Farmland Atlas · county record

Houston County, Minnesota

Houston County, MN: non-irrigated cash rent $217 an acre (2026); land and buildings $5,209 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 185.4 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 27055. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

Open on the map Compare Printable sheet

Non-irrigated cash rent in Houston County runs $217 per acre in 2026, up 15.4 percent from 2016. Land value sits at $5,209 per acre, with rent at 3.97 percent of that value. Drought weeks stayed low, 53 of 1357 weeks from 2000-2025, with 13 weeks in 2021-2025.

Cash rent, non-irrigated

$217/ac

2026 county average
MN median $189 · tied for 34th highest of 81

Land and buildings

$5,209/ac

2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
MN median $6,372 · 33rd lowest of 84

Rent as % of land value

3.97%

$207 dry rent ÷ $5,209 land and buildings, both 2022

Corn yield, 2008–2025 median

185.4 bu/ac

recent level 2021–2025: 198.8
MN median 180.7 · 21st highest of 64

Claims paid per $100 of coverage

$5.55

2016–2025, closed crop years
MN median $4.92 · 32nd highest of 82

Farmland rented

28%

2022 census, rented from others
MN median 47% · 12th lowest of 84

Cash rent

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$217/ac

Change 2016 to 2026+15.4%nominal, $188 to $217

Pasture, 2026$40/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$5,209/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price

Census 2012$3,453/ac

Census 2017$4,290/ac

Change 2017 to 2022+21.4%+4.0% a year, nominal

Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20223.97%$207 ÷ $5,209; cropland 61% of land in farms

Corn yield

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

Median, 2008–2025185.4 bu/ac18 published years

Recent level, 2021–2025198.8 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped

Lowest published year2013: 153.0 bu/ac83% of median

Trend, 2008–2025+1.9 bu/ac a year±1.0 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

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$5.55

Loss ratio, 2016–20250.87claims ÷ total premium

Loss ratio, 1989–20250.82$45.9 million paid

Years claims exceeded premium6 of 19

Worst year2023ratio 2.89

Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 34% · excess moisture 27% · price decline (revenue policies) 12%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

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, 2000–202553 of 1,357 weeks4% of weeks

Year with the most D2+ weeks200317 weeks

Last five years, 2021–202513 weeks

July average of daily lows, 2017–202662.6 °F1991–2020 normal 61.5 °F

Trend in July lows since 1976+0.39 °F a decadeno clear direction

Rain, April to September27.0 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 103% of it

Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.9 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 2022— NASS suppressed the irrigated acres to protect individual farms

Drained by tile, 20223% of cropland3,697 ac

Farmed no-till, 202223% of cropland30,425 ac

Cover crops, 20226% of cropland7,431 ac

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

CRP enrolled, 202510,277 ac8% of harvested cropland + CRP

CRP expiring FY2026–20283,002 ac29% of enrolled acres

CRP average rental payment, FY2025$190/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer

Irrigation wells on record6Minnesota County Well Index (MDH and Minnesota Geological Survey)

Median well depth156 ft

Solar and wind operating, 20252 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860

Cattle and calves, 202246,700+7.0% since 2017

Farmland rented from others, 202228%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

County	Dry rent	Land value	Corn yield	Claims per $100
Houston County	$217	$5,209	185.4	$5.55
Allamakee County, IA	$252	$7,375	185.6	$2.22
Winneshiek County, IA	$274	$8,233	192.9	$2.31
Fillmore County	$263	$5,919	192.2	$2.98
Winona County	$208	$6,840	191.0	$2.78
La Crosse County, WI	$165	$6,527	166.9	$5.58
Vernon County, WI	$145	$5,236	158.6	$6.14
Median next door	$230	$6,684	188.3	$2.88

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. Houston 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/houston-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.

← Hennepin CountyAll Minnesota countiesHubbard County →