Farmland Atlas · county record

Meeker County, Minnesota

Meeker County, MN: non-irrigated cash rent $217 an acre (2026); land and buildings $5,951 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 176.6 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 27093. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Meeker County is $217 per acre in 2026, up 21.9 percent from 2016. Land value in 2022 is $5,951 per acre, up 14.7 percent from 2017, and non-irrigated rent is 3.58 percent of that value. The county saw 67 of 1357 weeks in severe drought or worse from 2000-2025, with 26 weeks in 2013 alone.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$217/ac
2026 county average
MN median $189 · tied for 34th highest of 81
Cash rent, irrigated
$230/ac
2026 county average
MN median $229 · 8th highest of 17
Land and buildings
$5,951/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
MN median $6,372 · 40th lowest of 84
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
176.6 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 179.9
MN median 180.7 · tied for 28th lowest of 64
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$4.21
2016–2025, closed crop years
MN median $4.92 · 22nd lowest of 82
Farmland rented
47%
2022 census, rented from others
MN median 47% · 41st lowest of 84

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$2502010201520202025$123$217 dry$122$230 irrigated

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+21.9%nominal, $178 to $217
Irrigated, 2026$230/ac
Pasture, 2026$45/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$1.21$217 ÷ 179.9 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$5,951/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$4,160/ac
Census 2017$5,190/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+14.7%+2.8% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20223.58%$213 ÷ $5,951; cropland 87% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024165.0192.9178.7median 176.6

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

Median, 2008–2025176.6 bu/ac16 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025179.9 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2011: 143.6 bu/ac81% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+1.1 bu/ac a year±1.5 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

198919941999200420092014201920240.572.660.891.00: 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$4.21
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.60claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.68$133.0 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium5 of 33
Worst year2014ratio 2.66
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 41% · heat and drought 32% · price decline (revenue policies) 11%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250260

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, 2000–202567 of 1,357 weeks5% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201326 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202513 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202661.0 °F1991–2020 normal 60.7 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.23 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September21.2 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 95% 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, 20225%
Drained by tile, 202249% of cropland130,508 ac
Farmed no-till, 20224% of cropland9,344 ac
Cover crops, 20223% of cropland7,045 ac
198619911996200120062011201620211,62122,26921,027

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

CRP enrolled, 202521,027 ac8% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20285,301 ac25% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$202/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Irrigation wells on record151Minnesota County Well Index (MDH and Minnesota Geological Survey)
Median well depth119 ft
Solar and wind operating, 20254 MW solar · 40 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202234,907+14.5% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202247%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Meeker County$217$230$5,951176.6$4.21
Kandiyohi County$275$287$7,432185.5$5.38
McLeod County$233—$7,217183.1$4.01
Renville County$268—$8,138185.1$4.68
Stearns County$191$273$5,605171.1$6.10
Wright County$192$178 2025$7,935176.0$4.71
Median next door$233$280 2 co.$7,432183.1$4.71

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. Meeker 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/meeker-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.