Agriculture and recreation in Phillips County

Published: 2022
By Marko Manoukian

Phillips County is in North Central Montana along what is known as the Hi-Line. It encompasses 3.2 million acres with 33% being managed by the Bureau of Land Management and 48.5% as private lands. Other land managers in the area are Montana State Lands, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation. Agriculture is the main industry, consisting of 53,000 mother cows (ranking third most in the state); 5,900 sheep; 363,200 crop acres; and 40,000 irrigated land acres. The gross value of all agricultural commodities in 2017 was about $77.9 million dollars excluding any government program. Recreation contributes as an industry in the county, with big game and upland bird hunting, and warm water fish species in the Milk and Missouri Rivers, which make up the southern border of the county. There is also one large irrigation reservoir, the Nelson, that has warm water sport fishing.