Farmland Atlas · county record

Forest County, Wisconsin

Forest County, WI: non-irrigated cash rent $40 an acre (2026); land and buildings $4,747 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 55041. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent for 2026 averages $40 per acre. July nightly lows have averaged 53.7 F over 2017-2026, close to the 53.2 F normal for 1991-2020, and the trend since 1976 shows no clear direction. Crop insurance indemnities for 1989-2025 total $1.7 million, with freeze and frost the largest cause at 38 percent; heat and drought's share of indemnities moved from 40 percent in 2000-2009 to 19 percent in 2010-2019 to 31 percent in 2020-2025. The census value of land and buildings in 2022 stood at $4,747 per acre, and drought weeks stayed low, with 17 weeks of severe drought or worse in 2021-2025 against 75 of 1357 weeks countywide since 2000. No solar or wind capacity is operating or proposed here.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$40/ac
2026 county average
WI median $139 · 6th lowest of 67
Land and buildings
$4,747/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
WI median $5,565 · 19th lowest of 68
Rent as % of land value
—
not shown: cropland is 32% of land in farms (2022 census), so the census value is mostly pasture, woods and buildings, not cropland
Corn yield, median
—
fewer than 8 published county corn yields
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
—
under the premium floor for a figure
Farmland rented
16%
2022 census, rented from others
WI median 33% · 2nd lowest of 68

Cash rent

$0$10$20$30$40202120222023202420252026$22$40 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$40/ac
Pasture, 2023$11/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$4,747/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$2,059/ac
Census 2017$2,426/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+95.7%+14.4% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— cropland is 32% of land in farms (2022 census), so the census value is mostly pasture, woods and buildings, not cropland

Corn yield

County corn yield— fewer than 8 published county corn yields

Crop insurance record

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.

Loss ratio, 1989–20251.49$1.7 million paid
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025freeze 38% · excess moisture 36% · heat and drought 23%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250247

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, 2000–202575 of 1,357 weeks6% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200924 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202517 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202653.7 °F1991–2020 normal 53.2 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.30 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September21.7 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 107% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.6 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, 2022none reported
Farmed no-till, 20229% of cropland808 ac
Cover crops, 20222% of cropland200 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202101490

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

CRP enrolled, 20250 ac
Irrigation wells on record2Wisconsin DNR high-capacity wells (active sources)
Cattle and calves, 20221,448−49.7% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202216%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Forest County$40—$4,747——
Iron County, MI——$4,200——
Florence County$25—$3,734——
Langlade County$103$173$3,988—$6.67
Marinette County$124—$5,176134.1$5.85
Oconto County$154—$5,367148.1$7.10
Oneida County$42 2024—$5,553—$6.15
Vilas County————$3.65
Median next door$114$173 1 co.$4,688141.1 2 co.$6.15

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. Forest 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/forest-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.