Farmland Atlas · county record

Washburn County, Wisconsin

Washburn County, WI: non-irrigated cash rent $68 an acre (2026); land and buildings $3,842 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 152.7 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 55129. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Washburn County averages $68 per acre in 2026, up 20.5 percent from 2016. Land value carries $3,842 per acre by the operators' own 2022 estimate, up 22.8 percent from 2017 to 2022, 4.2 percent a year. Corn yield trend runs 3 bushels per acre a year over 2008-2025, with a median of 152.7 bushels per acre and a worst year of 81.9 in 2013. Heat and drought account for 46 percent of indemnities paid from 1989-2025, with the share at 10 percent in 1989-1999, 59 percent in 2000-2009, 40 percent in 2010-2019, and 56 percent in 2020-2025. The loss ratio over 2016-2025 sits at 0.39, below the 0.77 ratio for the full 1989-2025 period.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$68/ac
2026 county average
WI median $139 · 9th lowest of 67
Land and buildings
$3,842/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
WI median $5,565 · 11th lowest of 68
Rent as % of land value
—
not shown: about 10% of cropland is irrigated (USGS 2015 irrigated acres over 2022 harvested cropland), so dry rent over the all-land census value is not a yield on anything
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
152.7 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 156.8 · irrigated and dryland combined
WI median 158.3 · 16th lowest of 55
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$6.28
2016–2025, closed crop years
WI median $5.09 · 20th highest of 65
Farmland rented
23%
2022 census, rented from others
WI median 33% · 6th lowest of 68

Cash rent

$0$20$40$602010201520202025$30$68 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$68/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+20.5%nominal, $56 to $68
Pasture, 2026$30/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$3,842/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$2,483/ac
Census 2017$3,128/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+22.8%+4.2% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— about 10% of cropland is irrigated (USGS 2015 irrigated acres over 2022 harvested cropland), so dry rent over the all-land census value is not a yield on anything

Corn yield

20082010201220142016201820202022202489.0170.6158.4median 152.7

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

Median, 2008–2025152.7 bu/ac18 published years, irrigated and dryland combined
Recent level, 2021–2025156.8 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2013: 81.9 bu/ac54% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+3.0 bu/ac a year±2.2 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

20082013201820231.402.250.121.00: 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$6.28
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.39claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.77$21.7 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium4 of 14
Worst year2013ratio 2.25
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 46% · area plans 14% · freeze 13%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250260

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, 2000–202586 of 1,357 weeks6% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200926 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202514 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202657.0 °F1991–2020 normal 56.8 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.28 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September22.9 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 100% 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, 2022— NASS suppressed the irrigated acres to protect individual farms
Drained by tile, 20221% of cropland220 ac
Farmed no-till, 202229% of cropland9,610 ac
Cover crops, 20226% of cropland2,010 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202101,1342

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

CRP enrolled, 20252 ac
CRP expiring FY2026–20282 ac
Irrigation wells on record47Wisconsin DNR high-capacity wells (active sources)
Median well depth127 ft
Solar and wind operating, 20252 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 20226,125−32.5% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202223%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Washburn County$68—$3,842152.7$6.28
Barron County$103$216$4,336151.9$3.72
Burnett County$57—$3,584125.7$7.55
Douglas County$16—$2,828——
Sawyer County$61—$3,335—$5.01
Median next door$59$216 1 co.$3,460138.8 2 co.$5.01

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. Washburn 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/washburn-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.