Farmland Atlas · county record

Alamosa County, Colorado

Alamosa County, CO: non-irrigated cash rent $21 an acre (2022); land and buildings $4,456 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 08003. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Irrigation drives this county. Ninety-one percent of harvested cropland is irrigated, and irrigation failure is the largest cause of crop insurance indemnities at 58 percent, totaling $60.7 million of the $104.5 million paid out over 1989-2025, closed crop years. Non-irrigated cash rent sits at $21 per acre and fell 40 percent from 2011 to 2022, while irrigated cash rent in 2026 is $191 per acre. Groundwater supplies 62 percent of irrigation water as of 2015. Land value per the 2022 census stands at $4,456 per acre, up 110.2 percent from 2017 to 2022, or 16 percent a year.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$21/ac
2022 county average
too few 2022 county surveys in the state to compare
Cash rent, irrigated
$191/ac
2026 county average
CO median $155 · 9th highest of 30
Land and buildings
$4,456/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
CO median $2,765 · 15th highest of 58
Corn yield, median
—
fewer than 8 published county corn yields
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$8.91
2016–2025, closed crop years
CO median $13.57 · 10th lowest of 31
Farmland rented
39%
2022 census, rented from others
CO median 30% · 13th highest of 57

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$2002010201520202025$35$21 dry$119$191 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, 2022$21/ac
Change 2011 to 2022−40.0%nominal, $35 to $21
Irrigated, 2026$191/ac
Pasture, 2025$7/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$4,456/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$1,458/ac
Census 2017$2,120/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+110.2%+16.0% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— about 91% of cropland is irrigated (2022 census), so dry rent over the all-land census value is not a yield on anything

Corn yield

County corn yield— fewer than 8 published county corn yields

Crop insurance record

200220072012201720220.711.531.301.00: 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$8.91
Loss ratio, 2016–20251.04claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20251.03$104.5 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium13 of 24
Worst year2012ratio 1.53
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025irrigation failure 58% · hail 14% · excess moisture 10%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250520

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, 2000–2025386 of 1,357 weeks28% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200352 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202562 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202649.4 °F1991–2020 normal 48.3 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.47 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September7.1 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 103% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.0 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202291%
Drained by tile, 20221% of cropland889 ac
Farmed no-till, 20224% of cropland2,934 ac
Cover crops, 20225% of cropland3,756 ac
19861991199620012006201120162021645,2614,779

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

CRP enrolled, 20254,779 ac9.5% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20281,281 ac27% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$179/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 2025150.2 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202210,252−13.8% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202239%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueClaims per $100
Alamosa County—$191$4,456$8.91
Conejos County$36$134$2,984$6.43
Costilla County—$210 2025$996$7.56
Huerfano County——$1,360—
Rio Grande County$26 2023$220$5,672$6.14
Saguache County—$189$2,951$6.50
Median next door$36 1 co.$189$2,951$6.47

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. Alamosa County, Colorado. 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/colorado/alamosa-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.