Farmland Atlas · county record

Mercer County, North Dakota

Mercer County, ND: non-irrigated cash rent $54 an acre (2026); land and buildings $1,277 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 93.9 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 38057. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Mercer County averages $54 per acre in 2026, up 55.1 percent from 2016. Census land value stood at $1,277 per acre in 2022, down 6.7 percent from 2017, so rent has moved against value in that stretch. Corn yields trended down 0.7 bushels per acre a year over 2008-2022, with a median of 93.9 bushels per acre and a low of 54.4 in 2021, the same year 52 weeks of severe drought or worse were recorded. Heat and drought drive 54 percent of the county's $116.5 million in crop insurance indemnities since 1989, with that share at 68 percent in 2000-2009 and 67 percent in 2020-2025. Solar and wind capacity are both 0 MW, operating and proposed.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$54/ac
2026 county average
ND median $65 · 17th lowest of 53
Cash rent, irrigated
$170/ac
2024 county average
too few 2024 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$1,277/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
ND median $1,885 · 3rd lowest of 53
Corn yield, 2008–2022 median
93.9 bu/ac
11 published years
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$15.96
2016–2025, closed crop years
ND median $12.77 · 8th highest of 53
Farmland rented
57%
2022 census, rented from others
ND median 55% · 21st highest of 53

Cash rent

$0$10$20$30$40$502010201520202025$25$54 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$54/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+55.1%nominal, $35 to $54
Irrigated, 2024$170/ac
Pasture, 2026$21/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$1,277/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$953/ac
Census 2017$1,368/ac
Change 2017 to 2022−6.7%−1.4% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— cropland is 42% of land in farms (2022 census), so the census value is mostly pasture, woods and buildings, not cropland

Corn yield

2008201020122014201620182020202284.0101.092.297.374.7108.2121.993.9104.254.485.6median 93.9

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

Median, 2008–202293.9 bu/ac11 published years
Lowest published year2021: 54.4 bu/ac58% of median
Trend, 2008–2022−0.7 bu/ac a year±2.6 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

200320082013201820230.554.600.261.00: 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$15.96
Loss ratio, 2016–20251.03claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.96$116.5 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium6 of 23
Worst year2021ratio 4.60
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 54% · hail 19% · excess moisture 16%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250526

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, 2000–2025132 of 1,357 weeks10% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks202152 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202558 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202657.6 °F1991–2020 normal 56.2 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.44 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September13.4 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 97% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger2.1 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20221%
Farmed no-till, 202246% of cropland86,227 ac
Cover crops, 2022under 1% of cropland868 ac
19861991199620012006201120162021016,9212,395

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

CRP enrolled, 20252,395 ac1.4% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–2028459 ac19% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$29/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Cattle and calves, 202236,751−18.7% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202257%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Mercer County$54$170 2024$1,277—$15.96
Dunn County$41—$1,516—$13.00
McLean County$73$226 2025$2,556110.1$12.24
Morton County$56—$1,865—$14.09
Oliver County$49$139 2024$1,781—$9.91
Stark County$48—$1,651—$12.79
Median next door$49—$1,781110.1 1 co.$12.79

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. Mercer 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/mercer-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.