Farmland Atlas · county record

Otero County, Colorado

Otero County, CO: non-irrigated cash rent $35 an acre (2009); land and buildings $1,646 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 178.4 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 08089. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Irrigated ground in Otero County carried a 2026 cash rent of $155 per acre, and 91 percent of harvested cropland is irrigated, with 3 percent of that water drawn from groundwater. Census land values reached $1,646 per acre in 2022, up 119.5 percent from 2017.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$35/ac
2009 county average
too few 2009 county surveys in the state to compare
Cash rent, irrigated
$155/ac
2026 county average
CO median $155 · 15th highest of 30
Land and buildings
$1,646/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
CO median $2,765 · 14th lowest of 58
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
178.4 bu/ac
12 published years · irrigated and dryland combined
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$26.84
2016–2025, closed crop years
CO median $13.57 · 5th highest of 31
Farmland rented
33%
2022 census, rented from others
CO median 30% · 24th highest of 57

Cash rent

$0$50$100$1502010201520202025$79$155 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, 2009$35/ac
Irrigated, 2026$155/ac
Pasture, 2026$3/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$1,646/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$653/ac
Census 2017$750/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+119.5%+17.0% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— NASS published no non-irrigated cash rent for this county in 2022

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024186.0190.2174.8148.1191.8187.7171.7127.2182.0152.5130.0202.6median 178.4

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

Median, 2008–2025178.4 bu/ac12 published years, irrigated and dryland combined
Lowest published year2018: 127.2 bu/ac71% of median
Trend, 2008–2025−1.2 bu/ac a year±3.0 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

20072012201720220.773.641.301.00: 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$26.84
Loss ratio, 2016–20251.29claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20251.44$49.4 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium8 of 18
Worst year2013ratio 3.64
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025irrigation failure 61% · hail 14% · heat and drought 10%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, 2000–2025414 of 1,357 weeks31% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201353 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202515 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202661.8 °F1991–2020 normal 61.3 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.23 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September9.7 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 105% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger2.2 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, 20226% of cropland4,265 ac
Farmed no-till, 20224% of cropland3,178 ac
Cover crops, 20222% of cropland1,438 ac
198619911996200120062011201620212,10248,222

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

CRP enrolled, 202548,222 ac54.9% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20280 ac0% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$16/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 20251.5 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202252,853−29.8% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202233%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueClaims per $100
Otero County—$155$1,646$26.84
Bent County$18$178$1,087$34.41
Crowley County——$1,003—
Kiowa County$29—$1,238$23.93
Las Animas County$6$122$1,005—
Pueblo County—$175$1,659$35.09
Median next door$18$175$1,087$34.41

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. Otero 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/otero-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.