Farmland Atlas · county record

Lincoln County, Washington

Lincoln County, WA: non-irrigated cash rent $57 an acre (2026); land and buildings $1,603 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 53043. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Lincoln County stands at $57 per acre for 2026, up 34.1 percent from 2016. Irrigated cash rent in 2024 was $441 per acre, but only 6 percent of harvested cropland carries irrigation, most of it drawn from groundwater at 80 percent. Heat and drought has driven crop insurance losses here, rising in share across 1989-1999, 2000-2009, 2010-2019, and 2020-2025, and it accounts for 66 percent of the $291.4 million paid out over 1989-2025 in closed crop years. The county spent 80 weeks in severe drought or worse during 2021-2025, against 197 weeks of 1357 for the full 2000-2025 span. Land values rose 31.2 percent from 2017 to 2022, reaching $1,603 per acre by the operators' own estimate.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$57/ac
2026 county average
WA median $64 · 11th lowest of 22
Cash rent, irrigated
$441/ac
2024 county average
too few 2024 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$1,603/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
WA median $5,067 · lowest of 34
Corn yield, median
—
fewer than 8 published county corn yields
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$12.14
2016–2025, closed crop years
WA median $8.03 · 5th highest of 21
Farmland rented
62%
2022 census, rented from others
WA median 34% · 2nd highest of 34

Cash rent

$0$100$200$300$400201520202025$50$57 dry$213$441 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$57/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+34.1%nominal, $43 to $57
Irrigated, 2024$441/ac
Pasture, 2026$3/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$1,603/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$1,113/ac
Census 2017$1,222/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+31.2%+5.6% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20223.74%$60 ÷ $1,603; cropland 71% of land in farms

Corn yield

County corn yield— fewer than 8 published county corn yields

Crop insurance record

198919941999200420092014201920241.736.220.691.00: 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$12.14
Loss ratio, 2016–20251.41claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20251.41$291.4 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium10 of 34
Worst year2021ratio 6.22
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 66% · freeze 14% · price decline (revenue policies) 14%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202504412

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, 2000–2025197 of 1,357 weeks15% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200544 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202580 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202652.2 °F1991–2020 normal 51.6 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.47 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September4.6 in1991–2020 normal
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.1 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20226%
Drained by tile, 2022under 1% of cropland313 ac
Farmed no-till, 202225% of cropland198,345 ac
Cover crops, 2022under 1% of cropland2,066 ac
198619911996200120062011201620213,533167,860110,116

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

CRP enrolled, 2025110,116 ac20.7% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–202832,393 ac29% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$55/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Cattle and calves, 202219,169+9.3% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202262%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueClaims per $100
Lincoln County$57$441 2024$1,603$12.14
Adams County$57$467$2,133$12.17
Ferry County——$929—
Grant County$52$449 2025$5,216$5.67
Okanogan County$30$253$1,929$9.81
Spokane County$50$79 2023$4,951$14.88
Stevens County$50$63 2024$2,014—
Whitman County$79—$2,528$12.08
Median next door$51$360 2 co.$2,133$12.08

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. Lincoln County, Washington. 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/washington/lincoln-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.