Farmland Atlas · county record

Pierce County, Wisconsin

Pierce County, WI: non-irrigated cash rent $179 an acre (2026); land and buildings $5,863 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 177.6 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 55093. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Pierce County runs $179 per acre, up 32.6 percent from 2016 to 2026. Land carries a census value of $5,863 per acre, up 26.9 percent from 2017 to 2022, and rent sits at 2.68 percent of that value. Corn yield trend is 1.9 bushels per acre a year, with a median of 177.6 bushels per acre and a worst year of 140.3 in 2013. Heat and drought drove 38 percent of crop insurance indemnities from 1989 to 2025, with the share at 8 percent in 1989-1999, 57 percent in 2000-2009, 36 percent in 2010-2019, and 25 percent in 2020-2025. Drought weeks were 102 of 1357 from 2000 to 2025, with 16 of those weeks falling in 2021-2025.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$179/ac
2026 county average
WI median $139 · 19th highest of 67
Land and buildings
$5,863/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
WI median $5,565 · 30th highest of 68
Rent as % of land value
2.68%
$157 dry rent ÷ $5,863 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
177.6 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 187.9
WI median 158.3 · 11th highest of 55
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$2.31
2016–2025, closed crop years
WI median $5.09 · 5th lowest of 65
Farmland rented
31%
2022 census, rented from others
WI median 33% · 23rd lowest of 68

Cash rent

$0$50$100$1502010201520202025$76$179 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$179/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+32.6%nominal, $135 to $179
Pasture, 2025$43/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.95$179 ÷ 187.9 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$5,863/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$3,957/ac
Census 2017$4,620/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+26.9%+4.9% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20222.68%$157 ÷ $5,863; cropland 68% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024162.0200.0196.6median 177.6

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

Median, 2008–2025177.6 bu/ac18 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025187.9 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2013: 140.3 bu/ac79% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+1.9 bu/ac a year±1.3 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

200320082013201820231.342.670.061.00: 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$2.31
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.29claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.54$58.6 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium5 of 23
Worst year2013ratio 2.67
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 38% · excess moisture 26% · area plans 13%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250320

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, 2000–2025102 of 1,357 weeks8% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201332 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202516 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202661.5 °F1991–2020 normal 60.7 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.31 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September24.9 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 98% 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, 20221%
Drained by tile, 20223% of cropland4,042 ac
Farmed no-till, 202239% of cropland60,469 ac
Cover crops, 20229% of cropland14,127 ac
198619911996200120062011201620211,20029,7644,060

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

CRP enrolled, 20254,060 ac2.7% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20281,039 ac26% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$142/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Irrigation wells on record7Wisconsin DNR high-capacity wells (active sources)
Median well depth385 ft
Solar and wind operating, 20252 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202240,211−13.8% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202231%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Pierce County$179—$5,863177.6$2.31
Dakota County, MN$252$285$8,295189.2$4.30
Goodhue County, MN$277$284$8,303194.5$2.44
Washington County, MN$145$216$11,320176.6$2.20
Dunn County$131$252$4,904168.6$2.49
Pepin County$185$200 2024$5,613167.9$2.34
St. Croix County$127—$6,451171.1$2.49
Median next door$165$268$7,373173.9$2.47

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. Pierce 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/pierce-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.