Farmland Atlas · county record

Walsh County, North Dakota

Walsh County, ND: non-irrigated cash rent $136 an acre (2026); land and buildings $3,221 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 128.9 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 38099. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Walsh County runs $136 per acre, up 54.5 percent from 2016 to 2026. Irrigated rent stands at $218 per acre, though irrigation covers 0 percent of harvested cropland as of the 2022 census. Corn yields have trended up 2 bushels per acre a year over 2008-2025, with a median of 128.9 bushels per acre and a worst year of 93.5 in 2021. Crop insurance history favors excess moisture and flood, 58 percent of $517.7 million in indemnities, but the heat and drought share has climbed across the periods listed: 3 percent in 1989-1999, 11 percent in 2000-2009, 11 percent in 2010-2019, and 48 percent in 2020-2025. Solar and wind capacity, operating and proposed, are 0 MW.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$136/ac
2026 county average
ND median $65 · 4th highest of 53
Cash rent, irrigated
$218/ac
2026 county average
ND median $194 · highest of 7
Land and buildings
$3,221/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
ND median $1,885 · 8th highest of 53
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
128.9 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 142.3
ND median 129.7 · 12th lowest of 24
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$8.28
2016–2025, closed crop years
ND median $12.77 · 4th lowest of 53
Farmland rented
57%
2022 census, rented from others
ND median 55% · 24th highest of 53

Cash rent

$0$20$40$60$80$100$120$1402010201520202025$54$136 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$136/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+54.5%nominal, $88 to $136
Irrigated, 2026$218/ac
Pasture, 2026$21/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.96$136 ÷ 142.3 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$3,221/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$2,377/ac
Census 2017$2,513/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+28.2%+5.1% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20223.01%$97 ÷ $3,221; cropland 93% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024107.0154.2median 128.9

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

Median, 2008–2025128.9 bu/ac16 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025142.3 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2021: 93.5 bu/ac73% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+2.0 bu/ac a year±1.8 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

198919941999200420092014201920242.614.190.261.00: 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$8.28
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.56claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.69$517.7 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium13 of 37
Worst year1993ratio 4.19
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 58% · heat and drought 19% · other 9%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250300

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, 2000–202571 of 1,357 weeks5% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks202130 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202558 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202658.9 °F1991–2020 normal 57.4 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.71 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September16.2 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 98% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.8 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20220%
Drained by tile, 20226% of cropland41,934 ac
Farmed no-till, 20226% of cropland43,722 ac
Cover crops, 20226% of cropland38,331 ac
19861991199620012006201120162021711118,02643,278

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

CRP enrolled, 202543,278 ac7.3% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–202814,383 ac33% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$86/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Cattle and calves, 20224,862−74.3% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202257%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Walsh County$136$218$3,221128.9$8.28
Marshall County, MN$114—$3,168129.9$8.98
Cavalier County$84—$2,507—$12.14
Grand Forks County$134$228 2024$3,568136.8$8.92
Nelson County$68—$2,048118.7$11.45
Pembina County$131—$3,915127.2$7.26
Ramsey County$66—$1,885114.0$14.56
Median next door$99—$2,838127.2$10.22

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. Walsh 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/walsh-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.