Farmland Atlas · county record

Mountrail County, North Dakota

Mountrail County, ND: non-irrigated cash rent $42 an acre (2026); land and buildings $1,445 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 104.2 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 38061. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Median corn yield 2011-2024 is 104.2 bushels per acre, with 2023 the worst year at 64.5. July nights have averaged 56.1 F over 2017-2026, against a 1991-2020 normal of 54.8 F, and the July nightly low trend since 1976 runs 0.48 F per decade, warming. Cropland irrigated in the 2022 census is 0 percent, and drought weeks ran 158 of 1357 from 2000-2025, with 2021 the worst year at 52 weeks.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$42/ac
2026 county average
ND median $65 · 8th lowest of 53
Land and buildings
$1,445/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
ND median $1,885 · tied for 10th lowest of 53
Rent as % of land value
2.77%
$40 dry rent ÷ $1,445 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, 2011–2024 median
104.2 bu/ac
recent level 2020–2024: 94.5
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$11.90
2016–2025, closed crop years
ND median $12.77 · 19th lowest of 53
Farmland rented
59%
2022 census, rented from others
ND median 55% · 14th highest of 53

Cash rent

$0$10$20$30$402010201520202025$32$42 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$42/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+6.4%nominal, $39 to $42
Pasture, 2026$14/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.44$42 ÷ 94.5 bu, county yield 2020–2024

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$1,445/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$910/ac
Census 2017$1,278/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+13.1%+2.5% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20222.77%$40 ÷ $1,445; cropland 57% of land in farms

Corn yield

2011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023202484.2104.591.9106.0108.3111.184.764.5104.2median 104.2

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

Median, 2011–2024104.2 bu/ac9 published years
Recent level, 2020–202494.5 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2023: 64.5 bu/ac62% of median

Crop insurance record

198919941999200420092014201920243.300.971.00: 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$11.90
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.73claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.82$293.3 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium11 of 37
Worst year1989ratio 3.30
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 36% · excess moisture 31% · hail 11%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202505219

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, 2000–2025158 of 1,357 weeks12% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks202152 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202589 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202656.1 °F1991–2020 normal 54.8 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.48 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September13.3 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 93% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger2.8 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20220%
Farmed no-till, 202249% of cropland324,530 ac
Cover crops, 20221% of cropland5,731 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202110594,67818,008

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

CRP enrolled, 202518,008 ac2.9% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20282,063 ac12% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$32/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Cattle and calves, 202246,806+17.0% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202259%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Mountrail County$42—$1,445—$11.90
Burke County$37—$1,445—$16.53
Dunn County$41—$1,516—$13.00
McKenzie County$30$185$1,352—$12.77
McLean County$73$226 2025$2,556110.1$12.24
Ward County$60—$2,272100.4$11.37
Williams County$38$165$1,383—$12.49
Median next door$40$175 2 co.$1,481105.3 2 co.$12.63

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. Mountrail 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/mountrail-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.