Farmland Atlas · county record

Rock County, Wisconsin

Rock County, WI: non-irrigated cash rent $223 an acre (2026); land and buildings $8,459 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 185.3 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 55105. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Rock County runs $223 per acre in 2026, up 22.5 percent from 2016. Land value in 2022 stood at $8,459 per acre, after rising 28.4 percent from 2017. Irrigation draws 100 percent from groundwater, and irrigation failure has cost 0 million dollars across all years.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$223/ac
2026 county average
WI median $139 · tied for 6th highest of 67
Cash rent, irrigated
$257/ac
2025 county average
too few 2025 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$8,459/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
WI median $5,565 · 9th highest of 68
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
185.3 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 195.5
WI median 158.3 · 5th highest of 55
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$1.95
2016–2025, closed crop years
WI median $5.09 · 2nd lowest of 65
Farmland rented
42%
2022 census, rented from others
WI median 33% · 10th highest of 68

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$2502010201520202025$131$223 dry$184$257 irrigated

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$223/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+22.5%nominal, $182 to $223
Irrigated, 2025$257/ac
Pasture, 2025$66/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$1.14$223 ÷ 195.5 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$8,459/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$5,523/ac
Census 2017$6,589/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+28.4%+5.1% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20222.1%$178 ÷ $8,459; cropland 87% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024146.0217.4median 185.3

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

Median, 2008–2025185.3 bu/ac18 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025195.5 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 101.7 bu/ac55% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+3.4 bu/ac a year±1.9 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

19952000200520102015202020250.153.500.071.00: 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$1.95
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.26claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.51$107.8 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium4 of 30
Worst year2012ratio 3.50
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 54% · excess moisture 19% · price decline (revenue policies) 11%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, 2000–202576 of 1,357 weeks6% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201225 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202519 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202662.7 °F1991–2020 normal 61.7 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.24 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September25.1 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 102% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.8 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, 202210% of cropland25,854 ac
Farmed no-till, 202241% of cropland104,863 ac
Cover crops, 20226% of cropland16,397 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202124420,0047,152

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

CRP enrolled, 20257,152 ac2.9% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20281,729 ac24% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$196/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Irrigation wells on record166Wisconsin DNR high-capacity wells (active sources)
Median well depth430 ft
Solar and wind operating, 2025425.2 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202245,925−17.7% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202242%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Rock County$223$257 2025$8,459185.3$1.95
Boone County, IL$267—$9,226192.2$2.42
Winnebago County, IL$264—$8,082187.6$2.86
Dane County$231$225 2023$9,427185.8$2.71
Green County$223$235 2025$6,890185.2$2.88
Jefferson County$197—$7,967170.1$2.37
Walworth County$236$230 2024$8,759179.8$2.24
Median next door$234—$8,421185.5$2.57

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. Rock 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/rock-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.