Farmland Atlas · county record

Lincoln County, Minnesota

Lincoln County, MN: non-irrigated cash rent $223 an acre (2026); land and buildings $6,365 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 161.9 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 27081. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Lincoln County runs $223 per acre in 2026, up 26.7 percent from 2016. Land value tracked by the census reached $6,365 per acre in 2022, up 31.6 percent from 2017, or 5.6 percent a year. Cropland here is 0 percent irrigated, so drought exposure runs straight into yields; 2012 brought 37 weeks of severe drought or worse and the worst yield of the period, 143.8 bushels per acre against a median of 161.9. Excess moisture and flood, not heat, is the largest source of indemnities over 1989-2025 at 32 percent, though heat and drought's share rose to 64 percent in 2020-2025. Wind capacity operating in the county stands at 1051.9 MW.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$223/ac
2026 county average
MN median $189 · 32nd highest of 81
Land and buildings
$6,365/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
MN median $6,372 · 42nd lowest of 84
Rent as % of land value
3.25%
$207 dry rent ÷ $6,365 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, 2008–2024 median
161.9 bu/ac
recent level 2020–2024: 178.8
MN median 180.7 · 15th lowest of 64
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$6.12
2016–2025, closed crop years
MN median $4.92 · tied for 26th highest of 82
Farmland rented
46%
2022 census, rented from others
MN median 47% · 39th lowest of 84

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$2002010201520202025$118$223 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$223/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+26.7%nominal, $176 to $223
Pasture, 2026$67/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$1.25$223 ÷ 178.8 bu, county yield 2020–2024

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$6,365/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$3,878/ac
Census 2017$4,836/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+31.6%+5.6% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20223.25%$207 ÷ $6,365; cropland 87% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024146.0203.6176.1median 161.9

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

Median, 2008–2024161.9 bu/ac15 published years
Recent level, 2020–2024178.8 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 143.8 bu/ac89% of median
Trend, 2008–2024+1.7 bu/ac a year±1.8 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

198919941999200420092014201920240.144.050.081.00: 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$6.12
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.77claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.65$152.1 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium5 of 33
Worst year2019ratio 4.05
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 32% · heat and drought 29% · hail 15%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202512372

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, 2000–2025105 of 1,357 weeks8% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201237 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202521 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202660.9 °F1991–2020 normal 59.8 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.21 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September21.1 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 101% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.3 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20220%
Drained by tile, 202248% of cropland88,605 ac
Farmed no-till, 20229% of cropland15,736 ac
Cover crops, 20224% of cropland6,424 ac
198619911996200120062011201620211,86860,51530,502

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

CRP enrolled, 202530,502 ac16.6% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20289,601 ac32% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$214/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Irrigation wells on record9Minnesota County Well Index (MDH and Minnesota Geological Survey)
Median well depth164 ft
Solar and wind operating, 20250 MW solar · 1,051.9 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202217,734−20.8% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202246%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Lincoln County$223—$6,365161.9$6.12
Lyon County$230—$7,146172.2$5.87
Pipestone County$233—$7,449167.3$6.12
Yellow Medicine County$230 2025—$7,062174.0$4.93
Brookings County, SD$205$259$6,212170.4$3.62
Deuel County, SD$181—$5,470—$4.01
Median next door$218$259 1 co.$7,062171.3$4.93

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. Lincoln 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/lincoln-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.