Farmland Atlas · county record

Waupaca County, Wisconsin

Waupaca County, WI: non-irrigated cash rent $129 an acre (2026); land and buildings $5,611 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 152.3 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 55135. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Waupaca County is $129 per acre in 2026, up 48.3 percent from 2016. Land value was $5,611 per acre in 2022, up 24.2 percent from 2017.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$129/ac
2026 county average
WI median $139 · 31st lowest of 67
Cash rent, irrigated
$231/ac
2026 county average
WI median $252 · 4th lowest of 11
Land and buildings
$5,611/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
WI median $5,565 · 33rd highest of 68
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
152.3 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 167.0
WI median 158.3 · 14th lowest of 55
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$6.35
2016–2025, closed crop years
WI median $5.09 · 18th highest of 65
Farmland rented
33%
2022 census, rented from others
WI median 33% · 34th lowest of 68

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$2502010201520202025$56$129 dry$200$231 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$129/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+48.3%nominal, $87 to $129
Irrigated, 2026$231/ac
Pasture, 2026$47/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.77$129 ÷ 167.0 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$5,611/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$3,841/ac
Census 2017$4,516/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+24.2%+4.4% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20221.85%$104 ÷ $5,611; cropland 69% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024135.0175.3167.0median 152.3

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

Median, 2008–2025152.3 bu/ac18 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025167.0 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 128.5 bu/ac84% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+1.7 bu/ac a year±1.0 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

200420092014201920242.630.351.00: 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$6.35
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.58claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.66$46.0 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium3 of 22
Worst year2004ratio 2.63
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 44% · heat and drought 33% · freeze 16%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

200020052010201520202025070

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, 2000–202512 of 1,357 weeks1% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks20237 weeks
Last five years, 2021–20257 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202660.2 °F1991–2020 normal 58.6 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.44 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September22.3 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 110% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.5 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20229%
Drained by tile, 202210% of cropland15,114 ac
Farmed no-till, 202216% of cropland24,815 ac
Cover crops, 20226% of cropland9,732 ac
198619911996200120062011201620211248,3181,792

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

CRP enrolled, 20251,792 ac1.3% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–2028186 ac10% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$99/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Irrigation wells on record110Wisconsin DNR high-capacity wells (active sources)
Median well depth82 ft
Cattle and calves, 202264,740+17.2% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202233%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Waupaca County$129$231$5,611152.3$6.35
Outagamie County$161—$7,559157.8$7.09
Portage County$86$276$4,888155.2$7.99
Shawano County$142—$5,983152.6$5.86
Waushara County$78$301$4,925162.9$8.16
Winnebago County$123—$8,641151.0$4.55
Median next door$123$289 2 co.$5,983155.2$7.09

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. Waupaca 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/waupaca-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.