Farmland Atlas · county record

Barnes County, North Dakota

Barnes County, ND: non-irrigated cash rent $111 an acre (2026); land and buildings $2,861 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 137.4 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 38003. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Barnes County averages $111 per acre for 2026, up 28.3 percent from 2016. Land value per the 2022 census stands at $2,861 per acre, with a 23.8 percent change from 2017 to 2022, or 4.4 percent a year. Water is the bigger risk here: excess moisture and flood account for 64 percent of the $615.3 million paid out in indemnities across 1989-2025, while heat and drought stayed under 15 percent in every decade listed. Drought weeks were rare overall, 80 of 1357 weeks from 2000-2025, but 2021 alone brought 27 weeks, and 2021-2025 totals 38 weeks. Wind operates at 258.9 MW; solar operating and proposed wind and solar are all 0 MW.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$111/ac
2026 county average
ND median $65 · 11th highest of 53
Cash rent, irrigated
$137/ac
2024 county average
too few 2024 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$2,861/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
ND median $1,885 · 11th highest of 53
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
137.4 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 148.9
ND median 129.7 · 9th highest of 24
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$12.93
2016–2025, closed crop years
ND median $12.77 · tied for 23rd highest of 53
Farmland rented
58%
2022 census, rented from others
ND median 55% · 19th highest of 53

Cash rent

$0$20$40$60$80$100$1202010201520202025$52$111 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$111/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+28.3%nominal, $87 to $111
Irrigated, 2024$137/ac
Pasture, 2026$34/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.75$111 ÷ 148.9 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$2,861/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$2,235/ac
Census 2017$2,311/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+23.8%+4.4% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20223.34%$96 ÷ $2,861; cropland 87% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024126.0171.3168.2median 137.4

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

Median, 2008–2025137.4 bu/ac17 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025148.9 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2013: 105.3 bu/ac77% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+2.4 bu/ac a year±1.7 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

198919941999200420092014201920242.202.800.771.00: 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$12.93
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.99claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.88$615.3 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium10 of 37
Worst year2020ratio 2.80
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 64% · heat and drought 12% · freeze 9%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250270

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, 2000–202580 of 1,357 weeks6% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks202127 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202538 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202659.0 °F1991–2020 normal 57.6 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.62 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September16.6 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 104% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger3.5 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20220%
Drained by tile, 20223% of cropland21,685 ac
Farmed no-till, 20227% of cropland51,415 ac
Cover crops, 20228% of cropland65,478 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202183106,21841,609

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

CRP enrolled, 202541,609 ac6.7% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20284,018 ac10% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$96/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 20250 MW solar · 258.9 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202217,223−49.8% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202258%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Barnes County$111$137 2024$2,861137.4$12.93
Cass County$163—$4,110149.7$6.88
Griggs County$80—$2,118137.7$12.09
LaMoure County$122$232 2025$3,133—$13.03
Ransom County$118$198$2,811163.4$10.01
Steele County$99—$2,962143.8$8.31
Stutsman County$97—$2,732131.5$13.29
Median next door$109$198 1 co.$2,887143.8$11.05

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. Barnes County, North Dakota. 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/north-dakota/barnes-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.