Farmland Atlas · county record

Howard County, Arkansas

Howard County, AR: non-irrigated cash rent $32 an acre (2026); land and buildings $4,175 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 05061. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Howard County averages $32 per acre in 2026, up 18.5 percent from 2016. Census land and building value stood at $4,175 per acre in 2022, up 46.2 percent from 2017, a pace of 7.9 percent a year. The July nightly low averaged 70.6 F over 2017-2026 against a 69.5 F normal for 1991-2020, part of a warming trend of 0.56 F per decade since 1976. Drought was present in 154 of 1357 weeks from 2000-2025, with 2011 the worst year at 32 weeks, and 19 weeks from 2021-2025. Crop insurance losses from 1989-2023 totaled $127,814, mostly from freeze and frost at 58 percent, with heat and drought at 0 percent of indemnities from 2020-2025.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$32/ac
2026 county average
AR median $30 · tied for 24th highest of 61
Land and buildings
$4,175/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
AR median $3,631 · 19th highest of 75
Rent as % of land value
—
not shown: cropland is 25% of land in farms (2022 census), so the census value is mostly pasture, woods and buildings, not cropland
Corn yield, median
—
fewer than 8 published county corn yields
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
—
under the premium floor for a figure
Farmland rented
19%
2022 census, rented from others
AR median 29% · 12th lowest of 75

Cash rent

$0$10$20$30$40$502010201520202025$20$32 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$32/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+18.5%nominal, $27 to $32
Pasture, 2026$27/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$4,175/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$2,357/ac
Census 2017$2,855/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+46.2%+7.9% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— cropland is 25% of land in farms (2022 census), so the census value is mostly pasture, woods and buildings, not cropland

Corn yield

County corn yield— fewer than 8 published county corn yields

Crop insurance record

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.

Largest causes of loss, 1989–2023freeze 58% · excess moisture 38% · other 3%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020254320

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, 2000–2025154 of 1,357 weeks11% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201132 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202519 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202670.6 °F1991–2020 normal 69.5 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.56 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September27.8 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 115% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.6 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, 2022none reported
Farmed no-till, 20221% of cropland221 ac
Cover crops, 2022under 1% of cropland133 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202102080

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

CRP enrolled, 20250 ac
Solar and wind operating, 20254.8 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202229,976−31.9% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202219%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueClaims per $100
Howard County$32$4,175—
Hempstead County$30$2,902—
Little River County$28$2,717$27.45
Pike County$38$3,015—
Polk County$31$3,901—
Sevier County$24$3,481—
Median next door$30$3,015$27.45 1 co.

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. Howard County, Arkansas. 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/arkansas/howard-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.