Farmland Atlas · county record

Rock County, Minnesota

Rock County, MN: non-irrigated cash rent $277 an acre (2026); land and buildings $8,831 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 181.4 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 27133. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Rock County averages $277 per acre in 2026, up 16.9 percent from 2016. The census value of land and buildings was $8,831 per acre in 2022, up 15.7 percent from 2017. Corn yield trend runs 1.3 bushels per acre a year on published years 2008-2022, with a median of 181.4 bushels per acre and a worst year of 150.2 in 2019. Excess moisture and flood drove crop insurance losses over 1989-2025, the largest cause at 33 percent, while heat and drought's share moved from 2 percent in 1989-1999 to 41 percent in 2000-2009, 16 percent in 2010-2019, and 46 percent in 2020-2025. Wind operating capacity stands at 318.8 MW, with no solar and no proposed capacity to EIA.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$277/ac
2026 county average
MN median $189 · tied for 3rd highest of 81
Land and buildings
$8,831/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
MN median $6,372 · 7th highest of 84
Rent as % of land value
2.77%
$245 dry rent ÷ $8,831 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, 2008–2022 median
181.4 bu/ac
15 published years
MN median 180.7 · 32nd highest of 64
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$3.59
2016–2025, closed crop years
MN median $4.92 · 10th lowest of 82
Farmland rented
54%
2022 census, rented from others
MN median 47% · 25th highest of 84

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$250$3002010201520202025$149$277 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$277/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+16.9%nominal, $237 to $277
Pasture, 2026$68/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$8,831/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$7,030/ac
Census 2017$7,631/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+15.7%+3.0% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20222.77%$245 ÷ $8,831; cropland 92% of land in farms

Corn yield

20082010201220142016201820202022180.0206.4196.8median 181.4

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

Median, 2008–2022181.4 bu/ac15 published years
Lowest published year2019: 150.2 bu/ac83% of median
Trend, 2008–2022+1.3 bu/ac a year±2.3 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

198919941999200420092014201920240.164.860.021.00: 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$3.59
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.59claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.64$131.2 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium3 of 34
Worst year2014ratio 4.86
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 33% · heat and drought 24% · hail 14%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202520390

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, 2000–2025116 of 1,357 weeks9% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201239 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202523 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202662.2 °F1991–2020 normal 60.9 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.40 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September21.2 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 100% 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, 2022— NASS suppressed the irrigated acres to protect individual farms
Drained by tile, 202239% of cropland93,136 ac
Farmed no-till, 202218% of cropland43,153 ac
Cover crops, 20224% of cropland8,514 ac
198619911996200120062011201620211504,012

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

CRP enrolled, 20254,012 ac1.7% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–2028580 ac15% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$252/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 depth50 ft
Solar and wind operating, 20250 MW solar · 318.8 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202270,805−24.4% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202254%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Rock County$277—$8,831181.4$3.59
Lyon County, IA$284—$12,857193.0$2.28
Murray County$246—$8,581183.0$5.26
Nobles County$244—$8,605180.0$4.67
Pipestone County$233—$7,449167.3$6.12
Minnehaha County, SD$221$241$8,346172.0$3.75
Moody County, SD$252—$8,691—$3.39
Median next door$245$241 1 co.$8,593180.0$4.21

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. Rock 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/rock-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.