Montana Ag Network: Small increase in farm and ranch operations MTN and last updated 2021-03-15 10:35:01-04 BOZEMAN â The U.S. lost an estimated 4,400 farms and ranches in 2020, leaving just over two million agricultural operations across the country. But itâs a different case for Montana. The Treasure State reported an increase of 100 smaller ag operations, according to the USDA. Eric Sommer of the USDA National Ag Statistics Service said, "The recent Land and Farm Survey that came out showed Montana had a slight increase in the $1,000 to $9,999 income level." One reason for the increase is landowners selling off land to be developed.