Farmland Atlas · county record

Benewah County, Idaho

Benewah County, ID: non-irrigated cash rent $80 an acre (2026); land and buildings $2,747 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 16009. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Benewah County averages $80 per acre in 2026, up 15.9 percent from 2016. Land value in the 2022 census sits at $2,747 per acre, up 41.9 percent from 2017, 7.2 percent a year. Heat and drought has driven the largest share of crop insurance indemnities over 1989-2025, at 55 percent, and its share has moved from 14 percent in 1989-1999 to 26 percent in 2000-2009, to 37 percent in 2010-2019, to 81 percent in 2020-2025. July nights have warmed from a 1991-2020 normal of 50.2 F to 51.6 F over 2017-2026, continuing a trend of 0.93 F per decade since 1976. No irrigation, solar, or wind capacity is present in this county.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$80/ac
2026 county average
ID median $52 · 4th highest of 18
Land and buildings
$2,747/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
ID median $3,689 · 8th lowest of 42
Rent as % of land value
2.66%
$73 dry rent ÷ $2,747 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, median
—
fewer than 8 published county corn yields
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$13.09
2016–2025, closed crop years
ID median $5.70 · 8th highest of 36
Farmland rented
39%
2022 census, rented from others
ID median 33% · 13th highest of 42

Cash rent

$0$20$40$60$802010201520202025$46$80 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$80/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+15.9%nominal, $69 to $80
Pasture, 2025$8/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$2,747/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$1,587/ac
Census 2017$1,936/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+41.9%+7.2% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20222.66%$73 ÷ $2,747; cropland 59% of land in farms

Corn yield

County corn yield— fewer than 8 published county corn yields

Crop insurance record

20092014201920242.932.060.460.530.600.620.144.170.761.481.061.671.00: 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$13.09
Loss ratio, 2016–20251.33claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20251.34$30.1 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium6 of 12
Worst year2021ratio 4.17
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 55% · excess moisture 20% · price decline (revenue policies) 12%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202504227

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, 2000–2025189 of 1,357 weeks14% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200142 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202590 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202651.6 °F1991–2020 normal 50.2 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.93 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September10.3 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 82% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.3 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20220%
Drained by tile, 20222% of cropland1,295 ac
Farmed no-till, 20227% of cropland5,164 ac
Cover crops, 20221% of cropland553 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202115110,7573,135

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

CRP enrolled, 20253,135 ac5% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–2028867 ac28% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$78/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Irrigation wells on record2Idaho DWR well records
Median well depth232 ft
Cattle and calves, 20221,004+3.2% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202239%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueClaims per $100
Benewah County$80—$2,747$13.09
Kootenai County$65 2025$70$11,050$12.61
Latah County$80—$3,464$10.90
Shoshone County——$8,542—
Spokane County, WA$50$79 2023$4,951$14.88
Whitman County, WA$79—$2,528$12.08
Median next door$79$70 1 co.$4,951$12.35

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. Benewah County, Idaho. 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/idaho/benewah-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.