Farmland Atlas · county record

Washington County, Wisconsin

Washington County, WI: non-irrigated cash rent $119 an acre (2026); land and buildings $9,471 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 165.2 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 55131. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Washington County runs $119 per acre in 2026, down 0.8 percent from 2016. The census value of land and buildings sits at $9,471 per acre, with land value up 34.3 percent from 2017 to 2022, or 6.1 percent a year. Crop insurance indemnities from 1989-2025 total $21.8 million, led by excess moisture and flood at 46 percent; heat and drought's share moved 11 percent, 38 percent, 41 percent, 20 percent across the four listed periods.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$119/ac
2026 county average
WI median $139 · tied for 21st lowest of 67
Land and buildings
$9,471/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
WI median $5,565 · 2nd highest of 68
Rent as % of land value
1.43%
$135 dry rent ÷ $9,471 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
165.2 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 172.4
WI median 158.3 · 21st highest of 55
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$3.22
2016–2025, closed crop years
WI median $5.09 · 16th lowest of 65
Farmland rented
45%
2022 census, rented from others
WI median 33% · 5th highest of 68

Cash rent

$0$20$40$60$80$100$120$1402010201520202025$71$119 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$119/ac
Change 2016 to 2026−0.8%nominal, $120 to $119
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.69$119 ÷ 172.4 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$9,471/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$5,832/ac
Census 2017$7,053/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+34.3%+6.1% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20221.43%$135 ÷ $9,471; cropland 76% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024124.0179.8177.4median 165.2

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

Median, 2008–2025165.2 bu/ac18 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025172.4 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 93.7 bu/ac57% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+2.6 bu/ac a year±1.8 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

20072012201720220.162.430.191.00: 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$3.22
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.36claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.59$21.8 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium5 of 19
Worst year2012ratio 2.43
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 46% · heat and drought 36% · freeze 12%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250100

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, 2000–202525 of 1,357 weeks2% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200510 weeks
Last five years, 2021–20256 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202660.5 °F1991–2020 normal 59.4 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.28 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September22.7 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 106% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.4 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, 202211% of cropland9,429 ac
Farmed no-till, 202230% of cropland26,923 ac
Cover crops, 20227% of cropland6,270 ac
19861991199620012006201120162021643,317380

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

CRP enrolled, 2025380 ac0.4% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–202863 ac17% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$105/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Irrigation wells on record13Wisconsin DNR high-capacity wells (active sources)
Median well depth336 ft
Solar and wind operating, 20254.2 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202234,572−23.5% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202245%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Washington County$119$9,471165.2$3.22
Dodge County$212$7,275179.6$3.00
Fond du Lac County$203$7,870179.3$3.55
Ozaukee County$118$8,047—$4.07
Sheboygan County$151$8,332157.4$4.72
Waukesha County$171$8,589169.6$4.30
Median next door$171$8,047174.5$4.07

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. Washington 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/washington-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.