Farmland Atlas · county record

Billings County, North Dakota

Billings County, ND: non-irrigated cash rent $37 an acre (2026); land and buildings $1,167 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 76.8 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 38007. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

Open on the map Compare Printable sheet

Non-irrigated cash rent in Billings County averages $37 per acre in 2026, up 13.8 percent from 2016. Land value under the census sits at $1,167 per acre, up 27 percent from 2017 to 2022, 4.9 percent a year. Heat and drought stands as the largest cause of crop insurance indemnities over 1989-2025, at 61 percent of $40.4 million paid, with the share by period at 15 percent in 1989-1999, 88 percent in 2000-2009, 40 percent in 2010-2019, and 66 percent in 2020-2025. No cropland in the county reported irrigation in the 2022 census. Solar and wind operating capacity are both 0 MW, with none proposed to EIA.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$37/ac
2026 county average
ND median $65 · tied for 3rd lowest of 53
Land and buildings
$1,167/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
ND median $1,885 · lowest of 53
Dry rent per bushel of corn
$0.49
$37 ÷ 75.0 bu, recent yield 2021–2025
Corn yield, 2010–2025 median
76.8 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 75.0
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$21.55
2016–2025, closed crop years
ND median $12.77 · 2nd highest of 53
Farmland rented
25%
2022 census, rented from others
ND median 55% · lowest of 53

Cash rent

$0$10$20$30$402010201520202025$22$37 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$37/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+13.8%nominal, $33 to $37
Pasture, 2026$17/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.49$37 ÷ 75.0 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$1,167/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$788/ac
Census 2017$919/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+27.0%+4.9% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— cropland is 17% of land in farms (2022 census), so the census value is mostly pasture, woods and buildings, not cropland

Corn yield

2010201220142016201820202022202441.086.094.976.843.059.7104.965.999.5median 76.8

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

Median, 2010–202576.8 bu/ac9 published years
Recent level, 2021–202575.0 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2010: 41.0 bu/ac53% of median

Crop insurance record

20082013201820233.644.220.541.00: 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$21.55
Loss ratio, 2016–20251.15claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20251.07$40.4 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium7 of 18
Worst year2021ratio 4.22
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 61% · hail 18% · excess moisture 13%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202505223

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, 2000–2025249 of 1,357 weeks18% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks202152 weeks
Last five years, 2021–2025115 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202656.8 °F1991–2020 normal 55.4 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.24 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September12.3 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 99% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.3 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 2022none reported
Drained by tile, 2022none reported
Farmed no-till, 202221% of cropland25,917 ac
Cover crops, 2022under 1% of cropland300 ac
19861991199620012006201120162021025,1751,933

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

CRP enrolled, 20251,933 ac2.2% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20284 ac0% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$25/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Cattle and calves, 202225,096−19.5% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202225%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueClaims per $100
Billings County$37—$1,167$21.55
Dunn County$41—$1,516$13.00
Golden Valley County$36—$1,242$23.85
McKenzie County$30$185$1,352$12.77
Slope County$47—$1,492$14.70
Stark County$48—$1,651$12.79
Median next door$41$185 1 co.$1,492$13.00

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. Billings 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/billings-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.