Farmland Atlas · county record

Carroll County, Iowa

Carroll County, IA: non-irrigated cash rent $305 an acre (2026); land and buildings $10,742 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 195.7 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 19027. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Carroll County runs $305 per acre for 2026, up 25 percent from 2016. The census value of land and buildings stood at $10,742 per acre in 2022, after a 33.8 percent rise from 2017 to 2022. Corn yields have trended up 3 bushels per acre a year on published years 2008-2024, with a median of 195.7 bushels per acre and a worst year in 2012 at 105.3. Heat and drought has driven most crop insurance losses over time, rising from 4 percent of indemnities in 1989-1999 to 78 percent in 2010-2019, then 63 percent in 2020-2025. Irrigation covers 1 percent of harvested cropland here, and wind capacity of 284.8 MW operates in the county with no solar.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$305/ac
2026 county average
IA median $266 · 4th highest of 99
Land and buildings
$10,742/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
IA median $9,410 · 19th highest of 99
Rent as % of land value
2.56%
$275 dry rent ÷ $10,742 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, 2008–2024 median
195.7 bu/ac
recent level 2020–2024: 203.6
IA median 190.1 · 15th highest of 95
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$2.67
2016–2025, closed crop years
IA median $2.49 · tied for 46th highest of 99
Farmland rented
46%
2022 census, rented from others
IA median 51% · 37th lowest of 99

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$250$3002010201520202025$176$305 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$305/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+25.0%nominal, $244 to $305
Pasture, 2026$63/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$1.50$305 ÷ 203.6 bu, county yield 2020–2024

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$10,742/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$7,524/ac
Census 2017$8,030/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+33.8%+6.0% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20222.56%$275 ÷ $10,742; cropland 93% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024179.0240.9median 195.7

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

Median, 2008–2024195.7 bu/ac17 published years
Recent level, 2020–2024203.6 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 105.3 bu/ac54% of median
Trend, 2008–2024+3.0 bu/ac a year±3.2 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

198919941999200420092014201920240.146.570.111.00: 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$2.67
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.42claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.89$231.5 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium7 of 32
Worst year2012ratio 6.57
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 67% · price decline (revenue policies) 15% · excess moisture 7%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

200020052010201520202025370

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, 2000–2025184 of 1,357 weeks14% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200037 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202544 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202663.3 °F1991–2020 normal 62.5 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.11 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September25.0 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 87% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.9 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20221%
Drained by tile, 202259% of cropland187,147 ac
Farmed no-till, 202238% of cropland122,005 ac
Cover crops, 20223% of cropland10,447 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202111212,49310,810

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

CRP enrolled, 202510,810 ac3.5% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20284,753 ac44% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$278/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 20250 MW solar · 284.8 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202265,394+9.7% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202246%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Carroll County$305$10,742195.7$2.67
Audubon County$302$9,544190.1$2.05
Calhoun County$267$10,686194.0$1.62
Crawford County$281$9,476199.3$3.24
Greene County$268$10,751193.2$2.07
Guthrie County$248$8,494176.1$2.80
Sac County$290$11,519196.8$2.21
Median next door$275$10,115193.6$2.14

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. Carroll County, Iowa. 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/iowa/carroll-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.