Farmland Atlas · county record

Polk County, Minnesota

Polk County, MN: non-irrigated cash rent $166 an acre (2026); land and buildings $4,321 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 142.1 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 27119. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Polk County runs $166 per acre in 2026, up 40.7 percent from 2016. Irrigated rent sits at $211 per acre, though irrigation covers 1 percent of harvested cropland. Corn yields trend up 2.4 bushels per acre a year over 2009-2025, with a median of 142.1 bushels per acre and a worst year of 101.2 in 2021. Solar and wind capacity are both at 0 MW, operating and proposed.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$166/ac
2026 county average
MN median $189 · 34th lowest of 81
Cash rent, irrigated
$211/ac
2026 county average
MN median $229 · 3rd lowest of 17
Land and buildings
$4,321/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
MN median $6,372 · 26th lowest of 84
Corn yield, 2009–2025 median
142.1 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 154.7
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$6.47
2016–2025, closed crop years
MN median $4.92 · 24th highest of 82
Farmland rented
57%
2022 census, rented from others
MN median 47% · 19th highest of 84

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$2502010201520202025$72$166 dry$167$211 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$166/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+40.7%nominal, $118 to $166
Irrigated, 2026$211/ac
Pasture, 2026$29/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$1.07$166 ÷ 154.7 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$4,321/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$2,902/ac
Census 2017$3,280/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+31.7%+5.7% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20222.87%$124 ÷ $4,321; cropland 91% of land in farms

Corn yield

200920112013201520172019202120232025105.0183.7median 142.1

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

Median, 2009–2025142.1 bu/ac14 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025154.7 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2021: 101.2 bu/ac71% of median
Trend, 2009–2025+2.4 bu/ac a year±2.3 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

198919941999200420092014201920242.083.420.221.00: 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$6.47
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.69claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.61$475.6 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium11 of 37
Worst year1994ratio 3.42
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 45% · heat and drought 24% · freeze 14%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, 2000–202573 of 1,357 weeks5% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201224 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202521 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202658.4 °F1991–2020 normal 57.5 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.41 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September17.5 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 93% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger3.6 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20221%
Drained by tile, 20227% of cropland70,241 ac
Farmed no-till, 20223% of cropland25,539 ac
Cover crops, 20225% of cropland53,713 ac
198619911996200120062011201620211,861154,01552,044

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

CRP enrolled, 202552,044 ac5.4% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–202812,270 ac24% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$103/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Irrigation wells on record41Minnesota County Well Index (MDH and Minnesota Geological Survey)
Median well depth140 ft
Cattle and calves, 202213,468−1.9% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202257%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Polk County$166$211$4,321—$6.47
Clearwater County$48—$2,881—$10.85
Mahnomen County$128—$4,169—$5.43
Marshall County$114—$3,168129.9$8.98
Norman County$161—$4,636141.7$6.77
Pennington County$83—$3,241—$11.95
Red Lake County$91—$2,951—$9.24
Grand Forks County, ND$134$228 2024$3,568136.8$8.92
Traill County, ND$161—$3,725146.4$8.49
Median next door$121—$3,405139.3$8.95

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. Polk 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/polk-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.