Farmland Atlas · county record

McLeod County, Minnesota

McLeod County, MN: non-irrigated cash rent $233 an acre (2026); land and buildings $7,217 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 183.1 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 27085. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in McLeod County averages $233 per acre for 2026, down 6 percent from 2016. Census land value in 2022 was $7,217 per acre, up 26.1 percent from 2017, 4.7 percent a year. Corn yield trend from 2008-2025 runs 1.1 bushels per acre a year, with a median of 183.1 bushels per acre and a worst year of 2014 at 128.6. Crop insurance indemnities for 1989-2025 total $164.3 million, with excess moisture and flood the largest cause at 54 percent; the loss ratio over 2016-2025 was 0.59, below the 0.88 rate for the full 1989-2025 period. Drought weeks ran 56 of 1357 from 2000-2025, with 2022 the worst year at 16 weeks.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$233/ac
2026 county average
MN median $189 · tied for 28th highest of 81
Land and buildings
$7,217/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
MN median $6,372 · 33rd highest of 84
Rent as % of land value
3.31%
$239 dry rent ÷ $7,217 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
183.1 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 188.0
MN median 180.7 · 27th highest of 64
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$4.01
2016–2025, closed crop years
MN median $4.92 · tied for 15th lowest of 82
Farmland rented
52%
2022 census, rented from others
MN median 47% · 31st highest of 84

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$2502010201520202025$149$233 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$233/ac
Change 2016 to 2026−6.0%nominal, $248 to $233
Dry rent per bushel of corn$1.24$233 ÷ 188.0 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$7,217/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$5,385/ac
Census 2017$5,724/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+26.1%+4.7% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20223.31%$239 ÷ $7,217; cropland 93% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024176.0206.2203.4median 183.1

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

Median, 2008–2025183.1 bu/ac18 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025188.0 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2014: 128.6 bu/ac70% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+1.1 bu/ac a year±1.9 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

198919941999200420092014201920240.056.170.151.00: 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$4.01
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.59claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.88$164.3 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium7 of 32
Worst year2014ratio 6.17
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 54% · heat and drought 22% · price decline (revenue policies) 10%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250160

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, 2000–202556 of 1,357 weeks4% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks202216 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202527 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202662.0 °F1991–2020 normal 61.1 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.20 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September21.8 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 89% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.9 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, 202269% of cropland156,993 ac
Farmed no-till, 20221% of cropland2,418 ac
Cover crops, 20221% of cropland1,964 ac
198619911996200120062011201620213138,848

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

CRP enrolled, 20258,848 ac3.9% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20281,658 ac19% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$249/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Irrigation wells on record18Minnesota County Well Index (MDH and Minnesota Geological Survey)
Median well depth231 ft
Solar and wind operating, 202526.9 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202217,922−32.1% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202252%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
McLeod County$233—$7,217183.1$4.01
Carver County$252—$8,140185.9$3.69
Meeker County$217$230$5,951176.6$4.21
Renville County$268—$8,138185.1$4.68
Sibley County$278—$8,265187.1$5.43
Wright County$192$178 2025$7,935176.0$4.71
Median next door$252$230 1 co.$8,138185.1$4.68

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. McLeod 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/mcleod-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.