Farmland Atlas · county record

McLean County, North Dakota

McLean County, ND: non-irrigated cash rent $73 an acre (2026); land and buildings $2,556 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 110.1 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 38055. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

Open on the map Compare Printable sheet
Cash rent, non-irrigated
$73/ac
2026 county average
ND median $65 · 21st highest of 53
Cash rent, irrigated
$226/ac
2025 county average
too few 2025 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$2,556/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
ND median $1,885 · 15th highest of 53
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
110.1 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 109.7
ND median 129.7 · 5th lowest of 24
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$12.24
2016–2025, closed crop years
ND median $12.77 · 23rd lowest of 53
Farmland rented
60%
2022 census, rented from others
ND median 55% · 10th highest of 53

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$2002010201520202025$38$73 dry$116$226 irrigated

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$73/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+22.9%nominal, $59 to $73
Irrigated, 2025$226/ac
Pasture, 2026$21/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.66$73 ÷ 109.7 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$2,556/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$1,312/ac
Census 2017$1,785/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+43.2%+7.4% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20222.35%$60 ÷ $2,556; cropland 74% of land in farms

Corn yield

20082010201220142016201820202022202489.0135.4125.6median 110.1

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

Median, 2008–2025110.1 bu/ac15 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025109.7 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2021: 54.2 bu/ac49% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+0.4 bu/ac a year±2.2 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

198919941999200420092014201920243.275.290.271.00: 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$12.24
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.97claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.91$456.6 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium7 of 37
Worst year2021ratio 5.29
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 51% · excess moisture 19% · hail 15%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250520

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, 2000–2025122 of 1,357 weeks9% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks202152 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202552 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202657.9 °F1991–2020 normal 56.5 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.50 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September13.7 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 91% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger2.7 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 2022— NASS suppressed the irrigated acres to protect individual farms
Drained by tile, 2022under 1% of cropland866 ac
Farmed no-till, 202259% of cropland460,197 ac
Cover crops, 20221% of cropland4,304 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202119999,24626,142

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

CRP enrolled, 202526,142 ac3.5% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20286,300 ac24% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$61/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Cattle and calves, 202232,661+1.3% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202260%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
McLean County$73$226 2025$2,556110.1$12.24
Burleigh County$72—$1,99199.8$13.18
Dunn County$41—$1,516—$13.00
McHenry County$57—$1,533—$10.70
Mercer County$54$170 2024$1,277—$15.96
Mountrail County$42—$1,445—$11.90
Oliver County$49$139 2024$1,781—$9.91
Sheridan County$57—$1,746—$10.38
Ward County$60—$2,272100.4$11.37
Median next door$55—$1,640100.1 2 co.$11.64

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. McLean 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/mclean-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.