Farmland Atlas · county record

Big Stone County, Minnesota

Big Stone County, MN: non-irrigated cash rent $184 an acre (2026); land and buildings $4,825 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 171.6 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 27011. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

Open on the map Compare Printable sheet

Non-irrigated cash rent in Big Stone County stands at $184 per acre, up 11.5 percent from 2016 to 2026. Land value in 2022 was $4,825 per acre, up 11 percent from 2017 to 2022, or 2.1 percent a year; cash rent is 3.4 percent of land value. Irrigation covers 1 percent of harvested cropland, and solar and wind operating capacity are both 0 MW.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$184/ac
2026 county average
MN median $189 · 39th lowest of 81
Cash rent, irrigated
$156/ac
2019 county average
too few 2019 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$4,825/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
MN median $6,372 · 30th lowest of 84
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
171.6 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 175.2
MN median 180.7 · 20th lowest of 64
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$6.34
2016–2025, closed crop years
MN median $4.92 · 25th highest of 82
Farmland rented
51%
2022 census, rented from others
MN median 47% · 32nd highest of 84

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$2002010201520202025$85$184 dry

Dollars per acre, USDA NASS county survey. A break in a line is a year with no published survey; nothing is drawn across it.

Non-irrigated, 2026$184/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+11.5%nominal, $165 to $184
Irrigated, 2019$156/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$1.05$184 ÷ 175.2 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$4,825/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$3,901/ac
Census 2017$4,348/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+11.0%+2.1% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20223.4%$164 ÷ $4,825; cropland 91% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024156.0198.3172.3median 171.6

Bushels per acre, USDA NASS county yields, all practices. The dashed line is the median of the published years.

Median, 2008–2025171.6 bu/ac18 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025175.2 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2011: 111.0 bu/ac65% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+1.9 bu/ac a year±1.6 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

198919941999200420092014201920240.121.881.341.00: claims equal premium

Claims paid divided by total premium (the farmer share plus the federal subsidy), each closed crop year since 1989. Above the dashed line, the county's insurance book paid out more than it took in. 2026, still open, is left out.

Claims paid per $100 of coverage, 2016–2025$6.34
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.78claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.72$145.3 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium11 of 34
Worst year2019ratio 1.88
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 55% · heat and drought 17% · price decline (revenue policies) 9%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250150

Weeks per year, U.S. Drought Monitor, with half the county or more in D2 (severe) drought or worse.

D2 or worse for half the county, 2000–202557 of 1,357 weeks4% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201315 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202516 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202661.4 °F1991–2020 normal 60.4 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.41 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September18.8 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 104% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.4 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20221%
Drained by tile, 202220% of cropland47,775 ac
Farmed no-till, 20225% of cropland11,874 ac
Cover crops, 20222% of cropland3,579 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202178019,2257,534

Acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, USDA FSA, by fiscal year.

CRP enrolled, 20257,534 ac3.4% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20281,463 ac19% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$163/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Irrigation wells on record41Minnesota County Well Index (MDH and Minnesota Geological Survey)
Median well depth151 ft
Cattle and calves, 20224,375−67.0% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202251%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Big Stone County$184—$4,825171.6$6.34
Lac qui Parle County$215$183 2025$6,362177.3$4.10
Stevens County$189$207$6,446179.8$5.31
Swift County$220$229$6,379181.8$4.81
Traverse County$182—$5,472175.9$8.15
Grant County, SD$155—$4,207159.6$5.41
Roberts County, SD$179—$4,089154.3$7.45
Median next door$186$218 2 co.$5,917176.6$5.36

Counties that share a stretch of boundary. An older rent carries its year and stays out of the median.

Cite this page

AGSIST Farmland Atlas. Big Stone County, Minnesota. Figures as of 2026-09-20, from USDA NASS, USDA RMA, USDA FSA, the U.S. Drought Monitor and NOAA. https://agsist.com/farmland-atlas/minnesota/big-stone-county
Every figure is a county average from the sources named below. Ranks count counties with 10,000 acres or more in farms, in the same survey year for rent, within the state. Methods: how each figure is built. Downloads: all counties, CSV.
Sources, dates and arithmetic

"Figures as of" is the date this page's numbers last changed; it moves only when a figure on the page does. Source files and their retrieval dates are listed on the data page.

Rent: USDA NASS Cash Rents Survey, county. Land value: Census of Agriculture, operators' estimate of land and buildings. Yield: NASS county corn yields, trend fitted here over every published year since 2008. Loss ratio: claims (indemnity) divided by total premium, USDA RMA Summary of Business, 1989 on, open crop year left out. Drought: U.S. Drought Monitor, weeks with half the county or more in D2 or worse. July lows: NOAA nClimDiv county monthly minimum temperature. A dash means the record does not carry the figure or the source withheld it; the reason is printed beside it.