Farmland Atlas · county record

Steele County, Minnesota

Steele County, MN: non-irrigated cash rent $258 an acre (2026); land and buildings $9,183 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 188.2 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 27147. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Steele County is $258 per acre for 2026, up 20.6 percent from 2016. Census land value in 2022 was $9,183 per acre, with land value up 48.1 percent from 2017 to 2022, 8.2 percent a year. Corn yield trend runs 1.8 bushels per acre a year on published years 2008-2025, with a median of 188.2 bushels per acre and a worst year of 157.4 in 2013. Excess moisture and flood drove 49 percent of crop insurance indemnities across closed crop years 1989-2025, more than any other cause. Severe drought or worse covered at least 50 percent of the county in 98 of 1357 weeks from 2000-2025, with 2012 the worst year at 31 weeks.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$258/ac
2026 county average
MN median $189 · tied for 14th highest of 81
Cash rent, irrigated
$214/ac
2020 county average
too few 2020 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$9,183/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
MN median $6,372 · 5th highest of 84
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
188.2 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 203.9
MN median 180.7 · tied for 11th highest of 64
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$4.09
2016–2025, closed crop years
MN median $4.92 · 18th lowest of 82
Farmland rented
48%
2022 census, rented from others
MN median 47% · 39th highest of 84

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$2502010201520202025$157$258 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$258/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+20.6%nominal, $214 to $258
Irrigated, 2020$214/ac
Pasture, 2026$39/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$1.27$258 ÷ 203.9 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$9,183/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$5,999/ac
Census 2017$6,201/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+48.1%+8.2% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20222.64%$242 ÷ $9,183; cropland 94% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024169.0217.3216.7median 188.2

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

Median, 2008–2025188.2 bu/ac18 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025203.9 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2013: 157.4 bu/ac84% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+1.8 bu/ac a year±1.6 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

19952000200520102015202020250.124.360.391.00: 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$4.09
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.68claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.81$140.2 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium6 of 31
Worst year2013ratio 4.36
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 49% · heat and drought 19% · price decline (revenue policies) 15%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250310

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, 2000–202598 of 1,357 weeks7% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201231 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202512 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202661.9 °F1991–2020 normal 60.7 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.36 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September26.4 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 105% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.9 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, 202261% of cropland140,652 ac
Farmed no-till, 20227% of cropland15,736 ac
Cover crops, 20224% of cropland8,544 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202189619,49911,068

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

CRP enrolled, 202511,068 ac4.9% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20282,952 ac27% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$255/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Irrigation wells on record17Minnesota County Well Index (MDH and Minnesota Geological Survey)
Median well depth280 ft
Solar and wind operating, 202514.4 MW solar · 44 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 20226,622−49.3% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202248%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Steele County$258—$9,183188.2$4.09
Dodge County$277—$8,615195.4$3.31
Freeborn County$272$301 2023$7,698182.9$3.53
Mower County$276$286 2025$8,240194.1$4.25
Rice County$276$350$8,330188.3$4.54
Waseca County$263—$8,825191.7$3.94
Median next door$276$350 1 co.$8,330191.7$3.94

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. Steele 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/steele-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.