Farmland Atlas · county record

Morton County, North Dakota

Morton County, ND: non-irrigated cash rent $56 an acre (2026); land and buildings $1,865 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 93.4 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 38059. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Morton County averages $56 per acre in 2026, up 33.7 percent from 2016. Census value of land and buildings was $1,865 per acre in 2022, after a 32.8 percent rise from 2017 to 2022, 5.8 percent a year. Heat and drought is the largest cause of crop insurance indemnities over 1989-2025 at 61 percent of $232.9 million paid, with the share at 22 percent in 1989-1999, 83 percent in 2000-2009, 33 percent in 2010-2019, and 82 percent in 2020-2025. The county corn yield trend is 2.2 bushels per acre a year over 2008-2024, with the worst year, 2008, at 61 bushels against a median of 93.4. Wind operating capacity is 806.8 MW, with 628 MW more proposed to EIA; solar operating is 0 MW.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$56/ac
2026 county average
ND median $65 · 19th lowest of 53
Cash rent, irrigated
$105/ac
2014 county average
too few 2014 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$1,865/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
ND median $1,885 · 25th lowest of 53
Corn yield, 2008–2024 median
93.4 bu/ac
recent level 2020–2024: 105.3
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$14.09
2016–2025, closed crop years
ND median $12.77 · 13th highest of 53
Farmland rented
48%
2022 census, rented from others
ND median 55% · 10th lowest of 53

Cash rent

$0$10$20$30$40$50$602010201520202025$28$56 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$56/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+33.7%nominal, $42 to $56
Irrigated, 2014$105/ac
Pasture, 2026$30/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.53$56 ÷ 105.3 bu, county yield 2020–2024

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$1,865/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$1,022/ac
Census 2017$1,404/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+32.8%+5.8% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— cropland is 46% of land in farms (2022 census), so the census value is mostly pasture, woods and buildings, not cropland

Corn yield

20082010201220142016201820202022202461.091.0101.176.986.996.4123.793.485.8134.5117.1median 93.4

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

Median, 2008–202493.4 bu/ac11 published years
Recent level, 2020–2024105.3 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2008: 61.0 bu/ac65% of median
Trend, 2008–2024+2.2 bu/ac a year±2.1 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

198919941999200420092014201920243.783.880.221.00: 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$14.09
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.72claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.76$232.9 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium12 of 35
Worst year2002ratio 3.88
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 61% · excess moisture 14% · hail 14%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250340

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, 2000–202572 of 1,357 weeks5% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks202134 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202534 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202657.7 °F1991–2020 normal 56.5 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.37 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September13.8 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 97% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger3.9 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 cropland620 ac
Farmed no-till, 202241% of cropland231,514 ac
Cover crops, 20221% of cropland4,102 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202142153,56013,933

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

CRP enrolled, 202513,933 ac2.8% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–2028652 ac5% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$25/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 20250 MW solar · 806.8 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 2022116,822+17.2% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202248%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Morton County$56—$1,865—$14.09
Burleigh County$72—$1,99199.8$13.18
Emmons County$95—$1,968105.0$12.63
Grant County$51—$1,382—$16.67
Mercer County$54$170 2024$1,277—$15.96
Oliver County$49$139 2024$1,781—$9.91
Sioux County$46—$1,367—$16.33
Stark County$48—$1,651—$12.79
Median next door$51—$1,651102.4 2 co.$13.18

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. Morton 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/morton-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.