County farm facts

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. Bids, weather, crops, land and programs for one county. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 27147. Figures as of Oct 19, 2026; the rows marked with a date load the newest reading when the page opens.

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As of Oct 16, cash rent in Steele County runs $258 an acre for 2026, tied for 14th highest of 81 in Minnesota and up 20.6% from $214 in 2016. The census value of land and buildings came in at $9,183 an acre in 2022, 5th highest of 84, up 48.1% from $6,201 in 2017. Corn made 216.7 bu in 2025, above the 2021-25 average of 203.9 bu.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$258/ac
2026 county average
MN median $189 · tied for 14th highest of 81
Cash rent, irrigated
n/a
last published 2020, more than three survey years old
Land and buildings
$9,183/ac
2022: operators' own estimate of what land and buildings were worth · MN farm real estate 2026: $6,950 (land and buildings, state survey)
MN median $6,372 · 5th highest of 84
Corn yield, 2021-25 average
203.9 bu/ac
high and low dropped · 2025 county yield 216.7 · rent-per-bushel trend withheld: county yield mixes irrigated and dryland acres
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
Open on the map Compare Minnesota cash rent by county

Grain and prices within 50 miles

Corn bid
Soybean bid
Corn basis
Soybean basis
Corn futures
Soybean futures
Class III milk futures
Feeder cattle futures
Lean hog futures
Hay, Minnesota price received

Bids are posted elevator prices within 50 miles of the county middle, or of your own field or saved place in this county when this device has one (each row says which), best and nearest, never a buyer's name. Not a contract; call before you haul. Livestock lines show where the 2022 Census counts 1,000 head or more: milk for milk cows, feeder cattle for beef cows, live cattle for cattle on feed, hogs for hogs, hay for all cattle.

Minnesota cash bids by town · Bids from your own ZIP or farm, in Fast Facts

Cash bids by town near the middle of Steele County: Lansing (23 mi), Kasson (24 mi), Sargeant (27 mi).

Nearby buyers within 50 miles: 6 ethanol plants, 3 oilseed crushers
Loading the list.

Straight-line miles from the middle of Steele County to each buyer’s town point (the middle of its town, not the gate), rounded. Capacity as published. Where the buyers are, not what they pay. Lists from Renewable Fuels Association, EIA, NOPA, read Oct 28, 2026.

Weather and the season

Rain since Jan 1
Drought this week
Hail, last 30 days

Rain so far this year in Steele County, Minnesota

Drought, year by year

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 full years, 2021–202512 weeks
2026 so far0 weekshalf the county or more in D2, 40 weekly maps
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 September, usual26.4 in1991–2020 county normal, NOAA; the 2017–2026 seasons averaged 26.4 in
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.9 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail
Last spring freeze, first fall freezeApr 29, Oct 8middle dates 1996–2025, NOAA county-average daily low of 32 °F or colder
Frost-free days159middle of 1996–2025
Corn growing degree days, May to September2,481middle of 1996–2025; 2016–2025 averaged 2,582

Crops

Corn harvested
Soybeans harvested

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.

Trend for rent per bushelCounty yield mixes irrigated and dryland acres
2025 county yield216.7 bu/acall practices
2021-25 average203.9 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Median, 2008–2025188.2 bu/ac18 published years
Lowest published year2013: 157.4 bu/ac84% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+1.8 bu/ac a year±1.6 (95% interval)

Land rent, value, sales

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.

Every published Minnesota county rate, side by side: Minnesota cash rent by county.

Non-irrigated, 2026$258/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+20.6%nominal, $214 to $258
Irrigated, 2020$214/ac
Pasture, 2026$39/ac
Rent as a share of corn grossCounty yield mixes irrigated and dryland acres (2025)

Share of gross is a past year, all observed: that year's rent, that year's county corn yield of the same practice and the state price received, USDA NASS. Rent per bushel is withheld here: it needs the county trend, and the trend is withheld (see the corn yield section). The calculator below takes your own yield and price.

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
Minnesota cropland, 2026 state survey$7,300/ac+4.3% from 2025 · USDA NASS Land Values, state average
Minnesota farm real estate, 2026$6,950/acland and buildings, state average
Minnesota pasture, 2026$2,400/acstate average

The census value is this county's, from 2022. The survey figures are the Minnesota average for 2026, from the USDA NASS Land Values report. NASS publishes that survey by state, not by county, so this page does not scale one into the other.

Programs and risk

ARC or PLC sign-up

Benchmarks, payments and the choice for each crop: ARC or PLC in Steele County.

Insuring pasture or hay? PRF rainfall insurance for pasture and hay in Steele County: its grids, county values and record are on the county PRF page.

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 1995 with at least $1,000,000 of premium; a year under that has no bar and no ratio. 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 31crop years 1995–2025 with a loss ratio
Worst year2013ratio 4.36, of the 31 crop years with at least $1,000,000 of premium
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 49% · heat and drought 19% · price decline (revenue policies) 15%share of dollars paid

Conservation Reserve Program

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 FY2027–20292,953 ac27% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$255/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer

What farms here look like

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
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
Milk cows, 20221,507head, Census of Agriculture
Beef cows, 20221,531head, Census of Agriculture
Cattle on feed, 2022985head, Census of Agriculture
Hogs and pigs, 2022116,411head, Census of Agriculture
Farmland rented from others, 202248%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

USDA Census of Agriculture 2022, except wells (state well register) and power (EIA Form 860).

Watch this county

Get an email when the published figures for Steele County, Minnesota change. Usually once or twice a year. You confirm by email first, and every email has a one-tap stop. AGSIST, PO Box 243, Chetek, WI 54728.

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yield, medianClaims per $100
Steele County$258n/a$9,183188.2$4.09
Dodge County$277n/a$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$263n/a$8,825191.7$3.94
Median next door$276$350 1 co.$8,330191.7$3.94

Counties that share a stretch of boundary. A rent from an older survey year carries its year and stays out of the median; one more than three survey years old shows n/a. The corn median here needs 15 published years, so a county with fewer shows n/a even where its own page gives a median.

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Cite this page

AGSIST Farmland Atlas. Steele County, Minnesota. Figures as of Oct 19, 2026, 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. Rent ranks count every county with a published rent in the same survey year, within the state (the same counties as the state rent page); other ranks count counties with 10,000 acres or more in farms. 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.

This product uses the NASS API but is not endorsed or certified by NASS. Averages, trends, ranks and estimates are calculations by AGSIST.

Rent: USDA NASS Cash Rents Survey, county. Land value: Census of Agriculture, operators' estimate of land and buildings. Yield: NASS county corn yields. The headline trend, the one rent per bushel uses, is fitted here over the published years in the 15 years ending this year; the yearly trend card uses 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. Claims paid per $100 of coverage: claims divided by liability (the insured value), times 100, same source. 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 missing figure is named with its reason (in a table it reads n/a).