Farmland Atlas · county record

Lafayette County, Wisconsin

Lafayette County, WI: non-irrigated cash rent $240 an acre (2026); land and buildings $7,655 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 195.8 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 55065. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Lafayette County stands at $240 per acre for 2026, up 5.7 percent from 2016. Land and buildings carry a census value of $7,655 per acre, with that value up 28.1 percent from 2017 to 2022, 5.1 percent a year. Corn yields have trended up 4.3 bushels per acre a year across 2008-2025, with a median of 195.8 bushels per acre and a worst year of 77.6 in 2012. Heat and drought's share of indemnities moved 18 percent, 24 percent, 39 percent, 21 percent across 1989-1999, 2000-2009, 2010-2019, and 2020-2025. No cropland in the county was irrigated as of the 2022 census, and drought weeks ran 53 of 1357 from 2000-2025, with 11 from 2021-2025.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$240/ac
2026 county average
WI median $139 · 2nd highest of 67
Land and buildings
$7,655/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
WI median $5,565 · 17th highest of 68
Rent as % of land value
3.07%
$235 dry rent ÷ $7,655 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
195.8 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 214.2
WI median 158.3 · highest of 55
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$1.88
2016–2025, closed crop years
WI median $5.09 · lowest of 65
Farmland rented
41%
2022 census, rented from others
WI median 33% · 13th highest of 68

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$2502010201520202025$162$240 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$240/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+5.7%nominal, $227 to $240
Pasture, 2026$71/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$1.12$240 ÷ 214.2 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$7,655/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$4,895/ac
Census 2017$5,977/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+28.1%+5.1% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20223.07%$235 ÷ $7,655; cropland 76% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024158.0217.9median 195.8

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

Median, 2008–2025195.8 bu/ac18 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025214.2 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 77.6 bu/ac40% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+4.3 bu/ac a year±2.4 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

1996200120062011201620210.426.340.061.00: 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$1.88
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.22claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.70$186.2 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium4 of 29
Worst year2012ratio 6.34
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 33% · other 30% · area plans 22%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250250

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, 2000–202553 of 1,357 weeks4% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201225 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202511 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202661.4 °F1991–2020 normal 61.0 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.11 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September26.2 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 101% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.5 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, 20225% of cropland10,849 ac
Farmed no-till, 202236% of cropland87,800 ac
Cover crops, 20224% of cropland10,476 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202148927,44012,359

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

CRP enrolled, 202512,359 ac5.3% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20281,837 ac15% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$289/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Irrigation wells on record5Wisconsin DNR high-capacity wells (active sources)
Median well depth447 ft
Solar and wind operating, 20250 MW solar · 98 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202289,618−16.6% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202241%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Lafayette County$240—$7,655195.8$1.88
Jo Daviess County, IL$255—$7,940190.1$2.54
Stephenson County, IL$251 2025—$9,230199.2$1.30
Grant County$247—$6,306190.7$1.96
Green County$223$235 2025$6,890185.2$2.88
Iowa County$196$277 2025$6,393186.9$2.36
Median next door$235—$6,890190.1$2.36

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. Lafayette 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/lafayette-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.