AgricultureID

State · US-MN

Minnesota

Minnesota is hot-summer humid continental (Dfa) in the south and warm-summer humid continental (Dfb) in the north, with warm summers, cold winters, and a growing season that shortens northward. Frost dates tightly bound the field season.

Major crop systems

  • Rainfed maize–soybean rotation
  • Sugar beet and spring wheat in the Red River Valley
  • Sweet corn, peas, and dry edible beans for processing

Major livestock systems

  • Confined hogs — among the top states
  • Turkey production — a national leader
  • Dairy and beef cattle

Agricultural land: Fertile prairie soils across the south and west support intensive row cropping, the flat Red River Valley in the northwest is prime sugar beet and small-grain land, and forest and lakes dominate the northeast. Irrigation: Cropping is mostly rainfed, with center-pivot irrigation concentrated on the sandy Central Sands region.

Agroecological zones: Dfa (Hot-summer humid continental), Dfb (Warm-summer humid continental)

Documented crops & livestock

Official institutions

  • Minnesota Department of Agriculture — State department for agriculture, food safety, and marketing.
  • University of Minnesota Extension — Land-grant research and extension for crops, livestock, and food systems.
  • USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) — Official state-level crop, livestock, and Census of Agriculture statistics, published through its regional field office network.

Data coverage & limitations

Descriptive profile; subnational statistics for Minnesota are published by USDA NASS and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and are not reproduced numerically here.

  • Boundaries and administrative classification follow the ISO 3166-2 subdivision system and USDA/state reporting units.
  • No subnational statistics are reproduced here; any official figures are dated, versioned, and periodically revised — read them with their year and source.
  • A statewide profile masks the divide between the intensively farmed south and Red River Valley and the forested, minimally cropped northeast.

Agricultural authority

Verified against official government sources. AgricultureID is independent and not affiliated with these bodies.

  • Minnesota Department of Agriculture

    State · Department

    Minnesota Department of Agriculture is the first-order subnational public authority responsible for agriculture in Minnesota.

    Official websiteAll agricultural authorities

Soils documented by the official survey

The soil survey maps 1,032 named soil bodies in Minnesota, with surface pH from 3.5 to 8.2 and organic matter from 0.1% to 98.0%. The twenty appearing in the most mapped units are shown; each figure is the survey’s representative value for that soil body, not a measurement.

Soil bodies mapped in Minnesota, with representative surface properties from the official survey
Soil bodypHOrganic matter %Clay %DrainageMap units
CathroHistosols6.765–855Very poorly drained210in 53 survey areas
LesterAlfisols to Mollisols (the survey records both)6.4–6.62–511.5–29Well drained155in 17 survey areas
BuseMollisols7.5–7.92–2.522.5–31Well drained145in 23 survey areas
StordenInceptisols7.7–7.91.5–2.521–22.5Well drained136in 27 survey areas
EsthervilleMollisols5.9–6.72–4.510–22.5Somewhat excessively drained to Well drained132in 32 survey areas
SeelyevilleHistosols—62–905–20Very poorly drained126in 40 survey areas
HawickEntisols to Mollisols (the survey records both)6.5–7.62–2.56–12Excessively drained120in 25 survey areas
SandbergMollisols5.4–7.61–2.56–10Excessively drained120in 34 survey areas
FluvaquentsEntisols5.5–7.25–859.5–20Poorly drained to Very poorly drained111in 33 survey areas
ClarionMollisols6.2–6.72.5–4.517–28Moderately well drained to Well drained97in 19 survey areas
MahtomediEntisols5–6.20.75–30–10Excessively drained95in 18 survey areas
ZimmermanEntisols4.8–6.10.75–602–6Excessively drained to Somewhat excessively drained89in 20 survey areas
BarnesMollisols6.5–7.23–4.522.5–30Well drained87in 23 survey areas
ArvillaMollisols6.3–7.32–4.512–16Somewhat excessively drained85in 21 survey areas
QuamMollisols5.5–7.26–1224.5–35Very poorly drained85in 24 survey areas
KlossnerHistosols5.8–6.735–755–28Very poorly drained83in 25 survey areas
LangheiInceptisols7.5–7.91.7–322.5–31.5Well drained80in 20 survey areas
GraycalmEntisols4.7–61.25–33–6Somewhat excessively drained75in 16 survey areas
GlencoeMollisols6.2–75–655–33Very poorly drained74in 32 survey areas
MilacaAlfisols5.8–6.20.75–56.5–15Moderately well drained to Well drained74in 10 survey areas

These values describe soil bodies a survey has mapped, not samples taken in a particular field. A measurement on one farm may differ from the representative value of the map unit containing it.

AgricultureID does not infer crop suitability from soil observations. That a crop is grown where a soil occurs is not evidence that the soil suits it, and no such link is published without a source that makes it. How these observations are recorded.

Climate and drought

Drought assessment, week of 2026-08-25

assessment

78.3% of Minnesota’s land area was assessed as being in drought (D1 or worse) for the week of 2026-08-25 to 2026-08-31.

No category
4.7%
D0 · not drought
16.9%
D1
30.3%
D2
44.6%
D3
3.5%
D4
0.0%

D0 is abnormally dry and is counted separately: the Drought Monitor treats it as a precursor to drought and a category areas pass through while recovering.

The Drought Monitor is drawn each week by an author who weighs several indicators together with reports from local observers. It is an assessment of conditions, not an instrument reading, and each map applies to one week.

Climate normals, 1991–2020

normal

41 stations in Minnesota publish a full-standard 1991–2020 normal. Each describes its own site; none is an average for the state.

StationMean tempPrecipitationDays ≤ 32°F
ALBERT LEA 3SE, MN US45.2°F35.77 in158.5
ARGYLE, MN US39.5°F22.87 in193.8
ARTICHOKE LAKE 1 E, MN US44.7°F26.45 in162.7
BENSON, MN US43.7°F28.11 in168.0
BRAINERD, MN US41.1°F30.63 in185.2
BRIMSON 2S, MN US36.9°F29.17 in218.5
BRUNO 7ENE, MN US40.4°F33.68 in190.7
CANBY, MN US44.7°F27.95 in162.5

Eight of 41 stations shown.

A climate normal is what 1991–2020 averaged to at that station. It is not what any year was and not what any year will be; a season that matches it is ordinary, not forecast.

How these figures are produced, and what they do not say

Sources

This article draws on the following authoritative sources. See our sources & methodology for how they are selected.

  1. [1]USDA NASS — National Agricultural Statistics Service (opens in a new tab)

    USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS)

    Authoritative

    Cited for: Official state agricultural statistics

    Type:
    Government agency
    Jurisdiction:
    United States
    Accessed:
    2026-07-12
  2. [2]USDA — U.S. Department of Agriculture (opens in a new tab)

    United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)

    Authoritative

    Cited for: Federal agricultural context

    Type:
    Government agency
    Jurisdiction:
    United States
    Accessed:
    2026-07-12
  3. [3]University of Minnesota Extension — Crop and pest resources (opens in a new tab)

    University of Minnesota Extension

    High

    Cited for: Minnesota crop and livestock production context

    Type:
    University extension service
    Jurisdiction:
    United States (Minnesota)
    Accessed:
    2026-07-12