Farmland Atlas · county record

Mower County, Minnesota

Mower County, MN: non-irrigated cash rent $276 an acre (2026); land and buildings $8,240 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 194.1 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 27099. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Mower County runs $276 per acre for 2026, up 15.5 percent from 2016. Land value came in at $8,240 per acre in the 2022 Census, the operators' own estimate, up 20.9 percent from 2017, 3.9 percent a year. Corn yield trend is 2.3 bushels per acre a year on published years 2008-2025, with a median of 194.1 bushels per acre and a worst year in 2013 at 154.5. Heat and drought's share of crop insurance indemnities moved from 6 percent in 1989-1999 to 40 percent in 2000-2009, 19 percent in 2010-2019, and 79 percent in 2020-2025. The county logged 41 weeks in severe drought or worse from 2021-2025, against 96 weeks total from 2000-2025.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$276/ac
2026 county average
MN median $189 · tied for 6th highest of 81
Cash rent, irrigated
$286/ac
2025 county average
too few 2025 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$8,240/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
MN median $6,372 · 20th highest of 84
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
194.1 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 214.4
MN median 180.7 · 3rd highest of 64
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$4.25
2016–2025, closed crop years
MN median $4.92 · 23rd lowest of 82
Farmland rented
60%
2022 census, rented from others
MN median 47% · 14th highest of 84

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$250$3002010201520202025$160$276 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$276/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+15.5%nominal, $239 to $276
Irrigated, 2025$286/ac
Pasture, 2026$40/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$1.29$276 ÷ 214.4 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$8,240/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$5,988/ac
Census 2017$6,813/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+20.9%+3.9% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— NASS published no non-irrigated cash rent for this county in 2022

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024166.0218.2median 194.1

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

Median, 2008–2025194.1 bu/ac17 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025214.4 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2013: 154.5 bu/ac80% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+2.3 bu/ac a year±1.6 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

198919941999200420092014201920240.054.230.191.00: 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$4.25
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.64claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.75$271.9 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium5 of 35
Worst year2023ratio 4.23
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 41% · excess moisture 34% · price decline (revenue policies) 15%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250230

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, 2000–202596 of 1,357 weeks7% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks202323 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202541 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202660.9 °F1991–2020 normal 59.9 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.31 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September26.6 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 103% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.1 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, 202271% of cropland250,540 ac
Farmed no-till, 20223% of cropland11,395 ac
Cover crops, 20224% of cropland12,958 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202110813,9709,394

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

CRP enrolled, 20259,394 ac2.7% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20283,064 ac33% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$310/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Irrigation wells on record73Minnesota County Well Index (MDH and Minnesota Geological Survey)
Median well depth200 ft
Solar and wind operating, 202553 MW solar · 623.9 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202221,245−28.5% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202260%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Mower County$276$286 2025$8,240194.1$4.25
Howard County, IA$283—$8,461190.0$2.49
Mitchell County, IA$277—$10,387193.9$3.68
Worth County, IA$241—$9,241192.3$3.03
Dodge County$277—$8,615195.4$3.31
Fillmore County$263—$5,919192.2$2.98
Freeborn County$272$301 2023$7,698182.9$3.53
Olmsted County$246—$7,058186.9$3.63
Steele County$258—$9,183188.2$4.09
Median next door$268—$8,538191.1$3.42

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. Mower 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/mower-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.