Farmland Atlas · county record

Richland County, Wisconsin

Richland County, WI: non-irrigated cash rent $155 an acre (2026); land and buildings $4,770 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 156.6 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 55103. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Richland County runs $155 per acre, up 50.5 percent from 2016 to 2026. Land value came in at $4,770 per acre in the 2022 census, up 42.1 percent from 2017 to 2022, 7.3 percent a year. Corn yield trend is 2.3 bushels per acre a year on published years 2008-2025, with a median of 156.6 bushels per acre and a worst year of 110 in 2012. Heat and drought is the largest cause of crop insurance indemnities at 52 percent of $36.8 million paid out since 1989, and its share rose from 14 percent in 1989-1999 to 53 percent in 2000-2009, 49 percent in 2010-2019, and 60 percent in 2020-2025. No cropland in the county is irrigated as of the 2022 census.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$155/ac
2026 county average
WI median $139 · 26th highest of 67
Land and buildings
$4,770/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
WI median $5,565 · 20th lowest of 68
Rent as % of land value
2.6%
$124 dry rent ÷ $4,770 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
156.6 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 173.1
WI median 158.3 · 22nd lowest of 55
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$5.82
2016–2025, closed crop years
WI median $5.09 · 25th highest of 65
Farmland rented
25%
2022 census, rented from others
WI median 33% · 10th lowest of 68

Cash rent

$0$50$100$1502010201520202025$84$155 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$155/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+50.5%nominal, $103 to $155
Pasture, 2026$23/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.90$155 ÷ 173.1 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$4,770/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$3,011/ac
Census 2017$3,356/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+42.1%+7.3% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20222.6%$124 ÷ $4,770; cropland 51% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024125.0179.7175.0median 156.6

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

Median, 2008–2025156.6 bu/ac18 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025173.1 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 110.0 bu/ac70% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+2.3 bu/ac a year±1.3 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

20082013201820232.300.201.00: 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$5.82
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.63claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.86$36.8 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium6 of 18
Worst year2008ratio 2.30
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 52% · excess moisture 32% · price decline (revenue policies) 6%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250280

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, 2000–202573 of 1,357 weeks5% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks202328 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202548 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202661.5 °F1991–2020 normal 60.5 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.34 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September26.4 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 100% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.9 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, 20221% of cropland1,261 ac
Farmed no-till, 202231% of cropland39,428 ac
Cover crops, 20223% of cropland4,198 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202140121,6684,187

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

CRP enrolled, 20254,187 ac3.7% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–2028571 ac14% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$137/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Irrigation wells on record37Wisconsin DNR high-capacity wells (active sources)
Median well depth117 ft
Solar and wind operating, 202550 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202248,631+4.3% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202225%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Richland County$155—$4,770156.6$5.82
Crawford County$167—$4,494158.1$3.91
Grant County$247—$6,306190.7$1.96
Iowa County$196$277 2025$6,393186.9$2.36
Sauk County$158$245 2023$6,278156.9$5.45
Vernon County$145—$5,236158.6$6.14
Median next door$167—$6,278158.6$3.91

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. Richland 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/richland-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.