crops — official vs. satellite
| Crop | USDA Census 2022 (acres harvested) | Satellite CDL 2023 (acres present) |
|---|---|---|
| Winter wheat | 3,813 | 5,808 |
| Spring wheat | 687 | 717 |
| Barley | 8,896 | 11,148 |
| Oats | 101 | 30 |
| Corn | 8,376 | 8,459 |
| Alfalfa hay | 28,393 | 46,383 |
| Other hay | 18,140 | 47,683 |
| Sugarbeets | 1,921 | 2,498 |
| Dry peas | — | 81 |
| Safflower | — | 579 |
| Sorghum | — | 87 |
These columns measure different things, so they should not match. The Census counts acres actually harvested in the census year, as reported by producers; the Cropland Data Layer counts every acre the satellite saw in that crop, including fields in a crop–fallow rotation and stands not harvested. Winter wheat is the clearest example: much of the county’s wheat ground sits in fallow in any given year, so the satellite total runs well above harvested acres. CDL also over-attributes hay and forage on native range. “Withheld” means the Census suppressed the value to protect an individual operation’s privacy.
How the county’s acres classify
| Land class | USDA Census 2022 | Satellite CDL 2023 | DOR assessment 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cropland (total) | 113,991 | 126,863 | 121,834 |
| of which harvested | 72,016 | — | — |
| Irrigated land | 65,049 | — | 73,126 |
| Pasture & rangeland | 596,075 | 954,975 | 503,075 |
| Forest / woodland | 13,098 | 173,509 | 127,140 |
| Developed | — | 14,860 | — |
| Water & wetlands | — | 29,976 | — |
Three ways of counting the same ground. Census figures are producer-reported acres in farms; the satellite column is a wall-to-wall pixel classification of the whole county (so it also sees developed land, water and non-farm ground the others do not); the assessment column is the Montana Department of Revenue’s parcel-level tax classification (CAMA), which is why its cropland total tracks the Census closely while the satellite tends to run higher. Developed and open-water rows come only from the satellite. Where they disagree, no single number is “wrong” — they are measuring different things.
Irrigated land, three independent ways
65,049 USDA Census harvested irrigated cropland, 2022 | 88,429 DNRC mapped remote-sensed irrigated extent | 73,126 DOR assessed tax classification, 2026 |
The single most important acreage figure for a cattle operation, and the three sources genuinely differ. The Census counts acres actually irrigated and harvested in the census year; the Montana DOR figure is what is classified and taxed as irrigated; the DNRC mapping captures the full remote-sensed irrigated extent, including ground that carries irrigation but was idle or in another use that year — so it usually reads highest. We publish all three rather than pick one.
What each estimate means
- USDA Census of Agriculture — producer-reported, the official record. Highly credible, but taken every five years and suppressed in counties where a value would identify a single operation.
- Satellite (Cropland Data Layer) — USDA’s annual, wall-to-wall satellite classification. Complete county coverage every year, but it infers crops from imagery, so it mislabels some ground and over-calls hay and forage on native range.
- Tax / assessment — Montana Department of Revenue parcel-level classification from the CAMA assessment roll (2026 tax year), aggregated from the Montana State Library cadastral. Parcel- and ownership-based; a land classification, not an annual crop report.
Sources: USDA NASS Census of Agriculture 2022 (Quick Stats); USDA Cropland Data Layer 2023 (CropScape zonal statistics, USDA-NASS); Montana Department of Revenue CAMA assessment acreage via the MSDI cadastral parcels layer (tax year 2026); Montana DNRC Statewide Irrigation dataset. Prepared by Dirk Adams with the assistance of AI.
Local Help
Verified contacts and official destinations for Carbon County — not a directory dump, just where to actually call
Extension, USDA, market, brand and diagnostic links go to the official Montana source; the DNRC office and phone are the specific regional office serving this county. Provider directories (veterinarians, feed dealers) will be added only once a repeatable verification standard is in place. Prepared by Dirk Adams with the assistance of AI.
Production & Sales
Operation character, hay base, and how cattle reach market from Carbon County.
Cattle production
Carbon County operations skew toward traditional cow-calf outfits running mother cows on deeded ground in winter and moving cattle up to Custer Gallatin National Forest allotments above Red Lodge in summer. The high-country allotments above the Beartooth face are some of the most productive in the region, but forest road access and permit requirements add management complexity compared to plains operations. The Clark’s Fork valley around Belfry and Bridger supports larger irrigated operations with more hay base than the mountain ranches. A handful of small-scale direct-marketing beef operations near Red Lodge serve the outdoor recreation and tourism market, a niche not common in neighboring counties.
Hay & winter feed
Rock Creek and Clark’s Fork bottomland hay — primarily alfalfa and orchard grass mix — supplies the county’s mountain-side operations, while Belfry and Bridger area farms produce alfalfa for sale into the Billings market. First-cutting at Red Lodge elevation runs early to mid-July, significantly later than the valley floor, giving the county a natural hedge against a single early frost. Operators in the Clark’s Fork valley near Bridger cut earlier and can get two to three cuttings with good water; mountain ranches typically get one solid cut and rely on native grass stockpiling for fall grazing.
Logistics · sale barns & trucking
Red Lodge on US-212 is the county’s commercial center, but Billings 65 miles north on US-212/I-90 is the market destination for most livestock. Bridger at the US-310 junction serves the eastern Clark’s Fork valley and has a shorter haul to Billings via I-90 at Laurel. The Beartooth Highway closes in winter and restricts movement to Wyoming — operators near Cooke City must route entirely through Red Lodge or Laurel regardless of season. No active sale barn operates in Carbon County; Billings Livestock Commission and occasional Laurel-area order buyers handle the county’s marketings.
Licensed Processing Plants
1 federally inspected plant operating in Carbon County — establishment IDs and contacts, verified against the federal and state directories
Meat from federally inspected and state-inspected plants can be sold; custom-exempt plants are not listed here. Verified August 2026 against the USDA FSIS Meat, Poultry & Egg Product Inspection Directory and the Montana Department of Livestock state plant list (Jan 2026). Grants of inspection change — call before you haul.