Farmland Atlas · county record

Wabasha County, Minnesota

Wabasha County, MN: non-irrigated cash rent $241 an acre (2026); land and buildings $6,636 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 187.4 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 27157. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Wabasha County runs $241 per acre, up 26.2 percent from 2016 to 2026. Corn yields have trended up 1.4 bushels per acre a year over 2008-2025, with a median of 187.4 bushels per acre and a worst year of 174.1 in 2013. Crop insurance history over 1989-2025 shows $86.0 million in indemnities, led by excess moisture and flood at 30 percent; heat and drought's share moved from 11 percent in 1989-1999 to 47 percent in 2000-2009, 13 percent in 2010-2019, and 37 percent in 2020-2025. Irrigation covers 1 percent of harvested cropland, and drought weeks stayed low, 9 of the last 2021-2025 span. Census land value sits at $6,636 per acre, up 20.2 percent from 2017 to 2022.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$241/ac
2026 county average
MN median $189 · 25th highest of 81
Land and buildings
$6,636/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
MN median $6,372 · 40th highest of 84
Rent as % of land value
3.9%
$259 dry rent ÷ $6,636 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
187.4 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 205.0
MN median 180.7 · tied for 14th highest of 64
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$4.33
2016–2025, closed crop years
MN median $4.92 · 26th lowest of 82
Farmland rented
35%
2022 census, rented from others
MN median 47% · 21st lowest of 84

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$2502010201520202025$144$241 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$241/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+26.2%nominal, $191 to $241
Pasture, 2026$54/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$1.18$241 ÷ 205.0 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$6,636/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$4,698/ac
Census 2017$5,519/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+20.2%+3.8% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20223.9%$259 ÷ $6,636; cropland 77% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024177.0210.0206.8median 187.4

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

Median, 2008–2025187.4 bu/ac17 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025205.0 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2013: 174.1 bu/ac93% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+1.4 bu/ac a year±1.0 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

200120062011201620210.763.490.421.00: 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$4.33
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.67claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.75$86.0 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium4 of 25
Worst year2013ratio 3.49
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 30% · heat and drought 26% · price decline (revenue policies) 13%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250190

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+ weeks201319 weeks
Last five years, 2021–20259 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202661.7 °F1991–2020 normal 60.8 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.36 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September25.8 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 99% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.1 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, 202211% of cropland19,911 ac
Farmed no-till, 202210% of cropland17,122 ac
Cover crops, 20226% of cropland10,182 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202174917,6806,839

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

CRP enrolled, 20256,839 ac3.9% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20282,523 ac37% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$228/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Irrigation wells on record8Minnesota County Well Index (MDH and Minnesota Geological Survey)
Median well depth197 ft
Solar and wind operating, 202513.9 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202264,958+15.7% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202235%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Wabasha County$241—$6,636187.4$4.33
Goodhue County$277$284$8,303194.5$2.44
Olmsted County$246—$7,058186.9$3.63
Winona County$208—$6,840191.0$2.78
Buffalo County, WI$139$182 2023$5,134164.4$2.94
Pepin County, WI$185$200 2024$5,613167.9$2.34
Median next door$208$284 1 co.$6,840186.9$2.78

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. Wabasha 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/wabasha-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.