Farmland Atlas · county record

Las Animas County, Colorado

Las Animas County, CO: non-irrigated cash rent $6 an acre (2026); land and buildings $1,005 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 08071. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Las Animas County is $6 per acre. Irrigated cash rent is $122 per acre. Irrigation covers 57 percent of harvested cropland, and none of that water comes from groundwater. The July nightly low has warmed 0.28 F per decade since 1976, and the 2017-2026 average of 58.1 F sits above the 1991-2020 normal of 57.5 F. Drought has been present: 467 of 1357 weeks from 2000-2025 saw severe drought or worse, with 2013 the worst year at 53 weeks, and 49 such weeks came in 2021-2025. Heat and drought's share of crop insurance indemnities moved 26 percent, 56 percent, 27 percent, 20 percent across 1989-1999, 2000-2009, 2010-2019, and 2020-2025.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$6/ac
2026 county average
CO median $30 · lowest of 24
Cash rent, irrigated
$122/ac
2026 county average
CO median $155 · 10th lowest of 30
Land and buildings
$1,005/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
CO median $2,765 · 3rd lowest of 58
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
24%
2022 census, rented from others
CO median 30% · 15th lowest of 57

Cash rent

$0$20$40$60$80$100$120201520202025$17$6 dry$94$122 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$6/ac
Irrigated, 2026$122/ac
Pasture, 2026$4/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$1,005/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$405/ac
Census 2017$602/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+66.9%+10.8% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— NASS published no non-irrigated cash rent for this county in 2022

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. 2026, still open, is left out.

Loss ratio, 1989–20251.53$3.3 million paid
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2023heat and drought 29% · irrigation failure 27% · other 12%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250530

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, 2000–2025467 of 1,357 weeks34% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201353 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202549 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202658.1 °F1991–2020 normal 57.5 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.28 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September11.2 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 100% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger3.0 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202257%
Drained by tile, 20224% of cropland2,150 ac
Farmed no-till, 202210% of cropland5,685 ac
Cover crops, 20222% of cropland1,135 ac
198619911996200120062011201620218,470156,062

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

CRP enrolled, 2025156,062 ac88.3% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20280 ac0% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$17/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 2025170 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202240,618−2.5% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202224%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueClaims per $100
Las Animas County$6$122$1,005—
Baca County$31$123 2023$1,682$27.77
Bent County$18$178$1,087$34.41
Costilla County—$210 2025$996$7.56
Huerfano County——$1,360—
Otero County—$155$1,646$26.84
Pueblo County—$175$1,659$35.09
Colfax County, NM—$47 2024$977—
Union County, NM——$852$19.03
Median next door$24 2 co.$175$1,224$27.31

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. Las Animas 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/las-animas-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.