Farmland Atlas · county record

Sargent County, North Dakota

Sargent County, ND: non-irrigated cash rent $135 an acre (2026); land and buildings $3,454 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 152.4 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 38081. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Sargent County is $135 per acre in 2026, up 31.1 percent from 2016. Land value in 2022 is $3,454 per acre, up 23.9 percent from 2017, and the rent-to-value share is 3.27 percent. Drought weeks stayed low, 40 of 1357 weeks from 2000-2025, with 21 in 2021-2025.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$135/ac
2026 county average
ND median $65 · 5th highest of 53
Cash rent, irrigated
$177/ac
2026 county average
ND median $194 · 2nd lowest of 7
Land and buildings
$3,454/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
ND median $1,885 · 6th highest of 53
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
152.4 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 165.2
ND median 129.7 · 3rd highest of 24
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$9.91
2016–2025, closed crop years
ND median $12.77 · tied for 8th lowest of 53
Farmland rented
51%
2022 census, rented from others
ND median 55% · 15th lowest of 53

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$2002010201520202025$63$135 dry$137$177 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$135/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+31.1%nominal, $103 to $135
Irrigated, 2026$177/ac
Pasture, 2026$42/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.82$135 ÷ 165.2 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$3,454/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$2,372/ac
Census 2017$2,787/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+23.9%+4.4% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20223.27%$113 ÷ $3,454; cropland 86% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024136.0207.6194.7median 152.4

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

Median, 2008–2025152.4 bu/ac18 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025165.2 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2011: 90.2 bu/ac59% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+3.3 bu/ac a year±2.2 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

198919941999200420092014201920240.242.000.151.00: 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$9.91
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.72claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.82$377.8 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium15 of 36
Worst year2003ratio 2.00
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 74% · heat and drought 9% · freeze 7%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250100

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, 2000–202540 of 1,357 weeks3% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201210 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202521 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202660.0 °F1991–2020 normal 59.5 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.40 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September17.7 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 100% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.6 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, 20225% of cropland18,621 ac
Farmed no-till, 202216% of cropland63,435 ac
Cover crops, 20229% of cropland37,512 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202157250,49740,437

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

CRP enrolled, 202540,437 ac12.9% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20287,418 ac18% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$123/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Cattle and calves, 202223,392−1.0% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202251%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Sargent County$135$177$3,454152.4$9.91
Dickey County$121$199$3,238146.7$13.58
Ransom County$118$198$2,811163.4$10.01
Richland County$163—$4,419154.2$4.78
Brown County, SD$166$200$4,295154.7$11.29
Marshall County, SD$153—$3,787157.5$12.83
Roberts County, SD$179—$4,089154.3$7.45
Median next door$158$199$3,938154.5$10.65

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. Sargent 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/sargent-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.