Farmland Atlas · county record

Norman County, Minnesota

Norman County, MN: non-irrigated cash rent $161 an acre (2026); land and buildings $4,636 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 141.7 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 27107. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Norman County averages $161 per acre in 2026, up 33.1 percent from 2016. Census land value stood at $4,636 per acre in 2022, up 40.4 percent from 2017. Corn yield trend runs 2.4 bushels per acre a year on published years 2008-2025, with a median of 141.7 bushels per acre and a worst year of 105.6 in 2021. Crop insurance indemnities across 1989-2025 total $279.4 million, led by excess moisture and flood at 47 percent, while heat and drought's share climbed from 1 percent in 1989-1999 to 4 percent in 2000-2009, 24 percent in 2010-2019, and 34 percent in 2020-2025. No irrigation is in use, no solar or wind capacity is operating or proposed, and July nightly lows show no clear direction since 1976.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$161/ac
2026 county average
MN median $189 · 32nd lowest of 81
Land and buildings
$4,636/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
MN median $6,372 · 28th lowest of 84
Rent as % of land value
2.85%
$132 dry rent ÷ $4,636 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
141.7 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 159.6
MN median 180.7 · 4th lowest of 64
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$6.77
2016–2025, closed crop years
MN median $4.92 · 23rd highest of 82
Farmland rented
63%
2022 census, rented from others
MN median 47% · 5th highest of 84

Cash rent

$0$50$100$1502010201520202025$74$161 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$161/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+33.1%nominal, $121 to $161
Pasture, 2025$18/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$1.01$161 ÷ 159.6 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$4,636/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$2,992/ac
Census 2017$3,301/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+40.4%+7.0% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20222.85%$132 ÷ $4,636; cropland 93% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024136.0194.3median 141.7

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

Median, 2008–2025141.7 bu/ac15 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025159.6 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2021: 105.6 bu/ac75% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+2.4 bu/ac a year±2.2 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

198919941999200420092014201920240.693.780.131.00: 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$6.77
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.63claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.64$279.4 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium12 of 37
Worst year1993ratio 3.78
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 47% · heat and drought 20% · freeze 15%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250240

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, 2000–202563 of 1,357 weeks5% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201224 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202517 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202658.9 °F1991–2020 normal 58.4 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.29 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September17.9 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 95% 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, 20220%
Drained by tile, 20227% of cropland33,180 ac
Farmed no-till, 20221% of cropland3,341 ac
Cover crops, 20225% of cropland23,567 ac
198619911996200120062011201620216,04361,74712,534

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

CRP enrolled, 202512,534 ac2.8% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20281,344 ac11% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$120/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Irrigation wells on record14Minnesota County Well Index (MDH and Minnesota Geological Survey)
Median well depth153 ft
Cattle and calves, 20223,536−4.6% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202263%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Norman County$161—$4,636141.7$6.77
Becker County$127—$3,413—$4.79
Clay County$172—$4,738156.5$4.16
Mahnomen County$128—$4,169—$5.43
Polk County$166$211$4,321—$6.47
Cass County, ND$163—$4,110149.7$6.88
Traill County, ND$161—$3,725146.4$8.49
Median next door$162$211 1 co.$4,140149.7$5.95

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. Norman 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/norman-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.