Farmland Atlas · county record

Eau Claire County, Wisconsin

Eau Claire County, WI: non-irrigated cash rent $125 an acre (2026); land and buildings $6,093 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 159.2 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 55035. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Eau Claire County is $125 per acre in 2026, up 45.3 percent from 2016. Land value moved 33.4 percent from 2017 to 2022, 5.9 percent a year. Drought weeks were low in 2021-2025, with 1 week of severe drought or worse.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$125/ac
2026 county average
WI median $139 · tied for 28th lowest of 67
Cash rent, irrigated
$193/ac
2012 county average
too few 2012 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$6,093/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
WI median $5,565 · 28th highest of 68
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
159.2 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 171.5
WI median 158.3 · 26th highest of 55
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$5.68
2016–2025, closed crop years
WI median $5.09 · 27th highest of 65
Farmland rented
32%
2022 census, rented from others
WI median 33% · 30th lowest of 68

Cash rent

$0$20$40$60$80$100$120$1402010201520202025$66$125 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$125/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+45.3%nominal, $86 to $125
Irrigated, 2012$193/ac
Pasture, 2026$30/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.73$125 ÷ 171.5 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$6,093/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$3,003/ac
Census 2017$4,567/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+33.4%+5.9% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20221.76%$107 ÷ $6,093; cropland 68% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024148.0177.9173.9median 159.2

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

Median, 2008–2025159.2 bu/ac17 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025171.5 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 116.0 bu/ac73% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+1.9 bu/ac a year±1.3 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

20072012201720221.083.770.311.00: 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$5.68
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.46claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.68$43.3 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium3 of 19
Worst year2013ratio 3.77
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 51% · excess moisture 21% · freeze 18%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250330

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, 2000–202581 of 1,357 weeks6% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201333 weeks
Last five years, 2021–20251 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202659.6 °F1991–2020 normal 58.9 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.34 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September24.0 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 100% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.1 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20222%
Drained by tile, 20224% of cropland4,451 ac
Farmed no-till, 202234% of cropland38,291 ac
Cover crops, 20229% of cropland10,019 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202155318,2187,109

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

CRP enrolled, 20257,109 ac6.8% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20282,469 ac35% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$120/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Irrigation wells on record46Wisconsin DNR high-capacity wells (active sources)
Median well depth163 ft
Solar and wind operating, 20252.5 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202228,673+13.3% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202232%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Eau Claire County$125—$6,093159.2$5.68
Buffalo County$139$182 2023$5,134164.4$2.94
Chippewa County$125—$4,325156.9$4.00
Clark County$119—$5,034140.5$6.70
Dunn County$131$252$4,904168.6$2.49
Jackson County$143—$4,363159.7$3.63
Pepin County$185$200 2024$5,613167.9$2.34
Trempealeau County$144$264$4,892158.3$3.83
Median next door$139$258 2 co.$4,904159.7$3.63

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. Eau Claire County, Wisconsin. 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/wisconsin/eau-claire-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.